April is Child Abuse Prevention month, and local agencies are reminding people to be aware of signs of abuse or neglect.
Mallory Bollinger, with Lutheran Social Services, says some signs to look out for are unexplained injuries, children being secretive, or making disclosures then taking them back. She said a hotline report is just the start of a process, and nobody should be afraid to call.
"Anything that is called into is investigated later. It's like, you're not the person who makes the final decision, you're not the person that is responsible for this child being in care or not. There is someone who is trained to investigate who will come in and follow up on that report," she said.
The child abuse hotline can be reached at 1-800-25-ABUSE. Reports can be made anonymously, though Bollinger said it can be helpful for people to leave their contact information for investigators.
She said there is also a shortage of foster homes in Illinois, and people interested in becoming foster families are a huge need.