NEW PROGRAM HERE TARGETS POTENTIAL CHILD ABUSERS

Targeting potential child abusers for help before they abuse is the aim of a model program in Cape Girardeau chosen for nearly $22,000 in funding.

The program will be offered to 108 volunteers through the Community Counseling Center, which sought the funding, said center Executive Director Roger Henry. A contract for the service is to be announced today at a regional child abuse prevention meeting in Jefferson City.

The Children's Trust Fund announced it awarded the contract, along with a second, to prevent child abuse and neglect in families affected by substance abuse. The trust fund operates under the Missouri Office of Administration, said a spokesperson with the office.

Overall the counseling center was awarded $21,888. The second contract, for $126,520, went to the Missouri 4-H Foundation for a statewide educational service called Discover! Through ParentLink.

The local program will attempt to achieve its goal by working with three substance abuse treatment programs, according to the trust fund. Henry said one of those programs would be Cape Girardeau's Gibson House, an alcoholic recovery center for men. A second, he said, could possibly be the Alcohol Related Traffic Offender Program.

"You pick up a lot of people that way," he said of the program. "And half those people going through those programs are alcoholics."

Henry said he expects the program to be ready to start in about a month. It would be the first of its kind in the state, he said. No one has really tried to identify one group of people to prevent abuse before it occurs, he said.

"In that sense it's really unique kind of head 'em off at the pass," he said. The project will be tested to see if it can be used elsewhere in the state, he said.

Community Counseling Center Clinical Director Mati Stone put together the center's proposal with him, Henry said. But Henry said the two didn't figure they had much of a chance for the funding. He and Stone were really surprised when the project was picked, he said, though he sought to temper his statement by adding that the program would be a lot of work.

"You have to really have a top-notch project. They obviously liked this one," he said.

The trust fund said a "screening tool" would be used to identify persons considered high-risk for child abuse and neglect. That screening tool is still being developed, Henry said.

People considered high-risk for child abuse and neglect include "co-dependants," said the fund. Henry identified the co-dependants as a spouse, a live-in boyfriend or girlfriend, or even a live-in parent.

"It often takes four times longer for a family to get it back together than it does for the alcoholic himself because they live in that sick environment for a while," Henry said.

Once potential child abusers are identified, a two-hour prevention course will be held for the participants twice a week for four weeks, said the trust fund. A new class will start every 30 days, with a maximum of 12 participants.

Babysitting will be provided. To encourage attendance and reduce stress, the fund said, meals will also be served for participants and their children before each evening class.

Henry said the community counseling center already has a program called Family Learning Center. That program works with children already abused.

"This will be a real treat to get a hold of people before they get abused," he said. "It's kind of a natural extension of (the learning center) program."

After the abuse, Henry also said, the amount of money needed to correct the problem is much more. The cost per family then is about $6,000, he said.