To The Daily: For six days, a nation watched as a 5-year-old was held captive in a bunker in south Alabama. Closer to home, in our community, we were shocked at the senseless death of an 8-month-old infant. The papers reported that the mother's boyfriend became frustrated when the child cried and kicked it off the bed.

Sadly, nearly five children die every day as a result of abuse and neglect. In 2010, 13 Alabama children died from abuse. Those of us working directly in child abuse prevention continue to ask, "What can we do? How can we prevent such senseless acts of violence against our children?" Unfortunately, as long as there are people on Earth, our children always will be at risk of harm. But there is much we can do to help. We must all be involved in protecting our most precious resource: our children. There are people who are willing to be involved. We know this because a report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.

If you know of a child who is at risk of being harmed, call 911 or our local Department of Human Resources at 256-340-5840. To learn more about programs offered in our community to prevent child abuse and neglect, contact Parents and Children Together at 256-355-7252.

By working together, we can provide a bright and safe future for all our children.

Susan Roberts

Executive Director

Parents and Children Together

Decatur