The month of April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Portage County Job & Family Services (PCJFS) is aiming to raise awareness. The PCJFS CARES Line investigates an average of 276 reports of alleged child abuse or neglect each month. In 2024, 3,316 reports were received to investigate allegations of physical/sexual abuse or neglect. The social work staff at PCJFS commit themselves daily to working with children and families that have been impacted.
Portage County Job & Family Services (PCJFS) Child and Adult Protective Services division will host three events in conjunction with Child Abuse Prevention Month.
On Monday, March 31, at 1:00 PM., PCJFS is partnering with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Portage County to plant blue pinwheels on the front lawn of the Portage County Administration Building at 449 E. Meridian St., Ravenna, to heighten awareness on the serious issue of child abuse/neglect. The pinwheels will be accompanied by banners that promote April Child Abuse Prevention Month and give the phone number for reporting child abuse in Portage County. The blue pinwheels will remain on the lawn at PCJFS during the month of April. Other community partners will also be planting pinwheels and hanging banners on their own sites throughout the month. PCJFS will post pictures to their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pcjfs to highlight community activity supporting Child Abuse Prevention Month.
On Wednesday, April 9, all Portage County fire departments, police departments, schools, day cares, businesses, and residents are invited to wear blue to spread awareness about child abuse prevention. On this day, Portage County staff will also be participating in the Wear Blue awareness campaign. Many staff members will be wearing Portage County “Protect Portage Children” awareness shirts and will be posting pictures to social media using the hashtag #ProtectPortageChildren.
On Saturday, April 26, PCJFS will host its annual Family Fun Day at Brown Middle School (228 Scranton Street, Ravenna) from 11:00AM – 2:00PM. The community is invited to attend the free, family-friendly event which features speakers and demos to bring awareness to the public about topics promoting safe, healthy living environments. The event will also offer fun games, crafts, food, vendor tables, giveaways and prizes.
If you or someone you know suspects child abuse or neglect, please call the 24-hour abuse and neglect hotline at 330-296-CARE. For more information on events, please contact PCJFS Public Information Officer, Audrey M. Riley at Audrey.Riley@jfs.ohio.gov or 330-715-0393.
