Wake-Up Call
Child Abuse Report Should Inspire Change
Parents usually do a good job of teaching children to be wary of strangers. But Greg Collins, executive director of the Children’s Listening Place told us last week, we may be missing the mark — and it’s endangering our kids.
“Stranger Danger has always been prominent in our discussions with our children, when in fact, we need to be looking at the people that are around our children every day. Ask anyone in law enforcement who has worked child cases and they will tell you that the offender is often someone you would never expect,” Collins said. “As a responsible parent, you should be looking hard at those who are around your child, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. That is why offenders are so successful in committing this type of crime. So many of the parents or guardians I talk to after something happens to their child are asking themselves why they didn’t see it. Don’t put yourself in that situation.”
West Virginia Child Advocacy Network numbers show that between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022, 2% of the alleged offenders in cases related to children were unknown, with the rest being parents (56%), step-parent (12%), other relatives (13%), parent’s boyfriend or girlfriend (9%) or other known person (11%).
Frightening, isn’t it? But if those numbers serve as a wake-up call, good. We must hope they open the eyes of those who can protect children from such atrocities.
But another frightening piece of data comes from the Children’s Listening Place Child Advocacy Center here in Parkersburg. In 2022, the center worked with 618 children — the most since the facility opened in 2014. Statewide there has been a 20% increase in new children served over the past five years. In fact, the workload here in the Mid-Ohio Valley is astounding: 37% of children had reports of drug endangerment, compared to 15% in other state Child Advocacy Centers; 30% of children had reports of neglect, compared to 13% in other state Child Advocacy Centers. Our local Children’s Listening Place made up approximately 13% of the 21 Child Advocacy Center service numbers.
Somehow, our children seem to be less safe than they have ever been; and for most of them, the place they are most in danger is in their home, among their own family members.
What a shame public officials, lawmakers and economic development officials have not yet been able to remain focused on our real problems long enough to work on reversing this horrific trend. In the meantime, our communities should be grateful for those such as the staff at Children’s Listening Place who are there for these kids, even it must seem to them as though no one else is.