Monday, April 12th 2021, 8:06 am
The Oklahoma standard will be on display Monday as government officials join in raising awareness in the fight against child abuse one Oklahoma flag at a time.
The American flags put into the state capitol's soil represent the children across the united states who have died due to neglect or child abuse.
At 10 a.m. advocates will add 29 Oklahoma flags to the display honoring the 29 children whose lives were taken too soon.
According to DHS, in 2019, they received over 81,000 reports of alleged abuse and neglect with nearly 139,000 victims.
Of those reports, 15,000 were confirmed victims.
"If we can prevent or lessen the adverse child experience, then we see children are less likely to go into the juvenile system and then ultimately the adult system. So true criminal justice reforms start with children and make sure we take care of our babies," said Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater.
Advocates worry more abuse has gone unreported over the last year because kids have not been in school because of the pandemic.
Oklahoma City police said they have received more domestic abuse calls overall but cannot directly connect it to COVID-19.
If you or a loved one need to report child abuse or neglect, the hotline number is 1-800-522-3511.
April 12th, 2021
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