Center offers kid-friendly way to evaluate suspected abuse

Education is an important aspect of preventing shaken baby syndrome and other forms of child abuse. But when education and prevention measures don't work, the Children's Center is there to help.

The Children's Center helps by providing a child-friendly setting for investigation into suspected child abuse.

"Before children's center, a child would disclose, or there would be reasonable evidence to suspect abuse," then the child would be interviewed multiple times, in multiple settings by a number of people like law enforcement officers, social workers, school officials, and medical professionals. "This is not good for the child," Southwest Missouri Children's Center Director Kathi Olson said.

Children now go to the center, where specially-trained forensic interviewers, medical professionals interview them, and the law enforcement officers and others involved come to the center.

Services provided are the forensic interview, medical exams that can include sexual abuse and rape kits and sexually transmitted disease testing if necessary; advocacy services in helping families through the court system, training for investigators and referrals to mental health services when needed.

The need for a place like the Children's Center is greater than some might think. Since the Children's Center in Nevada opened in 2004, "We have provided services to 1,000 chldren." In 2011, the Nevada Center saw 129 children. Including other Children's Center locations -- Monett, Butler and Joplin -- Children's Centers in the area have seen almost 10,000 children since the first center opened in Joplin in 1997.

The youngest child for whom the center has prepared a rape kit was 3 years. The youngest in a physical abuse investigation was 4 months.

In 90 percent of cases in which abuse has occurred, the perpetrator was someone the child knew and trusted, Olson noted.

It seems as though cases have increased, and Olson said that increased awareness in the community, an increased sense of what to do about it and other factors all may be reasons for the apparent increase.

"I think it's the awareness. I also think we have a lot of immature people having babies. And they don't know how to handle them," Olson said.

As a community, people can help by being involved. "We as adults need to take more responsibility. These kids are all our kids. These kids are, maybe, our children's classmates. We need to be more involved and more aware of child abuse," Olson said.

Those who suspect child abuse should report it, then let the authorities take it from there.

Not all suspected cases of child abuse are substantiated. In some cases, moms or dads involved in divorce cases allege abuse by the other. "It's a shame that parents would put their child through this for no reason," Olson said, but it happens.

Center advisory board member Jeff Feuquay said, "The goal is not to substantiate child abuse. The goal is to investigate. We love to see some that are not substantiated. that's a win."

Olson said prosecution rates have risen, and Nevada Police Chief Graham Burnley said that when similar facilities came to be in eastern Missouri, where he worked at the time, "It was tough to get to the bottom of things like this," but almost overnight, the situation changed.

"There's no question about it. These people save lives. They help children," Burnley said.