March returned as busy month for abuse investigations
By
April 6, 2010
As area school children returned to the classrooms in March, so did the numbers of children reported as possible victims of child abuse and neglect.
Richland County Children Services received 582 calls during the month and launched 249 investigations, topping the 200 mark for the 13th time in the last 15 months. Sadly, seven of those reports were on children who had broken bones. Three others involved small children who had been sexually assaulted.
Those numbers are up from 474 calls and 169 investigations in February, lower figures that are not surprising when you consider the Mansfield area received 49 inches of snow during the month and Richland County schools were closed many days due to weather.
The fact is a large percentage of calls to our agency with suspected abuse/neglect reports come from mandated reporters, i.e. people whose professional work involves them with children. Mandated reporters include school teachers, mental health professionals, private physicians, hospitals, law enforcement and court personnel.
Under state law, mandated reporters must contact the local child protective service agency when they suspect child abuse or neglect has taken place.
In March, 58 percent of the investigations we began came after phone calls from mandated reports. Of those, 48 (or 20 percent) came from school teachers. We had just 32 phone calls from teachers in February.
The important role teachers and other school personnel play in reporting child abuse and neglect is one reason Richland County Children Services devotes staff time and resources to training teachers and other mandated reporters.
For example, RCCS is sending staffers to Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center on West Fourth Street in Mansfield twice this month to train teachers, counselors, school psychologists, school nurses and administrators. These sessions will help these mandatory reports to meet the safety and violence/child abuse prevention required under two separate state laws passed in last year.
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, please call our 24/7 hotline at 419-774-4100. A trained call screener will take your information and determine if an investigation is warranted. You can remain anonymous with your call.
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