All Kentuckians are mandated reporters. If you believe a child is being abused or neglected, call the Child Protection Hotline.
For contact information in other states, please visit our Report It page.
Child help: National Abuse Hotline:
1-800-4-CHILD
or 1-800-422-4453
This gives educators many opportunities to help strengthen families, identify behavioral changes, or spot concerning interactions between children and their peers or parents. It also provides opportunities to build relationships with families, make connections with community resources, and discover ways to create a community that values education and safe homes for kids.
-Check out this list of tips for educators around recognizing signs and knowing the risks of child abuse and neglect.
-Review the Kentucky Department of Education’s web resources for child abuse and neglect prevention training for school personnel.
-Learn more about how about to engage schools, parents and communities from the National Education Association.
-Implement an evidence-informed child abuse prevention and intervention curriculum in your school, like Childhelp’s Speak Up Be Safe.
-Help your district’s Family Resource or Youth Services Center host an event geared towards building relationships between the school and the community.
-Get involved with or start a local parent-teacher or parent-teacher-student organization to help facilitate educator and community conversations.
-Get out into your community and participate in local events hosted by organizations who provide services you support. This allows you to get to know your community members and build relationships with your neighbors.
-Volunteer with a Face It partner.
-Interested in advocating for change in state laws or regulations? Check out the Face It policy agenda.
Developed by the Kosair for Kids Face It Movement, this course provides information free of charge from local experts around recognizing child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and neglect, reporting suspected child abuse and neglect in Kentucky, and the appropriate documentation, how to respond to the child, and understanding the response of child protective services with information provided by the Department for Community Based Services. There are different videos for educators who are in elementary schools, middle and high schools, or those who work in more general educational settings.
Look for any bruising on a baby who is not yet pulling up and taking steps; bruising to the ears, neck, torso, buttocks, or genitals of any child under four years; unexplained injuries on children of any age.
Look for an increase in nightmares and/or other sleeping difficulties, withdrawn behavior, angry outbursts, anxiety, and not wanting to be alone with a particular individual(s).
Children are afraid to tell about their abuse because they feel ashamed, don’t want the abuser to hurt them, don’t want to cause stress for their caregivers, or don’t want their abuser to go to jail.
