April is Child Abuse Awareness month, and San Antonio Sen. Carlos Uresti is calling for more volunteers to help increase the local message of saving children's lives.
Uresti said Bexar County showed an increase in the number of cases of child abuse in 2012.
"Sadly, last year we had 6,205 confirmed cases of child abuse just in Bexar County," Uresti said, adding that 20 of those children died from their injuries.
Statewide, the number of deaths is 10 times the Bexar County number. Uresti is looking for increased awareness of the problem this year and more reporting.
Uresti said some argue that an increase in the number of cases reflects more reporting, but he said that is not the whole story.
"More people are engaged and are acknowledging that, ‘Yes its does happen in my neighborhood, regardless of where I live,' and they’re reporting it, and therefore the number of cases has gone up," Uresti said.
But he also said the increased reporting is a double-edged sword.
"On the other hand, nonetheless, the number of cases has gone up. But then again, we have to continue to make people aware of it," he said.
Uresti is asking the State Senate to adopt his resolution to support education and awareness of child abuse. He is hoping Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month will result in more people signing on to the effort.
"If we can accomplish that, then we’re going to start to see a difference in these numbers, and, I would submit, start to see these numbers decrease," he said.
