As the recession deepens, more pressure will be placed on San Antonio families already struggling to get by, and that means more young children will be in danger of abuse and neglect.

But State Sen. Carlos Uresti and other advocates for children don't believe that Child Protective Services (CPS) and its parent agency, the Department of Family and Protective Services, have the resources they need to handle caseloads that are sure to grow.

"Caseloads are down, but I think it's the calm before the storm," Uresti said at a Capitol news conference last week.

"We must have the funding. We have to be prepared."

With less than two months left in the legislative session, those on the front lines of fighting child abuse and neglect are feeling a sense of urgency about pending legislation designed to keep kids safe.

Roberto San Martin, president of the Bexar County Medical Society, sees the need for prevention and early intervention programs almost every day.

It is not uncommon, he said, for four abused children to be in intensive care in a single week.

"I see kids with skull fractures, with broken bones, with cigarette burns," said San Martin.

"I look forward to the day I can come to the office and not see any more hurt kids."

Last week, Uresti, San Martin and other child advocates and physicians filled a small hearing room near the Senate floor to mark Child Abuse Awareness Month.

They also launched the Blue Ribbon Task Force Advocacy Day - an effort to take the case for child protection directly to legislators.

"We don't have high-paid lobbyists for children," Uresti told the group.

"These people are the lobbyists for children."

Uresti said the numbers tell a tragic story.

CPS posted 21,500 intakes alleging abuse or neglect in Bexar County last year, and almost 18,000 were assigned for investigation. Investigators confirmed 6,600 victims, and 947 children were removed from their homes.

Statewide, there were 240,000 reports of child abuse and neglect in 2007, most involving infants and pre-school children, and 223 children died that year.

The cost of child abuse to the judicial system, law enforcement and health system was almost $900 million.

After the news conference, group members fanned out to legislators' offices to generate support for a number of child protection bills.

Among them is Senate Bill 1050, sponsored by Uresti, which would reform the data collection process at CPS and require it to release more information on child fatalities caused by abuse.

He is also sponsoring Senate Bill 1052, creating a Bill of Rights for children in foster care.

On April 1, the Senate adopted a $182 billion budget that Uresti said did not fully address all the needs of CPS and DFPS.

But at the urging of Uresti and others, the Senate came back the next day and added $12 million for an important prevention program.

The funding will pay for more face-to-face caseworker visits, allowing the state to meet a federal standard that it has failed in the past.

DFPS can visit only 75 percent of the children in its system, while federal standards require 95 percent.

Child advocates say the budget bill falls short in other areas, including money for the Nursing-Family Partnership program, as well as the Children's Shelter in San Antonio and University Health Systems.

While the Legislature debated, members of Uresti's Blue Ribbon Task Force took the fight against child abuse directly to the South Side last week.

More than 50 volunteers gathered at the CentroMed Health and Wellness Center on Commercial Avenue to participate in the “Blue Walk for S.A. kids.”

They went door-to-door in, answering question and handing out information about the community resources available.