Page County ranks 8th in state for child neglect, abuse

Upon hearing the word child abuse, visions of an adult repeatedly striking a child violently come to mind. But according to Kathleen Keefer, Program Manager for Positive Family Support Partnership Program in Page County, is not always like that, and is much more complicated.

Keefer, who has worked on local child abuse cases for 40 years, said that in most child abuse cases, she sees as much pain on the faces of the parent as in the mistreated child.

Sometimes, said Keefer, abuse occurs because the parent knows no other way. Iowa Department of Human Services public information officer Amy McKay agrees.

"It is rarely a parent doesn't love their child; they aren't parenting well," said McKay.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) unintended pregnancies, partner violence, substance abuse and mental illness are reasons behind maltreatment of children. The education level of the parents is also listed as a reason.

"High school completion leads to better-paid employment and health, which could indirectly improve parenting through its impacts on income, parental exposure to stressors, access to information and resources, development of life skills and the quality of social support," said a CDC report.

Keefer added that many instances of physical child abuse begin as punishment for misbehavior. However, studies show that physical discipline doesn't improve the child's long-term behavior but rather leads to associated levels of aggression.

In the State of Iowa, Page County is ranked eighth for the number of cases; Fremont County is 18th, Montgomery County is third; and Mills County is 66th.

Janee Harvey, a bureau chief for child welfare at the Iowa Department of Human Services said in the previous year they have seen 2,000 more cases reported. However, only half of reports brought to the attention of DHS are continued and opened as a formal assessment.

"What we typically see, and this continues to be true, the biggest allegation is denial of critical care. More cases of neglect are reported than abuse," said Harvey. "In my field of child welfare, abuse is doing something to a child and neglect is not doing something for a child."

Nationally, neglect is also the most common form of maltreatment. A report from the National Children's Alliance showed that three-quarters of children suffer neglect, 17.2 percent, physical abuse and 8.4 percent sexual abuse.

McKay added that within the last year, they have seen an increase of abuse cases where parents are addicted to opiates, which can be just as dangerous at methamphetamine and heroin. She said in cases of abuse it is very important to strengthen those families and family ties. She added that there are free services available to help parents parent better, as well as assistance with paying for heat and food, which can assist in better parenting.

"Most of the time parents abuse their children because of stress and being overwhelmed," said Keefer. "They do not have any idea of how to handle that stress and they end up lashing out at their children ? who are not the cause of their stress. They can change by learning methods of working through stress, gaining coping skills and learning better ways to parent."

McKay, Keefer and Harvey agree that countless studies have shown that children who are abused, whether it's physical, psychological or behavioral abuse, face more behavioral development issues than children who are not abused.

Keefer said abused children are more likely to attempt suicide, develop unhealthy relationships, suffer from depression, be obese, become alcoholics, perform poorly in school, have violent aggression issues, or become addicted to drugs and or cigarettes.

National statistics on child abuse from the National Children's Alliance said that in 2015, an estimated 1,670 children died from abuse and neglect in the United States and that roughly 700,000 children are abused in the U.S annually. Nationally, roughly 3.4 million children received an investigation or alternative response from child protective services agencies, with 2.3 million children receiving prevention services.

Statistics show that children in their first year of life had the highest rate of victimization of 24.2 per 1,000 children in the national population of the same age. In 78.1 percent of national cases, or four of five cases, the abusers are the victim's parents.

2015 assessment data and findings in the state of Iowa show that there were 24,298 assessments for child abuse and neglect and 8,298 children subject to abuse or neglect. Of those cases, data shows that 6,890 were subject of "founded" abuse and 1,408 were subject of a "confirmed" abuse.

McKay explained that confirmed abuse is minor, isolated, and not likely to re-occur. Additionally, she said the perpetrator is not placed on the child abuse registry. Roughly half of the neglect or abuse cases (49 percent) were children ages 5 and under.

Harvey said that of all child abuse or neglect, 72 percent was denial of critical care; 11 percent was physical; 5 percent was sexual and 9 percent included the presence of illegal drugs in the body.

The Page-Fremont Prevent Child Abuse Council will host the first Prevent Child Abuse event from 5 to 8 p.m. on April 21, in the Clarinda City Park. Keefer said the goal is to bring families together and to provide information about the resources available in the community in a fun setting.

More information about child abuse in Iowa can be found at dhs.iowa.gov/child-abuse. To report child abuse, call 1-800-362-2178.