Morgan County Marks Child Abuse Prevention Month With Awareness Events, Outreach

Todd Shackelford is using April to do three things at once: raise awareness about child abuse in Morgan County, recruit more CASA volunteers, and strengthen ties between the agencies that respond when a child is harmed.

As executive director of the Advocacy Network for Children, Shackelford oversees both the Morgan County Children's Advocacy Center and the county's Court Appointed Special Advocates program. Morgan County officially proclaimed April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Shackelford's organization is coordinating a public ceremony alongside outreach events planned to run through the month, with law enforcement partners and local social-service providers among the groups involved.

The ceremony, the date and time of which are available through local calendars, is anchored to prevention messaging intended to reach a broad public audience. Beyond the event itself, the Advocacy Network plans to highlight the role CASA volunteers play in representing children in court proceedings, share guidance on recognizing and reporting suspected abuse, and connect families to parenting programs, mental-health services and emergency financial assistance.

In Morgan County, as in many rural areas, the people most positioned to notice early signs of harm are often not specialists: they are teachers who observe a change in a child's behavior, health-care providers flagging unexplained injuries, or neighbors who hear something alarming. Anyone who suspects a child is being harmed is encouraged to contact local law enforcement or DCFS. The Advocacy Network's outreach strategy is built around that reality, aiming to give those community members the knowledge and confidence to act.

Follow-up training sessions focused on trauma-informed practices are scheduled for later in the spring, with organizers aiming to increase volunteer capacity and deepen coordination among first responders and social-service agencies across the county.