Wayne County well positioned to help defend area children
Questel hedshot
January 11, 2011
291
011711 Sex_abuse_column
Questel hedshot
Wayne County well positioned to help defend area children
Our community has been faced with a circumstance that threatens the security of our children. It has been in the local news lately that an individual at a local daycare center has allegedly mistreated children in a sexual manner. While this investigation is not complete, reports from the Wooster Police Department indicate that evidence is being collected for presentation to the grand jury.
As a reporter I have a unique perspective on this situation, as my wife is the supervisor of the sexual abuse unit at Wayne County Childrens services. Obviously, she cannot discuss this specific investigation with me, but as her husband I have learned some things about child sexual abuse investigative procedures over the years that gives me confidence in the system our community has established to address this issue.
Our community established the Wayne County Childrens Advocacy (CAC) center in 2004, which allows a multidisciplinary approach to these investigations. This means that professionals from various disciplines including, but not limited to, Wayne County Childrens Services, all local law enforcement agencies, SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) from Wooster hospital and the Wayne County Prosecutors office. This group also includes various mental health agencies including Dr. Bowden and Associates, The Counseling Center and Your Human Resource Center, who are also involved in with the investigation.
The CAC was begun in order to provide the least traumatic investigative process for the victims and their families as possible. The advocacy center is located inside Wooster Community Hospital, with the space being provided through the benevolence of the hospital board. The center serves the purpose of a central and safe location for the interviews of child sexual abuse victims.
The center is set up with an interview room along with a camera to videotape the interview. The vast majorities of these interviews are conducted by a forensically trained social worker from Wayne County Childrens Services, and can be observed in an adjoining room by the various disciplines involved in the CAC process. The interview is recorded so that victims do not have to tell their story over and over to the various professionals along the prosecution process, thus reducing the trauma to the children.
This group of professionals meets bi-monthly to discuss the cases presented to the CAC in order to provide the best possible services for the children and their families, as well as aid in the criminal investigation.
Even with the tremendous community support the question still becomes how do we keep our children safe in the first place? Here are some tips to follow when dealing with this issue of inappropriate touch with your children:
1. No secrets. Encourage your child to tell you about things that happen to them that make them feel scared. Then LISTEN to them when they talk to you.
2. Dont dress children in clothing or accessories with their name on it. This breeds familiarity that strangers can use to build a false sense of trust with your child.
3. Teach your child the correct terms for body parts. This will make them more at ease if they need to tell you about a touch that made them feel uncomfortable.
4. Practice what if scenarios – not to the point of creating fear – but enough that your children can come to the right answers.
5. Teach your child their name, address, and phone numbers at an early age. It is difficult for authorities to track down Mommy Smith when children dont know their parents first names or home address or phone number.
6. Let children decide for themselves how they want to express affection. Dont make them hug/kiss someone if it makes them uncomfortable. This teaches them that they can say NO to unwanted touches.
7. Teach your child that adults do not need to ask children for help. Predators use tricks to lure children, for example, asking them to help find a lost pet. Use these as part of your what if scenarios to reinforce lessons about safety.
More information can be found on the web, as much of this information came from Modernmom.com to create this list.
As the police have noted the investigation in our community is ongoing and unfortunately more victims could be identified. It is disheartening to think that those entrusted to care for our children have harmed them in some way. Between 2005 and 2010 there was an average of 131 child sex abuse cases that were reported to the CAC each year.
As difficult as those numbers are to comprehend in our seemingly safe community, I am convinced we have a group of qualified, caring and appropriate caregivers in this community who work hard every day to protect our children.
