York County leaders and advocates gathered April 8 at the York County Emergency Services Center to raise awareness of the ongoing fight against child abuse and neglect by planting 260 flags in front of the center’s sign.

Elected officials, along with police and fire personnel, filed out of the Springettsbury Township center in a somber line after a short press conference noting the 260 lives impacted by child abuse in York County in 2024, the most recent year statistics are available.

“Behind that number are 260 faces of innocent kids who we fail as society to protect. Tragically, two of those young victims died as a result of the abuse or neglect they experienced,” York County President Commissioner Julie Wheeler said before planting a black flag for one of the children who died.

“In a glimmer of hope, that’s 10 fewer than the previous year, Wheeler added.

Participants each took fluttering blue flags and pushed them into the grass, ending with Wheeler and Angela Liddle, president and CEO of the Pa Family Support Alliance, pressing the final two black flags into the ground. The ceremony concluded with a moment of silence.

In recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month throughout April, the Pa Family Support Alliance (PFSA) and the County of York hosted their second annual flag-planting ceremony.

“Every flag we plant is a reminder that there is still so much work to be done to protect the children in our communities,” Liddle said.

To help

If you suspect abuse, call ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313.

From York Daily Record, April 8, 2026