April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the city of Luverne and the Department of Human Resources are working to promote awareness.

One of the symbols of the month is the blue ribbon campaign, which was started in 1989 in Virginia.

During April, blue ribbons will be on display around the hospital, DHR and Health Department, and that area will also be site for a tree-planting ceremony.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony on April 4 at 2 p.m. at the Department of Human Resources on Hospital Drive.

During the event, Mayor Joe Rex Sport will be formally presenting a proclamation to DHR and District Attorney John Andrews will be presenting the department with new recording equipment, which will be used in child abuse investigations.

Sport and the city council adopted the resolution at Monday night’s council meeting.
The resolution proclaims April 2011 as Child Abuse Prevention Month and calls upon “all citizens, community agencies, faith groups, medical facilities and businesses to increase their participation in our efforts to support families, thereby preventing child abuse and strengthening the communities in which we live.”

For more information, contact the DHR at 335-7000.