Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

29 "True" Cases Of Child Abuse Found

If you witnessed the abuse of a child, what would you do? Are you afraid to report child abuse?

In Clark County from July 1, 1998, to July 1, 1999, there were 104 investigated reports of maltreatment of a child. Out of these 29 were found to be 'true' as defined by the law.

Billye Burke, administrator of Community Services for the Arkansas Department of Children and Family Services, conveys 'true' is decided only after an investigation and preponderance of all evidence, including interviews with the child in question, guardians and/or parents, and someone in contact with the child on a regular basis, such as teachers, daycare providers, doctors, etc.

Burke gives some logical answers to the public on reporting child maltreatment.

First; If you have reasonable cause that you have witnessed an act of abuse, or that a child may be in danger, you should call the Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline at 800-482-5964 and report it.

Typical recommendations are that you also call the local law enforcement and your local Department of Human Services, Family Services office. Local law enforcement would be the Clark County Sheriff at 246-2222. The local ADHS's Clark County Family Services office can be reached at 246-9886.

This includes incidents you don't directly see for yourself. For example, if you have heard the hit, fighting, or crying and then see bruises, burn, and/or cuts, you should call.

The source's identity is completely protected from having their name released. But still there is the worry of retaliation. Burke stated, "Only a judge can allow a source's name released. In the 20 years that I've worked in this field, I've never seen that happen yet.

"If you have a doubt, call," stated Burke. "We have 45 to 50 people answering this hotline number. They are trained to know what to do with the information and the right questions to ask," Burke continued. "Don't be afraid that you call in too much, and it's very unlikely that you'll get the same operator on the hotline. We don't keep records on who the person calling is, just how many and from which counties."

Second, Burke suggests that you not intervene on the child's behalf with an abusive person. "Unless you deal with these situations on a regular basis, you could make it worse for the child. Many times the abusive person may escalate the abuse if he or she feels threatened," Burke said.

Third, even if you experience shock from what you have observed look for things that can help find the child later. "When a child may be in danger, ADCFS has a wide range of tools to find the child," said Burke. "We can use a license plate number, food stamps, school signs, etc."

Just use your powers of observation and intuition of appropriate behavior, he advises. The people working the abuse hotline are trained to determine if the actions meet the requirements for an investigation.

Occasionally, some people may believe it's bad for business to report an incident. Some businesses may be reluctant to report on customers, so make sure you do. You may be the only one a child can depend on for help.

When there's enough evidence for an investigation, the investigating officer has 30 days to decide on what to do with the case. But the ADCFS will maintain a record for a short time. Perhaps if nothing is done concerning the first incident, there will be a history to help prove the abuse.

However, the laws are very specific concerning reasonable cause. In Arkansas there are no laws against corporal punishment (spanking).

Clark County Prosecuting Attorney Henry Morgan stated, "Use common sense when reporting child abuse." Morgan continues, "Whelp marks from corporal punishment aren't illegal or uncommon, but a broken nose is no way to punish a kid."

Morgan conveyed a story concerning a case where the same name kept coming up in the reports he would read. He encouraged the investigating officers to take another look into the case. The abuser was prosecuted.

When asked what he would recommend for the public concerning prevention of child maltreatment Morgan stated, "Education, education, education!

"The public needs to be involved with the schools to educate and protect children," he said.

Morgan said that when he is asked to speak to local students he emphasizes to juniors and seniors how important it is to not shake a small baby. Shaken baby syndrome occurs when a child under the age of three is jerked to and fro, causing a rocking of the brain inside the skull. The brain of the child is shredded against the sharp bones directly behind the face. The results are mostly retardation and death.

"I remember two previous cases in Clark County and one is in the courts now," Morgan said.

There are enough scalding abuse cases to provide a profile. The profile suggests a person with low to medium income, lower level education, more than one child, and the abuse usually occur as a form of punishment, often for toilet-training accidents.

Currently, child maltreatment is divided into three groups: neglect, physical abuse and sexual abuse.

Neglect is defined as failure to provide a child's basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, medical care, supervision, etc.

If you observe child neglect, you may be asked to relay detailed information. Common questions are: What is the child's age? Is the child disabled? How often is the child left unsupervised? For what length of time has the child been left unsupervised? When the child is alone, does he or she become involved with dangerous activities?

The Arkansas State Police Child Abuse Hotline is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is 800-482-5964.