Tools

Incidents Involving Children on the Rise

By Rachel Ousley

Story Created: Jun 27, 2011 at 8:38 PM MDT

Story Updated: Jun 27, 2011 at 8:38 PM MDT

According to Miles for Kids, a report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. Yet cases involving children are constantly growing. While the solution to child abuse remains unknown, experts say the key is education and community support.

Child abuse is a problem that affects all socioeconomic levels and across all cultural lines. Nationwide almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. This is a problem even here in our own backyard.

Lisa Goff, Executive Director of CASA – CAN, says, “Cascade County at this point has the highest number of abuse/neglect cases in one place in Montana”. The situation seems to be only getting worse. Goff explains, “in Cascade County in 2010 cases went up dramatically, but 2011 is outrageous, its gone sky high”.

This month alone there are 21 new cases in Cascade County involving a total of 47 new children. That's on top of the nearly 200 kids already part of Youth in Court. Goff says, “truthfully, I’d like to be out of a job”. She hopes child abuse can be put to an end. She suggests being vigilant and not thinking someone else is going to report a case of child abuse.

It is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to the well-being of a child. Children are often voiceless and depend on adults to stand up for them. Tips given to the child abuse hotline can be anonymous. Goff says, “as the community and citizens of our community we need to step forward and try our best to advocate for these kids and be there for these kids whether it’s before the fact or unfortunately after the fact. These kids are the future, and unless they have a future where are we all going to be down the road”.

Child abuse and neglect can come in a variety of forms. It can be a child witnessing domestic violence or drug abuse. It can also be mental, verbal, or physical abuse. If you have any concerns about a child call the Montana child abuse/neglect hotline 1-866-820-5437 (KIDS).

With the surge in the amount of Youth in Court, CASA-CAN is in desperate need of volunteers. By state law each child needs a guardian at litem. Goff says attorneys may not have as much time as volunteers. To learn more about CASA-CAN call 406-454-6738.

You have indicated this comment should be removed.

Close

The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .

Miles for Kids said on Thursday, Sep 1 at 1:45 PM

Hello. Can you please tell me where you got the Miles for Kids source? I'd like to site it as well. E-mail: stephaniek@intermountain.org Thanks!

Add a comment

Name:

Comment: 1000 Characters Left

News, Sports, Weather for Great Falls, Helena, and all of Montana and its affiliated companies are not responsible for the content of comments posted or for anything arising out of use of the above comments or other interaction among the users. We reserve the right to screen, refuse to post, remove or edit user-generated content at any time and for any or no reason in our absolute and sole discretion without prior notice, although we have no duty to do so or to monitor any Public Forum.

Great Falls & Helena Weather

Icon
Great Falls Great Falls Intl Airport, MT
Current Temp 57.0 °F
Partly Cloudy
Wind : Southwest at 10.4 MPH (9 KT)
Pressure : 1013.9 mb
Humidity : 55 %
Icon
Helena Helena Regional, MT
Current Temp 56.0 °F
Fair
Wind : Calm
Pressure : 1017.1 mb
Humidity : 49 %
Click here for our video forecast
More Weather
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.

AP Video