CARTERVILLE – April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Join the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Prevent Child Abuse Illinois, Hospital Sisters Health System, the Poshard Foundation for Abused Children, elected officials, child welfare stakeholders and more for a month-long observance to share child abuse and neglect prevention awareness messages and promote prevention efforts during Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.

This year’s theme, Building Together, Prevention in Partnership, is a call to action to recognize that everyone in the community has a role to play in ensuring children grow up safe and loved; and families have the resources they need to thrive.

To heighten awareness, Illinois DCFS will host events across the state in observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month. All Illinoisans can get involved and show their commitment to ending child abuse by wearing blue on April 5, posting pictures on social media, tagging Illinois DCFS in their posts and using the hashtags #GreatChildhoods and #GoBlueIllinois.

There will be an event today at 1 p.m. in Building H Atrium at John A. Logan College in Carterville. If you can’t make it, it will be livestreamed at facebook.com/preventchildabuseillinois.

To report suspected child abuse or neglect, visit the DCFS Online Reporting System at https://childabuse.illinois.gov. The online system is an easy way for anyone to report suspected child abuse or neglect using a computer or any mobile device. In an emergency, call the DCFS Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE (800-252-2873). Calls and online reports may be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week.