Child abuse remains high in Adair County
Tawanda Kanhema
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News
Adair County has one of the highest rates of child abuse and neglect out of 114 counties in Missouri, according to a recent report released by Citizens for Missouri's Children, a non-governmental advocacy organization that acts as a watchdog for the rights and well-being of children.Â
The Kids Count in Missouri 2009 Data Book, a comprehensive report by CMC and 30 other public and private organizations, evaluated the status of children using 10 indicators that gauge the well-being of all citizens under the age of 19.
According to the report, about 48 out of every 1,000 children in Adair County were either neglected or abused in 2008, making it one of the worst ranking counties in Missouri.Â
County ranks are based on the number of reported cases of child abuse and neglect and county population. Adair County is 95th out of 114 counties and the City of St Louis.
Matthew Holt, juvenile services administrator at the Adair County Judicial Circuit Juvenile Division, said his department has been working on several initiatives to improve the living conditions of children and has taken 94 children into protective custody out of 1,571 child abuse referrals.
"Cases of abuse have remained pretty consistent, and we are working very closely with social service agencies to keep families intact," Holt said.
Adair rates improve
In Adair County, substantiated cases of child abuse decreased by more than 9 percent since 2004, according to the CMC. The number of reported child abuse cases has dropped 26 percent nationally from 2004-09, according to a report commissioned by Congress.
CMC attributes the high prevalence of child abuse and neglect cases to high levels of poverty, a lack of affordable health care and a decrease in the availability of high quality educational opportunities.
"A lot of this has to do with unemployment and the economic status of families," said Scott Gee, executive director of CMC. "The availability of jobs is a huge contributing factor.
The Kids Count in Missouri 2009 Data Book, a comprehensive report by CMC and 30 other public and private organizations, evaluated the status of children using 10 indicators that gauge the well-being of all citizens under the age of 19.
According to the report, about 48 out of every 1,000 children in Adair County were either neglected or abused in 2008, making it one of the worst ranking counties in Missouri.Â
County ranks are based on the number of reported cases of child abuse and neglect and county population. Adair County is 95th out of 114 counties and the City of St Louis.
Matthew Holt, juvenile services administrator at the Adair County Judicial Circuit Juvenile Division, said his department has been working on several initiatives to improve the living conditions of children and has taken 94 children into protective custody out of 1,571 child abuse referrals.
"Cases of abuse have remained pretty consistent, and we are working very closely with social service agencies to keep families intact," Holt said.
Adair rates improve
In Adair County, substantiated cases of child abuse decreased by more than 9 percent since 2004, according to the CMC. The number of reported child abuse cases has dropped 26 percent nationally from 2004-09, according to a report commissioned by Congress.
CMC attributes the high prevalence of child abuse and neglect cases to high levels of poverty, a lack of affordable health care and a decrease in the availability of high quality educational opportunities.
"A lot of this has to do with unemployment and the economic status of families," said Scott Gee, executive director of CMC. "The availability of jobs is a huge contributing factor.
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An Alum
posted 2/04/10 @ 9:42 AM CST
Thanks for this story. I, too, hope that the ranking is because of more diligent reporting. A good follow-up on this story might be an interview with local volunteers for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) who work on behalf of the children since, as you report, it is difficult for a child to testify in these kinds of situations. (Continued…)
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