Counter Pedophilia Investigate Unit

A record-high number of child abuse reports in Arizona has led the state’s child welfare agency to turn to a special investigative team to help with case management, officials said Wednesday.

Recent data showed Child Protective Services responded last year to more than 140,000 calls to its hotline — up from 131,000 in the 2009-2010 fiscal year, said the director of the Department of Economic Security, which oversees CPS. (more…)

Honestly, it’s hard to say that at least once a week you don’t see something on the national news or even local news about the wild widespread obesity in America and how it is becoming an increasing problem.

Just last week, I was in the car listening to the radio and they had a call-in question of the day: “Is a child’s obesity able to be held as child abuse in the court system?” Hmmm… That was a tough one — not many people would think of it as child abuse, but it sure does make sense. (more…)

MESA, Ariz. – A disturbing case of child abuse occurs in Mesa. It’s a Fox 10 exclusive. A routine welfare check landed a valley couple in jail — after police saw what appeared to be signs of child abuse.

A woman and her live-in boyfriend are arrested after her 3-year-old boy suffered burns — bruises — and broken bones. Police knocked on the couple’s door and found bruises all over the boy’s arms, legs, back, chest and face. (more…)

It’s a safe bet that most Ohioans are against child abuse and in favor of prevention.

But for extra emphasis, thousands of people — from Gov. John Kasich to foster parents to local news anchors — are expected to take part today in a new statewide “Wear Blue to Work” campaign that aims to promote awareness of the problem.

The idea is among the latest in a veritable rainbow of colors for causes, so even the most-sympathetic of supporters could be excused for losing track of all the ribbons, hues and issues. (more…)

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Although allegations of child sex abuse by U.S. priests and deacons continue to surface, the vast majority involve actions taken decades ago by clergy who have since died or been removed from ministry, according to a new report.

The 2011 survey of abuse-related allegations and costs conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington was released April 10 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. (more…)

HONOLULU- An eye-catching display at the State Capitol aimed to draw attention to the problem of child abuse in Hawaii.

Thousands of shiny pinwheels spinning in the wind reminded some of their carefree and fun days as a kid.

But each of the pinwheels placed on the Capitol grounds also represented the harm that has come to Hawaii’s children.

“We have 5,000 cases of child abuse a year,” said Aileen Deese, with Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii. (more…)

April is National Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month and a time to remember that we all have a role in promoting the social and emotional well-being of children and their families in our community.

North Carolina has a mandatory reporting legislation, indicating that anyone who knows or suspects any type of child abuse should immediately make a report to local law enforcement or department of social services. (more…)

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – An improving economy may be to thank for a reduction in child abuse last year, according to the Department of Human Services.

“We’re real confident that’s one of the major factors,” said DHS spokesman Roger Munns. Economic conditions are a leading cause of family stress, which can lead to abuse or neglect. (more…)

Turning the tables on an advocacy group that has long supported victims of pedophile priests, lawyers for the Roman Catholic Church and priests accused of sexual abuse in two Missouri cases have gone to court to compel the group to disclose more than two decades of emails that could include correspondence with victims, lawyers, whistle-blowers, witnesses, the police, prosecutors and journalists.

The group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, known as SNAP, is neither a plaintiff nor a defendant in the litigation. (more…)

Authorities from Italy to the United States arrested 10 people Thursday for allegedly capturing, viewing and disseminating images through an expansive international online pedophile network.

In addition to those 10 taken into custody in Italy, the United States, France and Portugal, 112 have been reported to law enforcement in those and other countries for “association with crime organizations (that were) producing and distributing pedophile material,” the prosecutor’s office in Florence, Italy, said in a news release. (more…)