![\"According](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ZPGXQKA2UJGRTITU3WR2Y777UU.png\")
According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, 2,088 children were confirmed victims of abuse in Region 1 last year.(MGN)<\/p>\nLUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – This Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness month, Lubbock-area leaders are encouraging you to speak up if you see a child in need.<\/p>\n
According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, 2,088 children were confirmed victims of abuse in Region 1 last year. That region spans from Garza County up north to the Oklahoma border.<\/p>\n
Lubbock County had 690 confirmed cases last year.<\/p>\n
According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, 2,088 children were confirmed victims of abuse in Region 1 last year.(MGN)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a community and a public safety and a public health issue,\u201d Dr. Jennifer Hansen said. \u201cAbuse typically happens in a household or a family, but it has ripple effects on our community and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Hansen is a child abuse pediatrician with Texas Tech Physicians. She says the best way to shed light on the dark reality of abuse is by talking about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone saying something and speaking up about a concern is usually how those problems are brought to our attention,\u201d Dr. Hansen said.<\/p>\n
That same sentiment is echoed by Abby Reed, the executive director for Family Guidance and Outreach. She says a key part in speaking up about abuse is recognizing the signs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you start to see a sudden change in behavior in the child, if they suddenly withdraw or suddenly get aggressive, or start to fear going home \u2013 that can always be a sign,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n
Reed says other signs include bathroom regression and bed wetting, outbursts by parents and guardians that seem out of proportion, and hopelessness expressed by the child.<\/p>\n
If you suspect abuse, Reed says it\u2019s always better to report it than leave it alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think all parents would agree that they want their child protected at all costs, so always tell CPS,\u201d Reed said. \u201cYou would much rather call CPS and they investigate and determine everything is okay than see that sweet child on the news because they\u2019ve become a victim or statistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost all child abuse happens within the home, or with a caretaker or friend close to the child.<\/p>\n
Reed says sometimes it can happen when parents are underprepared and overwhelmed. That\u2019s part of the reason why Family Guidance and Outreach offers free parenting classes and other resources to anyone in need.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve sat in both places as an overwhelmed parent who didn\u2019t have resources, and also as a child who was a statistic,\u201d Reed said. \u201cI can say what ultimately would have prevented these numbers or me being a statistic would have been education, resources, and a community that\u2019s not afraid to recognize the signs of abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Dr. Hansen says, it takes a village to move away from reaction and closer to prevention.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea of being a champion for children is empowering people to step up and say something when they have concerns,\u201d Dr. Hansen said. \u201cAlso to offer support and education and things like that that can help move toward prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – This Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness month, Lubbock-area leaders are encouraging you to speak…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169],"class_list":["post-231274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}