LOCAL AGENCIES RESPOND TO CHILD ABUSE REPORT - FEDERAL AGENCY PUTS CONNECTICUT'S INCIDENTS OF ABUSE 1.5 TIMES ABOVE NATIONAL AVERAGE

Bridgeport, CT (April 3, 2003) - Every day, the Connecticut Dept. of Children and Families makes two or three calls to Bridgeport-based Jewish Family Services looking to place abused or neglected children into counseling at the Center's Psychiatric Clinic. But according to JFS President Harvey Paris, the clinic is only equipped to handle about 30 children a year.

"In two weeks, we could take enough referrals to max out our program through next May," Paris said. "There just isn't enough help to go around. Agencies throughout our region have waiting lists that would boggle your mind."

Paris is among the representatives from United Way of Eastern Fairfield County partner agencies who provided a wealth of insight in reaction to this morning's Associated Press report, which stated Connecticut's number of reported child abuse cases is nearly one-and-a-half times greater than the national average. The AP drew its information from a U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services report titled 'Child Maltreatment 2001,' which put Connecticut's incidents of report at 50 per 1,000 children - in contrast to the national average of 37 cases per 1,000 children.

While none of the sources contacted at a half-dozen partner agencies serving children in crisis deny the critical need for services locally, some pointed out the statistics may be skewed because Connecticut has such stringent reporting standards. Dr. L. Philip Guzman of Bridgeport's Child Guidance Center believes the federal report could be misleading in some respects, especially when focusing on the Bridgeport region.

The Child Guidance Center is sometimes the front line agency that meets or treats the child in crisis before referring them to the state DCF.

"Historically, our region has had lower incidents of reporting than the rest of the state," Guzman said. "But from a service standpoint this is bad because the state DCF bases its formula for funding intervention and support on these statistics."

Guzman said both New Haven and Hartford, with lower populations than Bridgeport, get more funding for DCF supported outreach and prevention support than Bridgeport.

"In fact, Bridgeport ranks about the same as New London in terms of the funding we get to help these children," he said.

Joyce Barnes, a program manager at Hall Neighborhood House said she was "surprised," to hear the national report findings.

"I think those figures reflect the extremely rigid reporting requirements in Connecticut," Barnes said. Her agency works to prevent abuse and neglect through parent education programs.

However, DCF does fund a therapeutic program at Hall Neighborhood House, which provides intensive support to families and children in crisis. Barnes said that program combines proven methods of counseling developed at Hall with particular DCF protocols.

Yesterday, (April 2) Bridgeport's Inner City Children's Center launched the second of a multi-phase program which brings parents together for peer-to-peer support to help prevent abuse and neglect. According to program spokesperson Tanya Lloyd, these drop-in sessions address discipline and stress management as part of an overall mission to help parents in coping with the challenges of raising children under the guidance of an expert facilitator.

"In some ways it's like a support group," Lloyd said. "Parents share their experiences and ideas together in a relaxed atmosphere."

Although it is not a primary mission, the local Salvation Army post is another agency that may provide the first line of defense for abused or neglected children, while providing early or immediate intervention to parents who cross the line. Post Major Michael Sharpe said the call for help can come at any time.

"The family, or just the child can show up on our doorstep at 4 a.m. with nowhere else to turn," Sharpe said. "And we are prepared to take that child, or that family and help network them to a variety of support networks within and outside our organization."

Local United Way President and CPO Merle Berke-Schlessel recognized the role her organization plays in supporting the day-to-day needs of partnering agencies.

"No matter what level of crisis a family finds itself in, the greater Bridgeport area has many organizations and programs that can help," she said. "The United Way of Eastern Fairfield County, and its many private and corporate benefactors, help stem the incidents of child abuse and neglect in our six-town service area by supporting more than a dozen programs providing direct or indirect assistance to these families."

United Way focuses on what matters, and builds stronger communities by supporting nearly 80 health and human service programs that helped more than 180,000 people last year. United Way funded programs are involved in a range of critical services serving the six towns of Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford, and Trumbull.

Resources:

CT DCF Town Pages - Fiscal Year 2002 (PDF format)

US HHC Child Maltreatment Report 2001