Child Abuse Prevention Month Will Honor Activists and Groups

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and while every month should be called that, it is a good time to pause and focus on this problem that won’t go away.

The statistics continue to be horrifying. Last year, there were 22,667 cases of sexual, physical or emotional abuse reported to Orange County authorities, up from 18,844 the year before.

And that’s not counting the thousands of cases that go unreported, either because friends and neighbors are ignorant of them or prefer to look the other way.

One thing we can be grateful for is the number of dedicated people and organizations working to remedy and eventually eradicate the problem.

To honor them is one reason for National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Next Tuesday, the Child Abuse Council of Orange County will be doing just that at its annual recognition dinner.

The affair will be at the Irvine Hilton and Towers with football great Merlin Olsen as master of ceremonies. The cost is $30 a person, and the fact that it’s tax time should provide a gentle nudge to buy a couple of tickets because they are fully deductible, which means next year at this time, you will have a write-off.

Among the individuals to be honored at the dinner is Rick Levy, a fifth-grader at Santiago Elementary School in Santa Ana, whose poster took first place in a contest sponsored by the Child Abuse Council.

Others include:

* Denise Sofka, prevention coordinator for the Developmental Disabilities Center in Orange, who will receive the state Department of Social Services Certificate of Recommendation.

* Gene Howard, director of children’s services for the Social Services Agency of Orange Council, who will be presented with the council’s Special Services Award.

* Deborah Stewart, M.D., of the UCI Medical Center Department of Pediatrics, who will be honored with the Child Advocate of the Year award.

* The Junior League of Orange County, for its Child Advocate Newsletter.

* The Bergen Brunswig Corp. of Orange, which will receive the council’s first-ever award to a business that has done the most to promote family-support systems for its employees.

Members of the County Board of Supervisors will present the awards. Entertainment will be provided by the Allard Singers of the Maurice Allard Academy of Newport Beach.

For tickets or more information, call Nancy Dickerson at (714) 634-3848.

Other events scheduled for the month include a special night at Anaheim Stadium on April 10, a conference for professionals on April 5 and a forum for the public on April 19.

The Anaheim Stadium affair will honor Rick Levy and two poster contest runners-up--Jill Hultgren and Felicia Dibernardo--in ceremonies at home plate before the Angels-Seattle Mariners game. For ticket information, call Carole Neustadt at (714) 568-4322.

The meeting for professionals is called the Families First Conference and is scheduled at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. Topics include ritual abuse, elder abuse, AIDS, drug babies and gang violence, among others. For information, call Sylvia Wall at (714) 937-2200.

Orange Coast College is the host of the public forum, which will meet during the afternoon and evening. There is no charge. Call Cathie Alderson at (714) 775-2300 or Barbara Oliver at (714) 897-2295 for further information.

All month long, businesses, schools and libraries will be displaying the winning poster and distributing a newsletter called “Positive Parenting.” Both are available on request by calling (714) 634-3848.

Probably the best all-around information source for parents available today is the Orange County Children’s Directory published each year by Riviera Publications of Capistrano Beach. The directory runs a little over 100 pages and offers a comprehensive listing of everything from health-care facilities to baby-sitting tips to educational facilities. Whether you’re interested in dance classes or a place to turn to in crisis, you’ll find a phone number and address.

The directory is available for $4.95 from Riviera Publications at P.O. Box 2894, Capistrano Beach, Calif. 92624. The phone number is (714) 496-2068.