Statewide campaign encourages reporting child abuse, neglect

The majority of people who report suspected child abuse and neglect are mandated by the state to do so, but a new statewide campaign aims to get more people to call.

The Colorado Department of Health and Human Services launched a campaign this month featuring TV ads and billboards to raise awareness about reporting child abuse.

Karen Pietrolungo, whose daughter died of suspected child abuse on Aug. 27, hopes the campaign prevents other kids from falling victim.

Pietrolungo’s 2-year-old daughter, Chassie, died from injuries she sustained after falling down a flight of stairs while under the care of foster parents Sarah and Paul Finn. Police also suspect that child abuse contributed to her injuries.

“She had bruises to her eyes, her face, her nose. And her back and buttocks. And she had a head injury. And she was in a coma,” Pietrolungo said.

Coloradans are encouraged to call a toll-free hotline number at 1-844-CO-4-KIDS to report abuse. The call is routed to the county where the child lives. Once the county receives the call, a team of three to eight case workers meet to decide how they should respond to the call, said Lee Hodge, child welfare program administrator for the Pueblo County Department of Social Services.

According to the state, 72 percent of the reports of suspected child abuse and neglect were made by mandatory reporters, such as physicians and firefighters, between 2013-2014. Family members account for 16 percent of the calls and the general public consisted of 12 percent of the calls.

State statistics provided by the state Department of Health and Human Services indicate the most common reason for not reporting child abuse and neglect is because people said they didn’t know enough about the situation. But Hodge encourages people to call social services and let them decide.

“It’s entirely possible that there are kids that are out there that are being harmed or being left alone and not able to care for themselves that we’re not able to assess and we’re not able to reach out to those families and help those families,” Hodge said.

Pietrolungo hopes people make the call — in honor of her little girl.

Sarah and Paul Finn are due back in court later this month.