BOISE, Idaho -- It's Child Abuse Prevention Month and this year the awareness campaign comes in the wake of a hard year with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Idaho saw a drastic uptick in abuse deaths during the pandemic: five in the past year. Before that, there had been no reported abuse deaths since 2017.

Molly Kaczmarek, practice manager for St. Luke's Children at Risk Evaluation Services clinic, said financial hardship and social isolation have played a role in increased trauma.

"We really are just worried about families and families needing to know that there's help out there," Kaczmarek explained. "There's been some resources created and information sent out, and April as Child Abuse Prevention Month is just one more opportunity that we have to raise awareness."

To show support for prevention month, Idahoans are wearing blue. Because of the pandemic, most events have gone virtual under the hashtag "Go blue for Idaho kids."

But Kaczmarek noted businesses have lit up blue and advocates have painted pinwheels and planted pinwheel gardens.

Earlier in April, Gov. Brad Little marked prevention month with a proclamation. Kaczmarek contended it's important to think about prevention beyond this month.

"It is such a great opportunity to raise awareness about child abuse and educate people about ways that they can prevent it, but it's really a topic and a conversation that needs to be happening all the time, not just in April," Kaczmarek asserted.

Kaczmarek added it's up to adults to take care of and protect children. With an end to the pandemic on the horizon, there are hopes that greater community connections will help stop the epidemic of abuse cases Idaho has seen over the past year.

Children in Missouri are facing unprecedented levels of anxiety and depression - that's according to the 2022 Kids Count Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The report finds mental health is a concern across the country, as kids felt the pressures from COVID-19. Nationally, nearly 12% of children had anxiety or depression, while in Missouri it was about 11%.

Tracy Greever-Rice is with Missouri Family and Community Trust, part of the Kids Count network. She said it's crucial that kids have access to mental-health care.

"In metropolitan areas we have clusters of mental and behavioral health professionals," said Greever-Rice. "But in more rural areas access becomes more of a challenge and becomes impacted by non-clinical things like transportation."

She added that affordable health-coverage options, either through private insurance or Medicaid, also is key to ensuring access to care. About 6% of Missouri kids lack health insurance, according to the report.

Missouri showed improvement in all of the report's economic indicators, including a lower child poverty rate than the national average.

Leslie Boissiere - vice president for external affairs with the Casey Foundation - said the federal government has offered supports, such as additional food assistance during the pandemic, but notes that help is likely to expire soon.

"It's incredibly important that decisionmakers seize the opportunity and the lessons learned during the COVID-19 period," said Boissiere, "when more resources were provided to families. So that we can make sure that every child has their basic needs met and that the overall well-being of children increases."

Sore spots for Missouri in the Kids Count data include fourth-grade reading proficiency and eighth-grade math proficiency, as well as the percentage of low-birth weight babies, and youths who are overweight or obese.

Greever-Rice said these are areas where good short-term and long-term policies can make a big difference in kids' lives as they mature into adulthood.

"Attentiveness to these issues will make a big difference and prevention is not just good for individuals," said Greever-Rice, "but also more efficient and a less expensive of a way to do public policy. "

Missouri ranks 27th overall for child well-being.

Despite numerous challenges, eastern Kentucky schools and advocacy groups are working to make the upcoming school year as normal as possible and get kids back into the classroom.

Alissa Taylor, Kentucky state director for Save the Children, said school districts in the region have delayed the start of the academic year, and are working to approve a new start date. She explained schools are the focal point of many counties in eastern Kentucky, and with some buildings destroyed, community hubs have disappeared, too.

She pointed out her staff is working to ensure teachers have supplies.

"And not only the structural rebuilds of schools and classrooms," Taylor stressed. "But all of the materials that have accumulated over the years and teachers have poured their hard-earned money into to make a fun and engaging environment for kids."

The flooding has killed at least 37 people. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are expected to visit communities in the region today, along with Gov. Andy Beshear.

Greta Wetzel, team leader of the Eastern Kentucky flood response for Save the Children, noted disasters can erode children's sense of security, and negatively affect their behavioral health and ability to learn.

"We know that this is going to have an emotional impact on children," Wetzel emphasized. "We want to ensure that we are there to help support them. With all of their mental-health needs, as they are rebuilding and returning to learning."

Taylor added given the lack of basic infrastructure in some regions, local school districts will coordinate to place children in nearby schools.

"The water infrastructure and power grid, those are going to take a very long time to repair," Taylor acknowledged. "We're looking at families going months possibly without a water source at their home, roads being rebuilt, it's just going to take a very long time to get these communities back on track. "

Save the Children has set up the Eastern Kentucky Flood Crisis Fund for donations to help deliver water, hygiene kits, diapers and other essential supplies to residents.

Children's advocacy groups are sounding the alarm about the well-being of Ohio's kids.

The 2022 Kids Count Data Book released today highlights some troubling trends in how Ohio children are faring in their lives, including a 45% increase in chronic absenteeism between 2019 and 2021. And nationally, more than one-in-nine children experienced anxiety, depression or both.

Research Manager with the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio Kim Eckhart said absenteeism and mental health challenges are interconnected.

"If a young person is having symptoms of anxiety and depression, it's much more difficult for them to participate in academic activities," said Eckhart. "And other basic needs really have to be met in order for children to succeed. That's very clear when we see chronic absenteeism so high."

The report ranks Ohio 28th for education, with an increase in three- and four-year-old children not in preschool, and nearly one-in-five high schoolers not graduating on time.

However, Ohio showed improvement in all four economic indicators, including a slight drop in the number of kids living in poverty and those whose parents lack secure employment.

Leslie Boissiere - vice president for external affairs with the Casey Foundation - explained that kids who grow up in poverty or without having their basic needs met experience more stress.

"There's a direct correlation between trauma and stress and poverty," said Boissiere. "We know that the financial hardships that families experience - lack of access to basic needs, like nutrition and health care - has a direct impact on the well-being of kids."

Eckhart said the findings underscore the crucial need to expand access to mental health services for children. She explained that Ohio still has nearly $2 billion in unallocated federal COVID relief funds, and the state's revenue surplus is about 11% higher than initial estimates.

"There's money and resources available at the state level to provide things like school-based health centers," said Eckhart, "where you can have the types of student-to-counselor ratios needed so that all children have access to those types of services."

The report ranks Ohio 31st overall among states for child well-being.