EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – April marks Child Abuse Prevention month and Texas Department Family Protective Services is bringing awareness to the El Paso community.
DFPS encourages El Pasoans to wear blue on April 14 for children who have been victims of abuse and neglect. They will be hosting an event at 10 a.m. with local governments, organizations, community groups, service organizations, following a balloon release.
According to Texas DFPS, thousands of child abuse cases in the El Paso region have been reported.
- 7,675,490 Children in Texas (249,717 El Paso area)
- 166,187 Completed CPS investigations (4,817 El Paso area)
- 56,944 Confirmed victims of child abuse/neglect (1,519 El Paso area)
- 37,847 Youth served by DFPS prevention programs (1,692 El Paso area)
“A little bit over 4,800 cases were completed, so they were reported, but we had about a little bit over a 1,500 that were confirmed abuse,” said DFPS Faith Based community engagement specialist Rebecca Robles.
Robles advises the Borderland community to look out for children constantly wearing dirty/torn clothes, are always hungry and out on the streets during school hours.
Robles also adds signs of medical neglect to look out for. “If a child has some sort of medical needs and they keep getting worse and you know and there always sick, and never getting medication.”
To promote child abuse prevention awareness, you can go to DFPS Child Prevention Month Toolkit and if you suspect child abuse or neglect, call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1 (800) 252-5400.
For local and breaking news, sports, weather alerts, video and more, download the FREE KTSM 9 News App from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
