Milwaukee City Wire

With April being Child Abuse Prevention Month, advocates for victims of abuse are alerting Wisconsin residents about the warning signs they need to be on the lookout for.

"One in seven children experience abuse and neglect," Court Appointed Special Advocates of the Fox Cities executive director Dawn Gohlke told TMJ4.com. "In the state of Wisconsin, that means about four to five thousand children throughout the entire state all year-round.”

Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin director of early childhood programs Melissa Blom pointed to unexplained injuries as one of the early telltale signs of child abuse.  

"The things that we look for when we’re doing home visiting with young first-time parents with little ones are bruising in different spots," Blom added. "If it looks suspicious and if you ask a child and the explanation doesn't match the injury, you want to try to reach out and report."

In addition to sudden changes in a child’s behavior, Blom added a child appearing to be excessively hungry at school and wearing dirty clothing can also be signs of neglect.

Blom also noted behavioral signs of abuse: 

"When children cower or when they’re next to someone and the person reaches out to them and they cower and are fearful of adults."

As one of the vice presidents for Family Services and a veteran of the industry, Angela Steuck adds that warning signs can look different depending on a child’s age. In teenagers, signs of abuse may include periods of isolation.

“It could be running away, it could be staying in their room for extended periods of time, anything that tends to be different," she said.

If you recognize any of these warning signs in a child, advocates say it's a good idea to check in with them.

“What we can do as neighbors, as citizens, as people living in a community is reach out, ask ‘are you okay?’" Blom said. "Ask children, ‘How are you doing?’”

Cases of child abuse or neglect can be reported to your county's Department of Health and Human Services or by calling Child Protective Services.