Abuse And Neglect

Abuse and neglect are the dark secrets of the elderly. In nursing homes, assisted living facilities and private homes, senior citizens are beaten, robbed and left without proper food or medication, say advocates for the elderly. As a result, the Baltimore County Department of Aging has begun a yearlong campaign to urge more people to report crimes against the elderly and to teach how such acts can be prevented. The campaign - "Elder Abuse Is A Crying Shame" - began this month. The department has publicized it with billboards in Essex and Catonsville and in a brochure with a cover showing a shattered pair of eyeglasses.

Every week, dozens of parents, guardians and leaders at youth-serving organizations tell me that they want to do whatever they can do to keep their children safe from abuse. One such tool is the state's sex offender registry. Accessible by the Internet, sex offender registries provide a simple map and list of people who have committed sexual crimes against children, or sexually violent crimes against adults. There are even apps for viewing the registry on mobile devices. One need only to do a routine check every so often in order to be reminded that the threat of child sex abuse impacts every neighborhood and that every community has its share of offenders.

Up on 'The Hill' at St. Vincent's, a new generation of children orphaned by abuse and neglect find a safe place to rage and to heal. Story by Rob Hiassen, photography by Perry Thorsvik.Fred is dead, although with an iguana it's sometimes hard to tell. But Fred the iguana is truly dead, and his passing requires a proper burial.In a few moments, everyone will gather behind the green dumpster at St. Vincent's Center. Its pastor, Father Ray Chase, will preside. He will find the right words. The 12 boys of Martin Luther King House, one of six cottages at the center, will join him at the grave site.

Ten volunteers have become sworn Court Appointed Special Advocates this month for Maryland's abused and neglected children. The volunteers have completed 30 hours of classroom training coupled with at least two hours of court observation to qualify to work on behalf of the state's foster children to ensure their rights are protected as the state seeks to find them permanent homes. The new CASA volunteers are Doris Barnes, of Monkton; Peggy Nicholson and Lela M. Yorbor, both of Woodlawn; Natalie Snell, of Randallstown; Corryne Deliberto, of Rodgers Forge; Lyn Biller, Stacey Gallina and Jennifer Keeney, of Westminster; Anne Chiolo of Finksburg; and Russell Bailey of Gettysburg, Pa. Nicholson, a former analyst with the Social Security Administration, said she felt as though it was "my obligation to give back to the community that has been so good to me. " To Chiolo, a mother of two boys, the opportunity is rewarding.

Dr. John O. Meyerhoff, chairman of the board of Parents Anonymous of Maryland, has won the Baltimore City Medical Society's 1991 Annual Community Service Award.Since becoming the agency's chairman in 1986, Dr. Meyerhoff has raised funds for the agency, worked to increase public awareness and understanding of child abuse and neglect, and increased the professional staff.He also helped develop Adolescents Coping Together, a network of support groups for troubled adolescents that now operates in 21 Baltimore public schools.

WASHINGTON -- The effects of child abuse and neglect may plague victims well into their adult lives, surfacing in the form of suicide attempts, learning difficulties and trouble finding employment, an expert on criminal justice and psychology reported yesterday.These long-term emotional and educational problems may be more common than delinquency and violent criminal behavior, according tothe preliminary findings of a study that so far has involved 500 young adults, half of whom were victims of child abuse, researcher Cathy Spatz Widom said.

The level of violence aimed at young children in this country has reached public health crisis proportions, annually claiming the lives of at least 2,000 children and seriously injuring upward of 140,000 others, a federal advisory panel declared in a report scheduled to be released today to Congress.The U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect, concluding a 2 1/2 -year nationwide study that included public hearings in 10 states, found a level of fatal abuse and neglect far greater than even experts in the field had realized.

Prevent Child Abuse Maryland and representatives of faith denominations will present an educational conference, "The Faith Community's Response To Child Abuse and Neglect," from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Road, Columbia. Speakers will discuss the nature and complexity of child abuse, and describe community resources and opportunities. A report will be compiled to be shared with faith communities and educators in Maryland. Admission is $30, including lunch, refreshments and a resource binder.

New York. -- Shayna Bryant's four siblings say that when her parents wanted to punish her they gave her a choice of a beating or going without food for two days.After she was found dead on her fourth birthday on a Formica table in her family's Bronx apartment, an autopsy revealed that she had died of blunt impact wounds to her head and torso, which also showed signs of healed wounds. Her face and hands were scarred by cigarette burns. The four surviving children say the father often used his fists, the mother a shoe.

U.S. cuts funding for crime victims Congress trims funding for crime victims, leaving nonprofits, state and local agencies with the prospect of cutting services. Social Services chief resigns The head of the city's Department of Social Services resigns after repeated criticism of the agency for failing to prevent the deaths of children from abuse and neglect. Illegal-immigrant measure defeated Taneytown's council defeats an anti-sanctuary resolution, but members make clear they support full enforcement of existing immigration laws.

