STATE: CHILD ABUSE REPORTS INCREASE

Every day in America, three children die from abuse or neglect and 8,493 are reported as abused or neglected.

Now, a survey by the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse shows there are more reports of kids being neglected, hit, yelled at, sexually molested and emotionally traumatized.

The annual 50-state survey, "Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities," shows reports of child abuse rose 12 percent over the past five years.

"Abuse is classified as any behavior that is intimidating or threatening and that causes one to be in fear of their emotional or physical safety," said Debra Hamilton, the shelter manager of the Cape Girardeau Safe House.

The vague terms of this definition make it hard to determine what classifies as child abuse and what does not, Hamilton said.

"Since we all have different tolerance levels, it makes determining abuse difficult," she said. "For example, some children can tolerate being yelled at and some can't."

According to the Division of Family Services, Missouri had an 8.3 percent increase in child abuse reports between 1995 and 1996. Cape Girardeau County had an even higher 12.5 percent increase in reports.

However, the number of those reports that DFS investigators found had probable cause of abuse decreased by 3.7 percent in Missouri and 9.8 percent in the county.

So even though the number of child abuse reports is increasing, probable cause is decreasing.

Many influences play into statistics like these, but one reason might be that people are making themselves aware of what is going on around them and are more aware of the child abuse hotline, said Gary Helle, a DFS investigator and social service worker.

As soon as someone suspects abuse they call in, but after an investigation it turns out there is not enough evidence to find probable cause, he said.

Last year in Cape Girardeau County, Helle averaged 20 cases a month. The majority of those cases were child neglect claims.

The most common form of child neglect in Missouri in 1996 was lack of supervision, followed by unsanitary living conditions, unsafe and inadequate shelter, poor hygiene and lack of food.

For Helle, in order to find probable cause in cases of child neglect, he has to prove a health threat exists for the child.

In the national survey, 25 states provided a statistical breakdown of the types of child abuse reported. Child neglect was 62 percent, physical abuse was 25 percent, sexual abuse was 7 percent, emotional abuse was 3 percent and other types of abuse such as medical and educational neglect was 4 percent.

After dealing with abuse victims, Hamilton has noticed that one of the biggest indicators that some sort of abuse is taking place within the home is age-inappropriate behavior by children.

In one case, a woman was being beat by her boyfriend in front of her 9- and 11-year-olds, which classifies as emotional abuse on the two children. When they came to the Safe House, the children were whiny and clingy toward their mother and would engage in baby talk with each other, all abnormal behavior for ages 9 and 11.

Angie Griffith, a therapist for Lutheran Family & Children Services, finds "it is the ultimate in emotional abuse when kids see two people that they love the most in their life, who are supposed to be taking care of them, abusing each other. That's what the children begin to think relationships are supposed to be like," she said.

Of all types of abuse, verbal and emotional abuse have the longest effects on abuse victims, Hamilton said. "This is the type of abuse that scars the psyche. They are left with feelings of worthlessness, questioning who they are and having trouble finding value as a person and trusting."

Low self-esteem and problems with trusting are issues that Tina, an early childhood sexual abuse victim, deals with on a daily basis.

Tina's story is similar to many abuse cases in that different abuses were tied together: her brother-in-law and uncles sexually abused her; her stepmother physically, verbally and emotionally abused her; and her stepbrother physically abused her.

Today, she is a mother of three and in counseling, but she still suffers repercussions daily.

"Because of my mother's emotional abuse it didn't allow me to problem solve," Tina said. "Even though I was a high achiever in school and always made good grades, nothing was ever right for her."

The one positive finding in the survey by the NCPCA is a decrease in the number of recorded child abuse fatalities over the past year.

The Child Abuse/Neglect Hotline is 1-800-392-3738.