"Enough Abuse" in schools: teaching teachers the signs

Child abuse has been in the spotlight in Western New York for the better part of the last year .

Erie county has the second-highest number of reported cases of abuse in the entire state of New York.

“Individual children - we saw over 1,100 last year”, said Child Advocacy Center Director Rebecca Stevens.

The center aids in treating, investigating, preventing and evaluating kids that have been sexually abused or severely physically abused.

When it comes to reporting cases, she said it often happens by chance, but gives credit to mandatory reporters for knowing where the resources are. 

“Often times its actually sort of accidental, like a child reports to their principal that someone is making them feel unsafe at home.” 

In November of 2017 the Child Advocacy Center began taking part in the nationwide Enough Abuse campaign.

It’s geared towards teaching adults how to recognize signs of abuse and the environments that are likely to create situations of abuse. 

The training program is free for schools and community centers. 

You can get information on how to get the CAC into your program here.

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