The Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-04-14, Page 2fel
PAGE 2—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 1977
Child abuse not always obvious
The Huron County Children's Aid
Society, in an effort to better cope with
the problem of child abuse, is making an
effort to determine what exactly child
abuse or neglect is and what can be done
to prevent more of it.
John Penn, a CAS worker, said a
special committee had been set up to
establish policy and procedural
guidelines for child abuse cases and had
finished a rough draft for the policy.
Penn said the draft was a long way from
becoming actual policy but explained
that it did help CAS workers define child
abuse,
A child has the right to certain values
and these are described in CAS
documents "every child, despite his
individual differences and uniqueness, is
to be considered of equal intrinsic worth,
and hence should be entitled to equal
social, economic, civil and political
right, su he may . fully realize his
inherent potential and share equally in
life, liberty and happiness.
By definition in CAS documents any
act of commission or omission by in-
dividuals, institutions or society as a
whole and any conditions resulting from
such acts or inaction which depriyei
children of equal rights and liberties and
or interfere with their optimal
development, constitutes, by definition,
abusive neglectful acts or conditions.
The main thrust of the CAS policy
guideline is to point out that while some
cases of child abuse are obvious by
physical conditions of children other
cases where neglect is concerned are not
so easy to spot. Beating, wounding,
burning, poisoning, failure to thrive,
bruising, bleeding, externally and in-
ternally, effects of drugs where they
can't be explained satisfactorily by
either the child or the parent are listed
as obvious cases where child abuse is
suspect.
Emotional neglect, parental
deprivation and in some cases sexual
abuse are the situations where more
care must be taken to establish just
cause for any investigations, and are
also tougher cases for a children's aid
worker or a doctor or teacher to spot and
identify.
A dozen examples of characteristics of
abused children offer some boundaries
for CAS workers and other professional
people to work within.
The list describes the child who
exhibits no reaction and appears out of
touch with reality, the child who cries
hopelessly under treatment or
examination, the child who cries very
little, children who don't look to their,
parents for assurance, children who
show no expectation of being comforted,
children who are apprehensive when
other children cry and watch them
curiously, children who are ap-
prehensive when adults approach a
crying child, children who seem more
afraid or less afraid than other children
when admitted to care, children who are
always asking or wondering what will
happen next, children who are Con-
stantly in search of something (food,
favors, things, services) or children who
show Ifttle %motion re mention of going
home or show a strong adverse reaction
to the mention of going home.
While situations listed may provide
some insight into suspected child abuse
when the circumstances are discovered
they are not by themselves indications of
abuse. One instance discovered from the
list is not enough to warrant an in-
vestigation by a CAS worker but
repeated situations similar situations or
cases where more than one is discovered
may warrant an investigation.
Penn said that the CAS is now em-
barking on a public education program
aimed at the prevention of child abuse
and at better systems of detecting and
reporting abuse cases. He said in cases
where abuse is a problem the parent and
the child are sought out for help which is
a problem for many CAS workers
because of the connotation given them
that they are coming to take the children
out of the home.
The workers usually visit the homes of
children suspected of abuse and question,
the parents or guardians on specific
circumstances. They make as many
visits as they feel necessary to gauge the
environment of the home and present
their findings to a committee of fellow
workers. The workers weigh the in-
formation and decide whether the child
and parent would be better off,together
or separated.
While the CAS is making every effort
to deal with child abuse situations in a
manner that encourages and cultures
the family unit remaining intact and
undistur5ed it is aware that no case
where child abuse is suspected can be
taken lightly since it may very well be a
life and death situation for the child.
Stories
by
Jeff
Seddon
LINA watch on Huron's children
The Huron County needs of neglected
Children's Aid Society is youngsters.
concerned about unreported Norma Jeffery, -a CAS
cases of child abuse in Huron worker combining her talents
and set up a ` special com- with the public health nurses,
mittee last year to improve reported her progress with
detection and reporting of public health and said that
abuse. The committee met health nurses had indicated a
recently to update its ac- desire to be more involved
tivities and report progress in with child abuse. Public
various areas of concern to- health nurses would be taking
the CAS. an equal role with CAS in the
The steering committee, near future according to
aptly named Children In Jeffery who said the nurses
Need of Attention (CINA) is had even organized their own
made up of a combination of committee to set up a
professionals who may program themselves. She
become involved in child 9 added that the nursec would
abuse cases and •children's
aid workers. The professions
included in "CTNA are law,
education, medicine, police,
public health, psychiatry,
social services and hospital.
