Lake County Board proclaims April 2025 Child Abuse Prevention Month

The Lake County Board of Supervisors on April 2025 adopted a proclamation designating April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and called on residents, agencies and businesses to increase participation in local prevention efforts.

The proclamation, read aloud at the board dais by Supervisor Paiske, summarized national and local data and listed county programs and events organized for April. It noted national estimates that about 3,000,000 children are reported abused or neglected in the United States each year and cited an estimated 1,990 child fatalities from abuse and neglect in a single year (about five deaths per day). The proclamation also cited several maltreatment statistics included in the reading: 66.1 percent of child fatalities were younger than 3 years old; 81.8 percent involved at least one parent; 76.4 percent included neglect; and 42.1 percent included physical abuse either alone or in combination with other maltreatment types.

The nut graf: County leaders and service providers said child abuse prevention requires a communitywide response. County programs named in the proclamation and in remarks at the meeting included Lake County Children’s Council, Build Resilient Lake County, ACEs Overcomers Education, the Nurturing Families Program, Abriendo Fuertes, Positive Indian Parenting, Differential Response, Redwood Community Services, Lake County Office of Education Wraparound Services, Motherwise, Lake County Tribal Health home-visiting, the County of Lake home-visiting program, Lake County Family Resource Center Family Empowerment and related local efforts.

Rachel Dillman Parsons, Child Welfare Services director, said Child Welfare Services “recognizes every child deserves a life free from harm and neglect and abuse.” Parsons said the department handles about 1,200 referrals for child abuse or neglect annually, that roughly 70 percent of reports involve neglect (often associated with substance use), and that Lake County currently has 85 children in out-of-home care because of abuse. She urged caregivers to seek help and community members to report concerns, and provided the county hotline cited during the meeting: (707) 262-0235.

An unnamed county superintendent who accepted the proclamation said, “children are the future of this county,” and thanked local organizations and the board for collaborative prevention work. Supervisor Allen, who spoke later, described child abuse and neglect as a cross‑community issue that at times is generational and urged continued community support for prevention services.

The proclamation also listed local events and awareness activities scheduled for April: a Pinwheel Garden Challenge, a children’s festival and advocacy walk, flag‑raising ceremonies at Lake Family Resource Center and other sites, a children’s memorial flag display, and community art displays at local restaurants and businesses in Lakeport, Kelseyville and Clear Lake. The proclamation encouraged residents to wear blue on Fridays in April and noted a closing ceremony and flag raising scheduled for April 25 at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The board’s action was a formal adoption of the proclamation; no roll‑call vote tally was recorded in the meeting transcript.