During the COVID-19 pandemic child abuse reports in Northwest Georgia dipped significantly, but experts say that is because many children were isolated from the people that they could report abuse to.  Now the child abuse reports are on the rise in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit.

The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit advocacy center, which covers Walker, Catoosa, Dade and Chattooga counties, has conducted 175 forensic interviews in 2021, compared to 107 in 2020 and 154 in 2019 in the same time frame. By the end of the year, it is projected to conduct 350, the highest number ever.

If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call Georgia’s child abuse hotline at 1-855-GA-CHILD or 1-855-422-4453.