Each month, the telephones at Athens County Children Services ring with calls from concerned neighbors, school counselors and hospital employees hoping to put an end to unexplained bruises on tiny wrists.
In the past five years, problems of child abuse and neglect have been compounded with drug usage, adding a dangerous element to the job of local social workers.
An addict just doesn't care about parenting
said Sheila Shafer, deputy director of Athens County Children Services.
In the 21 years Shafer has worked with children services, she has seen different substances affect the temperaments and actions of caregivers. In the late '80s, alcohol was a major factor, crack and methamphetamines gained popularity in the '90s and heroin has gained users more recently, Shafer said.
It's really influenced the dynamics of the families we work with said Shafer, adding caregivers on drugs are less cooperative and more disengaged while on drugs.
In 2008, Athens County Children Services received 1,430 calls - the same number as 2007 - and opened cases to investigate 40 percent of them, or 568 calls. Physical abuse cases were up 3 percent, sexual abuse increased 2 percent and there were 6 percent more neglect cases, according to the organization's annual report.
Limited jobs and public transportation outside the city of Athens, typical of Appalachian counties, prevent caregivers from meeting basic needs, which can cause stress, Shafer said.
There's a high correlation between poverty said Catherine Hill, executive director of Hocking County Children Services. Not that it's a cause
but it's a related factor.
In Hocking County, 42 percent of its 310 investigations were for neglect, 19 percent for sexual abuse and 15 percent for physical abuse, Hill said.
As demonstrated by Maslow's hierarchy of needs, parents who have not met physiological and safety needs cannot focus on love, belonging and esteem needs.
A lot of parents want to do better
but don't know how
Shafer said.
The largest percent of 2008 referrals were for neglect (39 percent), followed by general injuries (26 percent), abuse (17 percent) and sexual abuse (8 percent), according to the report.
The horror stories of battered children on nighttime television are mostly fiction. Few children are removed from their homes, and even fewer are relocated to a home without relatives, Shafer said. Although initially hesitant of social workers from a government agency, most caregivers are cooperative with children services, she said.
I've seen some really resilient kids who have lived in a very troubled family and done a really great job
Shafer said.
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Jessie Balmert