Young victims and perpetrators of violent crime in Baltimore are more likely to skip school, be abused or neglected or have a history of contact with the juvenile criminal system, a city Health Department report found. The study, released Friday and based on data from 2002 to 2007, sheds light on the intractable problem of youth violence in Baltimore and is part of the agency's effort to devise ways to intervene before young people get into trouble. The statistics show that children who were crime victims had roughly the same struggles with truancy and rates of abuse as youths who committed violence, making the two groups practically indistinguishable, said Jacquelyn Duval-Harvey, a Health Department deputy commissioner.

Reform of child welfare systems in Maryland and several other states is hampered by "misguided and secretive policies" that restrict disclosure of information about deaths and serious injuries resulting from abuse or neglect, according to a report to be released today by two national child advocacy groups. Maryland was among 10 states that received an "F" grade because they "place confidentiality above the welfare" of children. The report by the University of San Diego School of Law's Children's Advocacy Institute and Washington- based First Star argues for greater transparency so child welfare systems can be held accountable and future tragedies can be averted.

U.S. cuts funding for crime victims Congress trims funding for crime victims, leaving nonprofits, state and local agencies with the prospect of cutting services. Social Services chief resigns The head of the city's Department of Social Services resigns after repeated criticism of the agency for failing to prevent the deaths of children from abuse and neglect. Illegal-immigrant measure defeated Taneytown's council defeats an anti-sanctuary resolution, but members make clear they support full enforcement of existing immigration laws.

Disturbed that child protective services failed to prevent the death of a 2-year-old city girl despite previous investigations of her mother for child abuse and neglect, Baltimore lawmakers said yesterday that immediate legislation is needed to better track such cases. The calls to monitor abusive women for new pregnancies came amid an investigation by Maryland's Department of Human Resources into the agency's handling of Bryanna Harris, who police say died in June after ingesting methadone and being dealt a blow to her abdomen.

Finding too much in foster care study The Sun's editorial "Family ties" (July 16) derives a range of implications for foster care and group care policy based on a large study of children in Illinois. However, one very important point missed in the discussion of this large study is that the children in the study were ages 5 to 15 at the time of the family's investigation for child abuse and neglect and the child's admission into the study. If children were younger than 5, they were not included in the study - and kids in this young age group represent a substantial proportion of children who enter foster care in Baltimore.

An attorney representing a 35-year-old Harford County man accused in the killing of an Elkton woman has asked that records documenting childhood abuse and neglect of the suspect be unsealed, offering a possible preview into the defense strategy. On Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Charles Eugene Burns in the killing of Lillian Abramowicz Phelps, 43, of Elkton. Her body was one of four found in remote areas around Aberdeen in recent months - crimes that authorities have said might be linked.

These events are scheduled at the Baltimore Convention Center, Howard and Pratt streets. April 19-20 BizLearn 2004 meeting. Estimated attendance: 800. April 20 Annual Conference on Family. Estimated attendance: 700. April 22-25 Respiratory Care Medical Convention. Estimated attendance: 2,000+. April 23-25 Charismatic Catholic Conference. Estimated attendance: 500. April 23-25 International Gem & Jewelry Show. Estimated attendance: 5,000+. Contact: 301-294-1640 April 24-25 International Association of Culinary Professionals trade show.

Fifty new reports of child abuse and neglect landed on the desks of Anne Arundel County's child protective services workers Tuesday, setting a record and sending social workers scrambling."

Adell Pearson, who spent more than four decades at St. Vincent's Center helping abused and neglected children rebuild their shattered lives, died of cancer Sunday at her West Baltimore home. She was 66. A child-life specialist with limited formal education, Mrs. Pearson earned the admiration of her peers - and the love of her charges - with her knack for winning the trust of mistreated youngsters, whether through gardening or her down-to-earth sayings. "I worked closely with her for 12 years, and I was pretty much in awe of her ability to help abused children heal," said David E. Brainerd, formerly of St. Vincent's and now administrator of the children's division of the Baltimore County Department of Social Services.

A former house manager at a Baltimore County group home for the developmentally disabled has been charged with abusing a resident of the home, the state attorney general's office announced yesterday. That group-home provider, Baltimore-based Netcon & Earthkins, had its state license revoked last summer amid state findings of abuse and neglect. Phyllis Fakuade, 41, of the 6600 block of Parr Ave. in Baltimore was charged with one count of second-degree criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult and one count of second-degree assault, said Kevin Enright, a spokesman for Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. The charges were filed Thursday, and Fakuade was served yesterday, Enright said.