Posted on 04/15/2002 5:19:26 AM PDT by SBeck
Perilous childhood when innocence is betrayed
COMMUNITY VOICES
By PATRICIA THIGPEN
Duct tape binds a child's body like frayed wire. An infant smothered in a fit of rage. Two kids flung out a second story window to see if they can fly. Young siblings left alone in a cold, dark apartment without food or warm clothing. A child burned beyond recognition as a disciplinary measure. An eight year old fighting back and pitched against the wall like a fastball.
These are our Children and this is Abuse.
Two powerful words linked together unnaturally. For almost two decades, our civilized nation has designated April as a time not to celebrate the laughter of children, but to fight the escalating assaults against them.
The fact than any adult could physically or psychologically harm, neglect or abandon a child is inconceivable and unconscionable to the majority of us raised in safe, secure, stable and loving families. But the headlines that horrify us are reality to over 130,000 confirmed victims of child abuse that were identified in Florida last year. That's almost 66 percent of the 200,000 calls that the Florida Child Abuse Hotline accepted and referred to the state Department of Children & Families to investigate. That's just the minimum number of children whose lives were shattered at the hands of someone they trusted and loved notably a parent who either committed the act or, for whatever reason, failed to protect them.
The National Center of Child Abuse and Neglect estimates the actual abuse incidences are three times what's reported. In that light, life indeed is perilous for Florida's 3.5 million children under the age of 18.
Let's put this in perspective, if you think these statistics don't hit home. The District 12 Department of Children & Families, serving our two counties, receives the second highest number of calls from the Florida Abuse Hotline in the state, surpassed only by smaller Hardee, Highlands and Polk counties. In the last eight months, our district investigated over 5,000 calls from the Hotline. That averages 5.51 new abuse reports per 1,000 children per month in our communities.
I can't pinpoint why the incidence is this high. Speculation won't break the cycle of violence or help our community's kids and families at risk. The grassroots, community-based efforts of our local children's coalition can. The Family Preservation & Support Coalition of Volusia and Flagler Counties, a District 12 DCF sponsored group, targets the real world of being parents. They joined forces with the Family Source of Florida and Jiloty Communications to create the "Hot Buttons" campaign that acknowledges everyone has them and kids just know which ones can push us over the edge. "Hot Buttons: When Kids Push Yours, Push These: 1-800-FLA-LOVE" notes that kids don't come with manuals; it's OK for parents to ask for help, advice or just a sympathetic ear; and connects parents with a system of resources and support that's confidential, non-judgmental and not linked to DCF.
Human contact is at the core of another coalition effort, old in concept, perhaps long forgotten but key to successful prevention efforts. It's The Front Porch Project (developed by the American Humane Association.) Remember front porches, or stoops for us city kids, when neighbors really knew neighbors, looked after each other, lent a hand, solved problems, brought home cooked meals to sick friends or working families, or just stepped in when they saw some of us "misbehave?" Back then, parents didn't object and often were grateful. What happened? Why are we more comfortable "chatting on-line" than with our neighbors? Somewhere between being "nosy" and protecting our privacy, we lost the human touch.
Prevention and awareness is all about human connections. Who hasn't cringed watching parents wrestle with bulging shopping carts and unruly kids? How often have we seen an unsupervised child playing in the street? Who hasn't seen a child or family in need but debated how, or if, they should get involved? Will it make matters worse? Who hasn't looked away, closed a curtain or said: "it's not my child or problem?" Our local Front Porch project slowly is recreating that human connection. Ordinary residents you and me are being trained in ways to offer parents help, diffuse tense situations that could become abusive, all without creating bigger problems.
The seeds of child abuse are mired in so many thick, deep- rooted issues. But prevention isn't just about calling the Hotline if we suspect abuse, neglect or a child's at risk. We must call. It's the law. Yes, stakeholders in the child welfare system lead prevention efforts. But we all are stakeholders. All of us lose when families are broken, children hurt and placed into the system. The long-term cost of caring for these victims can be measured in youth violence, drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, emotional and physical pain, mental illness and other chronic illnesses. Child abuse bites into every American's wallet at a rate of $1,461.66 per family. In Florida, that's roughly $8.8 billion dollars a year in direct and indirect costs.
If you question whether you could make a difference, look at the recent local child abuse case in Deltona. Yes, DCF stepped in and saved the lives of the three toddlers, ages 1,2 and 4, but our investigator wouldn't have been there without that anonymous call to the hotline. Think what could have been prevented if only neighbors had walked across the street to offer help?
Most parents love their kids; they try hard, often eliminating the causes that generate those Hotline calls or our continued supervision. But when the courts do place children in our custody, our local DCF efforts are outstanding in providing good, stable placements for them while we work with their families and other agencies to reunite them. When reunification can't be achieved and the court orders parental rights terminated, we set the state standard for placing children in adoptive homes and then finalizing adoptions.
In the best of all possible worlds, I shouldn't be writing this. America shouldn't need child protection laws or a special month to remember children harmed by people supposed to love and protect them. Instead, we should celebrate the future seen in the sparkling eyes of our children and the inquisitive nature of these inexplicable creatures that both tests our patience and melts our hearts at every stage of their life. We instinctively should know that in some way, every child is our responsibility.
Our community has serious problems that words, technology, government or money can't solve alone. But we are making remarkable strides thanks to the unselfish efforts of our child protective investigators, dedicated staff, foster and adoptive parents and countless unsung heroes who respond to our local pleas and help us repair the tattered lives and wounded souls of our children and their families. This is the human spirit that gives me hope.
Thigpen is public affairs officer for the local district of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
CPS thugs rooting for more adoption bounties. The State of Florida has a notoriously abusive CPS regime. Horror stories abound.
Every liberal is a thug.
CPS thugs rooting for more adoption bounties. The State of Florida has a notoriously abusive CPS regime. Horror stories abound.
Could it be that twice as many incidences of abuse are committed by CPS (thus unreported) than are reported to it?
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