Dixon Family Services Case Manager, Sonia Santillan (left) and Pantry Manager, Marisol Jimenez (right). Photo courtesy of Dixon Family Services

DIXON, CA (MPG) – Dixon Family Services (DFS) has a banner in front of its building during the month of April to remind people that April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and that there are things we can all do to reduce and prevent child abuse and neglect. 

Child abuse, in its many forms, happens every day and has major impacts on the future of those victimized. Solano County percentages are higher than California averages.

Studies show that there is a direct link between child abuse and a greater risk later in life of depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, smoking, eating disorders, obesity, sexual promiscuity, certain chronic diseases and suicide.

Dixon Family Services (DFS) does all it can to help ensure the safety and well-being of Dixon’s children all year long. As a Family Resource Center, it is a priority goal to reduce the incidences of child abuse and neglect in homes and in the community at large by enlightening and informing people of the signs to watch out for, reporting suspected abuse and steps to take to create an environment that can reduce the possibilities for abuse or neglect of children. 

Though Dixon Family Services’ main focus is to assist households living at or below the poverty line, child abuse knows no boundaries and is found in families of all socio-economic backgrounds and cuts across lines of ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic and education.

In 2025, Solano County Child Welfare Services investigated 172 child maltreatment allegations in Dixon. This was an increase over 165 in 2024.

Several factors can create increased risk of child abuse, including lack of parenting skills, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, mental illness, poverty and substandard housing conditions, domestic violence, and a parent's history of child abuse. These same risk factors can be barriers to abusers’ acknowledgement of the problem and ability to seek programs or services intended to stop the abuse, such as parenting classes, counseling, peer support or other approaches.

As a community, we have a responsibility to nurture and protect our children, as well as other people’s children, to ensure they can become healthy and productive adults.

Do not hesitate to report what you think might be abusive behavior to local police or county child protective services. Let professionals determine if your concerns are worth investigating.

For more information about child abuse, ways to help prevent it, and how to report it, visit dixonfamilyservices.org, the Children’s Network website childnet.org, the Partners in Prevention website partnersinprevention.org, or call Solano Child Welfare Services at 800-544-8696 or your local police department to report.