April is Child Abuse Prevention Month - SCAN of Northern Virginia

Child abuse can be prevented!

Child Abuse Prevention Month is about recognizing the importance of families and communities coming together to build resiliency, take action, and stand with child advocates. April was first designated as National Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Month in 1983.

When SCAN was born in 1988, we made it our mission to work with hyper-local, child-serving organizations throughout Northern Virginia to raise awareness and recommit ourselves to building stronger families for safer children.

Child abuse in NOVA

Child abuse cuts across all boundaries of race, education levels, and income brackets.

In 2021 there were more than 37,000 reports of child abuse in Northern Virginia. There are 3.5 million reports annually in the United States.

What are the effects of child abuse and neglect?

Childhood abuse is not rare. Children who are abused and lack strong community or interpersonal support may grow up to be adults with serious academic, financial, relationship, and health impacts.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) such as abuse have immediate, short-term, and long-term consequences. They can cause Post Traumatic Stress (PTS/PTSD), depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders, addiction/substance abuse, and a variety of physical and mental health impacts.

If you experienced childhood abuse it was not your fault.

Childhood abuse is preventable and children can recover.

Got 5 mins? Learn how you can prevent ACEs

How to report abuse

When do I make a report?

Know the signs. If you see signs of abuse that give you a reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect, take action.

Once you make a report, local child welfare and/or law enforcement professionals will assess the situation and determine a course of action to keep the child safe, create stability for the child and their family, and help ensure the child and family receive the resources or services they need.

How to make a report:

If you suspect that a child is being abused or neglected, you can make a confidential report anytime by calling the Virginia hotline at 800-552-7096. Or contact your local child welfare agency:

Alexandria: 703-746-5800
Arlington: 703-228-1500
Fairfax County: 703-324-7400
Loudoun: 703-771-5437
Greater Prince William: 703-792-4200

How to report online abuse:

Report cases of online abuse or exploitation, including inappropriate adult content aimed at children to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) at report.cybertip.org.

Reports can also be made to the platform provider.

Community Resources for Children & Families for Northern Virginia

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Take action!

The difference you can make this April

Go Blue on April 1 for #WearBlueDay

#WearBlueDay

Show your support during Child Abuse Prevention Month by wearing blue on the first of April. Tag @SCANofNOVA in your selfie to spread the word and challenge a friend or colleague to do the same!