LUBBOCK, Texas — In Lubbock County, three children a day are confirmed as victims of abuse or neglect.
Carla Olson, chair of the South Plains Coalition for Child Abuse Prevention, said for every 1,000 kids in Lubbock County, we’re averaging 13.48 victims, while Texas averages 8.49 victims.
“The cases that we don’t want to have which is sexual abuse and physical abuse,” Olson said. “Those are around about 20 percent of the cases combined. those are about 20 to 25 percent. So the other 75 involve other things that probably have more to do with the parent then the child.”
Olson said signs of child abuse can range from changes in behavior, sleeping, eating or lack of personal hygiene.
Most importantly, Olson said if you see something that looks even remotely like child abuse, report it.
“The majority of victims in Lubbock County are age three and under,” Olson said. “That’s a pretty nonverbal child, so they’re not going to be able to tell you that something bad happened, or I haven’t been fed.”