San Luis Police Visit Schools to Raise Child Abuse Awareness in April

San Luis Police Lt. Emmanuel Botello took a blunt message to students, parents, and teachers when the San Luis Police Department launched its school outreach campaign this week in observance of National Child Abuse Prevention Month: one incident of child abuse is one too many.

The SLPD brought presentations to multiple schools across San Luis during the first week of April, partnering with local agencies to teach community members how to spot warning signs before harm compounds. Botello pointed to Amberly's Place, Yuma County's only family advocacy center, as a key collaborator in that effort.

"We go and do presentations at different schools agencies," Botello said. "There are really good agencies like Amberly's Place that will be part of the pinwheel event and they also do the mandatory reporting trainings."

The pinwheel is the national symbol of child abuse prevention, and the annual event brings together law enforcement, educators, and advocates to publicly commit to protecting children. For SLPD, the school visits serve as both a visible show of presence and a practical education effort, with officers covering how to recognize behavioral shifts that can signal abuse is occurring at home.

Botello described those warning signs in concrete terms. "Somebody that can be active and cheerful can go from that to be somebody quiet, somebody a little more reserved," he said. "There is also change in behavior that goes from somebody who is quiet, to somebody who becomes violent. Some children display that aggressiveness."

Those behavioral markers are what teachers, coaches, and family members are often best positioned to observe, which is why SLPD targeted schools as the primary outreach venue. The goal is early identification, not prosecution after harm has already been done.

Amberly's Place brings significant capacity to that prevention mission. The Yuma-based organization, which provides services around the clock every day of the year to victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and sex trafficking, runs the Children's Justice Project, a program that trains more than 1,500 professionals annually to identify and report abuse. Its "Report Right Away" campaign has worked to shorten the gap between when abuse occurs and when victims access help.

Together, SLPD and Amberly's Place represent the kind of cross-agency coordination that child welfare advocates say makes prevention efforts durable. Law enforcement alone cannot reach every family at risk; a dedicated advocacy center with 24/7 crisis services fills gaps that police calls and school visits cannot.

Anyone who suspects a child in San Luis or the broader Yuma County area is being abused can contact Amberly's Place or call the Arizona Child Abuse Hotline. Mandatory reporters, including teachers and coaches who completed training through programs like those Amberly's Place conducts, are legally required to make that call. Botello's message to everyone else is simpler: if something looks wrong with a child in your life, say something.