<font color="blue">CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH</font>

April a time to focus on child abuse

By Libby Cluett
lcluett@mineralwellsindex.com

April brings growth and renewal, but it is also a month set aside to reflect on local child abuse and its prevention.

So far in 2009, the community heard the stories of two tragic toddler deaths. In the February trial of Mark McLaughlan readers heard of the brutal death of a 2-year-old Perrin child in 2005 – the son of McLaughlan’s girlfriend at the time. A jury convicted him of capital murder and sentenced him to life in prison without payrole. Then in mid-March, another 2-year-old Palo Pinto County boy died by homicide. Again, this child died by traumatic head injury from blunt force trauma – his body was covered in bruises and lacerations. A man sits in the county jail awaiting his day in court regarding this case.

It’s no doubt a sad occasion for all involved. A young citizen dies from what is allegedly abuse and a family suffers loss. Even the suspect’s or accused’s life and family is forever altered.

But not all cases of abuse involve violence or end in death. Palo Pinto General Hospital sees all types of cases, many which can be remedied with willing parents and education. Some lives are turned around for the good through education, awareness and understanding, which is one purpose of Child Abuse Awareness Month and “Go Blue Day.”

“Probably the majority of child referalls I’ve worked on were cases involving drug addiction, where the parent is a user and where decisions the parent makes affect their children,” said Marci Senterfitt, a licensed masters social worker at PPGH.

According to Senterfitt, fetuses and nursing children are greatly affected by drug users. Because fetuses and infants metabolise differently, she said some children can be born with mental or physical birth defects from a parent who habitually uses anything from cocaine, meth and heroine to over-the-counter pain medicine.

Abuse sees other forms, including neglect.

“Sometimes parents just need education,” Senterfitt added, especially with inexperienced parents with infants upon delivery or parents of children coming for a hospital stay.

“We at the hospital try to educate parents on nutrition and personal care. If they aren’t grasping the idea and need extra support, the hospital might refer them to Child Protective Services to help with further educational opportunties,” she said. “Sometimes doors open up with community resources [through CPS] that they might not otherwise qualify for.”

In 2008, PPGH saw 35 cases of abuse, mostly to children:

• 13 were drug related.

• 10 were educational support for the care of a child.

• A few cases involved parents concerned about the possibility of caregiver abuse.

In 2008, Child Protective Services oversaw 65 Palo Pinto County children and had 100 confirmed victims of abuse or neglect. Out of 288 total investigations – well over one per weekday – 59 were confirmed investigations.

Palo Pinto County Child Welfare Board works hand-in-hand with CPS. They help support children in protective custody and foster care. Recently, the board has funded hair follicle testing on children, according to PPCCWB President Connie Ball.

This test can detect methamphetamine in an infant’s system, typically a newborn.

“You have this infant born to a mother who took meth while she was pregnant and this precious child is born with so much meth in its system that it will never function normally. Because of it, there is brain damage. Toddlers in the same household are inhaling fumes from manufacturing [the drug],” Ball told the Index for an earlier article.

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