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Published on: 4/14/2003
Last Visited: 4/14/2003
More than 1,980 cases of suspected child abuse and neglect were reported to the social services agency in fiscal 2002 - an increase of about 8 percent from the year before, said Melissa Cline, program manager for Child Protective Services.
The reports included 921 cases of suspected neglect, 370 cases of suspected physical abuse and 219 cases of suspected sexual abuse, Cline said.
Child protective services workers completed 1,505 child abuse and neglect investigations last year, finding evidence of abuse and/or neglect in 360 of those cases, Cline said.
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"Child abuse is certainly a significant problem in the community that we need to address," Cline said.
Problem worsens
And it seems to be getting worse.
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Cline and Springer credit the increasing number of child abuse and neglect reports in Washington County to a number of factors, including:
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Most reports come from county schools, but an increasing number of medical professionals and private citizens are also reporting suspected child abuse and neglect, Cline said.More child abuse and neglect has been reported in the Hancock area since the Department of Social Services stationed a caseworker there, Cline said.
The increase in child abuse and neglect reports might also be linked to a rise in the number of local domestic violence cases, she said.
"Domestic violence impacts children.Frequently, when there is domestic violence there is also child abuse and animal abuse," Cline said.
Children were present in 429 of the 1,038 domestic violence incidents to which police responded in 2002, according to the Washington County Family Violence Council.State, county and city police responded to 963 domestic violence calls - 418 with children present - in 2001.
An increasing number of children are trying to protect their battered parents, Cline said.
Teen pregnancy
Washington County Health Officer William Christoffel points to the county's high teen pregnancy rate as a major factor in the number of local child abuse, and especially neglect, cases.Young people often don't have an understanding of how to be a parent, which can lead to unintended abuse, he said.
About one out of every 10 of the county's 18- and 19-year-old females are giving birth, and about half of those young women have been pregnant before, Christoffel said.
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