Contact Admin. Unlike the search for the cause of cancer, though, we know the basic cause of child abuse and neglect: People parent the way they were parented. Oftentimes, the abusers do not understand that what they are doing is wrong.
Take for example the case last fall involving a young mother charged with child endangerment after police found three children playing outside wearing only diapers. The mother, who was 20 at the time, denied the allegations of food and trash everywhere. The mother, her mother and grandfather all denied she was a bad mother. Of course, local child advocates and community leaders have been trying to address these issues for many years.
And we should take heart some progress has been made, such as the launch of Isabel's House , a crisis nursery that temporarily cares for children when parents are under stress or unable to properly care for a child.
Still, as you'll read in a story on the front page today, Bredfeldt and other members of the News-Leader's Every Child Community Advisory Committee struggled last week to identify practical next steps.
Participants agreed education and awareness are important. Among other similar comments, Police Chief Paul Williams said as a result of our ongoing series: Vieth is known in child advocacy circles for his plan to end child abuse in years. Vieth is returning to Springfield March 7. As it happens, that conference coincided with another major News-Leader project that devoted substantial space and attention to child abuse.
