Spot It Stop It: Helping Texas' most vulnerable children

The Travis County Center for Child Protection hopes to help stop the cycle of child abuse and neglect with a new statewide campaign "Spot It Stop It".

Michael Torres, Executive Director of Center for Child Protection says, "research tells us that only 38% of child sexual assault victims reported the crime." Torres goes on to say "we wanted to challenge people's perception of what child abuse really is and where it occurs"

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, The Child Advocacy Center's Executive Director Michael Torres and DFPS Commissioner John Specia were all on hand Tuesday rallying the public to listen.

Judge John Specia, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Commissioner says, "child abuse and neglect is a public health problem, it is a community problem"

DFPS is also looking into the way abuse reports are sorted through. Nine reports on Colton Turner passed through the Child Abuse Hotline and on to local police departments including APD.

"we're have a third party, an advocacy center, looking at all of the various reports, at all the various law enforcement and coordinating the activities of CPS and law enforcement together" according to the DFPS Commissioner.

Meagan Webb with the Center for Child Protection says, "I'm reviewing the reports which are usually about between 50-60 a day, sometimes upwards of 80."

Webb goes on to say, "this is a fresh pair of eyes from the non-profit social services perspective of really identifying kids and families that need our help."

For more information please visit SpotitStopit.org.