The long range goals
established for the committee
are listed as the early iden-
tification of high-risk
situations where child abuse
may occur, mandatory
reporting of abuse cases and
the problems of reporting.
The CINA team was
created in February 1976 and
at that time there were six
reported cases of child abuse
on the CAS files. A year and
one month.later the CAS file
has swelled to more than
three times the number of
cases, not because of a surge
of child abuse but because of
a more efficient system of
reporting cases.
also be working in schools
with a different approach as a
result of CINA ' activity
pointing put that in most
cases education professionals
feel more at ease with health
nurses in the school than with
CAS workers.
Jim Banks said he had
brought up the topic of child,
abuse at a meeting of all
county hospital ad-
ministrators and it was
discovered that while all
hospitals were aware of
potential abuse cases no
common denominator was
available for reporting the
cases. He said the ad-
ministrators had difficulty
determining what child abuse
actually was and couldn't
agree with phraseology.
He suggested Jot CAS
outline methods of spotting
child abuse and set up a
system of reporting it. He
CAS administrator John said the hospitals now have
Penn pointed out that the no one to report cases to and
reporting system created by no method of reporting them.
CINA, the awareness of the Dr. Dave Walker -'said he
types and causes of child had done some investigating
abuse and neglect and the on his own and while he had
proven success of CAS gigot imparted any information
workers in most abuse cases t/o his fellow doctors he had
had prompted professionals made some interesting
to point out high risk cases. discoveries. He said he had
He said the tripling of the concentrated his efforts on
case load was not an in- the legal bounds doctors must
dication of a rise in abuse of work within as well as their
children but was indicative of responsibility to the patient.
the need for a more con- Dr, Walker said doctors
centrated effort to meet the must have probable cause to
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report any suspected child
abuse and they are morally
bound to. He said doctors are
not legally bound to report
abuse but did point out that
the only agencies a doctor
can report to are CAS and the
crown attorney. Any other
person or agency would
represent a breaclf of con-
fidentiality.
Dr. Walker said he felt
hospital emergency units
should have prepared forms
doctors can use when child
abuse is suspected adding
that the forms should go to a
central location where they
are filed. He said once the
abuse ' is reported the CAS
Would be the final destination
for the reports, Such a file
would also prevent people
from merely going to another
hospital to protect them-
selves from detection. ,
Walker produced a sample
form he said he had received
from Victoria Hospital in
London. He said he did not
know the author of the form
but assumed it came
•
originally from Toronto Sick
Children's Hospital.
The doctor said the form
would be used only when the
doctor, suspecting child
abuse, felt the situation
should be investigated. He
said it would not become
Harbor report
BY'RON GRAHAM
April 6 - the Quebecois
arrived in Goderich Tight
from Sarnia to 'open the
harbor for the season.
April 9 - the Agawa Canyon
arrived Aight from Sault Ste.
Marie.
April 9 - the Quebecois
cleared harbor with corn
bound for Sarnia.
April 9 - the Agawa Canyon
cleared harbor with salt
bound for Toledo.
April 10 - the Algorail
arrived light from Port
Colborne.
April 1] - the Algorail ,
cleared harbor with salt
bound for Toledo.
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John Penn said the CAS had
a file .of past cases and in-
vestigations that went back
five years. He said the files
contained the original
reporting and esubsequent
information discovered
during investigations and
that the information was
available to professionals.
The files cannot be perused
by the public but doctors,
lawyers, health nurses, police
or any ` other professional
working with a child abuse
case can 'look at a particular.
'`file for information. He said
he hoped the filing centre
would be operational by the
end of April.
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