Hickory, N.C. -- New numbers from the federal government show a spike in children dying from physical abuse and neglect.
According to UNC-Chapel Hill, counties in North Carolina investigated more than 127,000 reports of abuse and neglect between July 2016 and June 2017.
Mecklenburg, Union and Catawba counties are among the locations in the state that had a drop in the number of reports.
But at an event in Hickory commemorating April as Child Abuse Awareness Month, school social worker Dee Dee Baker said the problem is persisting, as evident by the number of children who died in the county from abuse.
"Life gets busy in the day to day," Baker said. "To take time to slow down and remember, I think, is very important for our community."
At the Hickory event, people planted 2,000 blue pinwheels, a widely-used symbol calling for abuse prevention.
The garden is one of several sprouting up throughout the Charlotte region during the month of April.
For tips on child abuse awareness, click here.