Warren County above average in child abuse cases

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.)

Editor’s note: The following is the fifth part of a continuing series detailing the well-being of children in Warren County, as was determined by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth in its recent publication “Kids Count 2002: The State of the Child in Tennessee.”

The rate of substantiated child abuse cases in Warren County was more than double that of the Tennessee average in 2001, according to a data recently released by the state.

State officials attributed the high rate to increased community vigilance in reporting and prosecuting child abusers.

In its recent publication “Kids Count 2002: The State of the Child in Tennessee,” the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth reports Warren County’s substantiated child abuse rate for 2001, the most recent year which information is available, was 14.4 (per 1,000 children), as opposed to the state rate of 6.8.

Child abuse, as defined by the state, includes several types of abuse, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, medical abuse and other forms of abuse.

“That’s probably about right,” Families in Crisis director Emily Little said of Warren County’s higher rate. “Most people don’t realize what’s going on in this county when it comes to domestic abuse and child abuse, which usually involve the same people. A lot of people just don’t see it.”

But according to the state Department of Children’s Services, the county’s substantiated child abuse rate, which has risen nearly 5 points since 1998, is more a result of increased awareness than increased abuse.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” said DCS communications officer Margie Maddux. “The community has actually gotten a lot better about reporting child abuse. Of course this has made Warren County’s numbers go up, but it’s better to know about it than to still have children out in that kind of environment.”

Maddux further attributed the increased numbers to the eagerness of District Attorney Dale Potter to prosecute child abusers. “He’s serious about it and that, in turn, encourages the community to report it,” she said.

Statewide, the cases of substantiated child abuse saw a 9.8 percent decline to 9,571 in 2001. Of these, 41.9 percent involved children under the age of 5. Children ages 6 to 11 made up 34.1 percent of such cases, while 23.9 percent involved children ages 12 to 17.

Additionally, 55 percent of victims in reported child abuse cases in 2001 were female; 43.9 percent were male, while gender data was missing in 1.1 percent of the cases.