St. Louis goes blue to mark child abuse prevention
April is child abuse prevention month, and St. Louis officials as well as various children’s prevention and service agencies are marking it with a special ceremony in the City Hall rotunda Monday, April 13 at 10 a.m.
Participants will be asked to sign a 30-foot blue ribbon symbolizing their commitment to child abuse prevention. The event will be hosted by KMOV anchor Vicki Newton and will feature a proclamation by the mayor and aldermen.
Bobby Edwards, a national spokesperson, and former victim of child abuse will also speak during the ceremony. City Hall won’t be the only place to mark prevention efforts. The water in the fountain in Kiener Plaza will be colored blue April 13 to 18th. Blue honors the blue ribbon, which is the national symbol for child abuse prevention.
While reports of child abuse have declined slightly in recent years, area child advocates are concerned they could increase as economic difficulties add stress for families.
In Missouri, 6,576 children were found by state investigators in 2007 to be victims of some form of abuse or neglect. About 16 percent came from the St. Louis region. Nearly 40 percent abused statewide were 5 or younger.
Nancy Cambria is the Children and Families reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She writes on a wide variety of topics pertaining to the well-being of children and family issues. She posts on children and family policy in The Grade blog and on general family and parenting issues in the Parents Talk Back blog located in the lifestyle section. 
As a mental health therapist who works with children and families I appreciate you mentioning it’s Child Abuse Prevention Month. I’d like to add that the “Child Welfare Information Gateway” provides information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. This is their web site: http://www.childwelfare.gov/index.cfm