Center helps victims of child abuse and neglect

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February 9, 2012

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Thu Feb 09, 2012, 02:25 AM EST

We learned some good news about some terrible news in a story by reporter Joe Mahoney in Tuesday's Daily Star.

The terrible news is that reports of child abuse are on the rise in Otsego County.

The good news is that the way they are being dealt with seems to be getting better.

According to social workers, "the worst of the worst" cases of child abuse and neglect are funneled to the Child Advocacy Center at the Otsego Meadows office complex.

The number of children seen at the Advocacy Center has risen from 57 in 2008 to 108 last year.

We don't know the reason or reasons for the sharp rise in investigations of assault or mistreatment. We suspect that more incidents are being reported than in the past.

"A lot more people are aware of what is going on, so the reporting has gotten better," said Stacy Skog, coordinator of the center, a state-funded program overseen by District Attorney John Muehl.

"People are no longer looking at this as something that needs to stay within a family. People are recognizing that child abuse has extremely long-term effects on the children."

When they get to the Advocacy Center, the children tell their stories to specially trained interviewers.

An important step forward is the awareness that children can become victims over and over again if they are not treated with sensitivity.

Representatives of police agencies, the district attorney's office, victims' advocates and child-protective supervisors and caseworkers from the Otsego County Department of Social Services work together to make the process as trauma-free as possible.

The interview room is stocked with toys, dolls and children's furniture. Through a hidden closed-circuit television hookup, the interviews can be observed from outside the room by a police investigator, victim's advocate or social worker who could suggest questions to the caseworker speaking to the child.

"We try to keep the atmosphere as relaxed as possible," Skog said.

"You want to do the interview as soon as possible, and you want to do it one time so the child doesn't have to keep telling their stories over and over again and reliving the trauma," Muehl said at the Advocacy Center.

"You don't want to upset them, but it's also about asking non-leading questions and not putting words in the child's mouth," Muehl said. "You don't want to suggest to the child what happened."

Of course, not all reports of child abuse turn out to be true. Still, it is more than comforting to know that the center serves as an advocate for children who might not have anyone else who will listen.