By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Blue and silver ribbons dot the lawn of a Springfield hospital to commemorate Child Abuse Prevention Month.

But what’s the difference between a truly evil person and, say, a parent who is occasionally overwhelmed and loses their composure?

“That’s what prevention looks like,” said Tarra (cq) Winters at Tuesday’s kickoff. “How can we see ourselves in prevention, because a lot of people are preventing child abuse and neglect and probably don’t know that they are. Simple things like reaching out to a parent who is stressed and just offering to give them a break. Making sure that parents have resources and they have those resources when they need them.”

While the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has been, historically, a chronically troubled and understaffed agency, Winters says groups such as hers work closely with them to try to get results.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].