VALDOSTA – This morning Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan helped place pinwheels on the front lawn of city hall as part of the kick-off event for Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Each pinwheel represents one of the 1,954 child abuse reports in Lowndes County in 2018.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month, also known as Child Abuse Prevention Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States dedicated to raising awareness and preventing child abuse. April has been designated Child Abuse Prevention Month in the United States since 1983.