NORMAN — April is Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month, but I wish we didn’t have “awareness months.” An “awareness month” suggests that an issue deserves our attention just one month per year. How sad, when most things that really matter to us get our “awareness” every day… our children, our spouses, our jobs, etc. Awareness months are also out of control. Consider National Clown College Month, National Wear Brown Shoes Month and don’t forget about National Don’t Eat Cheese After Noon Month. At the risk of offending aspiring, brown-shoe wearing, lactose intolerant clowns, I’d like to propose an alternative way.

Let’s resolve to pick the issue(s) that matters to us and be both aware of that issue and active on that issue, throughout the year. I hope I can convince you to make one of your issues the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

You might be surprised to learn that Cleveland County ranks third among Oklahoma counties in the number of confirmed cases of abuse and neglect — a statistic that does not help us in our quest to be one of the “best places to live, work and raise a family.” For the hundreds of children who are abused or neglected in the community each year, that ideal is far from their reality.

Without intensive therapeutic intervention, children who experience physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect are more likely to suffer from anxiety and mood disorders, behavioral health problems and to repeat patterns of abuse and neglect when they become parents. Tragically, some children do not survive the abuse at all.

But, preventing and treating abuse and neglect is not just the right thing to do, it also is the smart thing to do. Child abuse and neglect is a community issue — a public health issue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente, in one of the largest studies of its kind, documented the relationship between abuse, neglect, and other traumas in childhood (e.g., domestic violence and substance abuse in the home, incarceration of a parent, etc.) and health conditions later in life, such as heart disease, lung and liver disease, cancer, obesity, alcoholism and depression.

Abuse and neglect also impact a child’s ability to learn. International business leaders like Warren Buffett and Oklahoma’s own George Kaiser are putting millions — if not billions — into efforts to ensure that babies and young children have healthy starts and nurturing environments. These and other business leaders are approaching the issue with the same passion and savvy that propelled them to economic success. They make decisions based on evidence and the return on investment. In this case, the evidence is clear that quality programs that support healthy learning and nurturing environments for vulnerable children produce real results. For every $1 invested in those programs there is a $7 to $8 return. The paradigm has shifted. It is no longer just about helping those children; it is also about doing what is in our best interest.

Yet, the problem is growing and the leaders are too few and far between. The downturn in the economy has exacerbated problems for families and children. In 2009, Medicaid paid for 60 percent of all births in Oklahoma, 42 percent of all births were to single parents, and one out of every four children in Oklahoma were born into poverty. The State of Oklahoma’s investments in early childhood, mental health services, domestic violence and abuse prevention are evaporating at the same time the problems are increasing. It is a perfect storm.

This is where you come in. Norman’s children need you and they need you today. They need you to volunteer to mentor them, tutor them and spend time with them. Norman’s children need you to watch out for them, to speak to legislators and city leaders about them, and to invest your talents and resources in programs that serve them. There are many organizations in Norman committed to protecting and nurturing children. Now that you are aware, please take action not just this month but throughout the year.

For more information on how you can be involved in preventing child abuse and neglect, call Center for Children and Families Inc. www.ccfinorman.org or call 364-1420.

Katie Fitzgerald is the executive director of the Center for Children and Families Inc.