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Samantha Hayes ReportingThe death of Shelby Andrews, and earlier this week of a toddler in Murray, Jaden Cangro, and of course the murder of Destiny Norton, all have left our community feeling shocked and overwhelmed. Each of these children was killed at the hands of an adult. So what is being done to investigate and prosecute, and prevent child abuse?
More allegations of child abuse are reported every year in Utah, and every year more of those reports are substantiated. The numbers are gathered from the Department of Child and Family services.
From 2001 to 2004, the number of referrals to DCFS increased by more than a thousand each year. The latest number in for 2004 shows 22-thousand referrals. Of those, generally 38-percent are substantiated after an investigation.
Here's the disturbing part. In 2003, in 4,831 of those cases, the parents abused the child. It was a relative in 940 of the cases. 29-percent of the cases are attributed to Domestic Violence in the home. So even if a child is not physically abused, even being present in a home where domestic violence has been documented is considered abuse.
Neglect accounts for 21-percent of child abuse cases. Sexual abuse is 15 percent, physical abuse is 12 percent, and verbal accounts for 8-percent.
Prevent Child Abuse Utah believes the state needs more money and resources to put toward prevention.
Anne S. Freimuth, Prevent Child Abuse Utah: "In the prevention area there's not a lot of money or emphasis on prevention, and really prevention is the key to saving money. Down the road, what you don't prevent cots you a lot."
Most victims of child abuse are ten years old or younger. Nationally, four or five children die everyday in the U.S because of abuse.
