Abuse And Neglect

Parents who have a mental illness are at a higher risk of abusing or neglecting their children, a Johns Hopkins University study has found.In a study of nearly 10,000 parents, 58.5 percent of those who abused their children suffered from a mental illness, as did 69.3 percent of parents who neglected their children, Dr. Yuriko Egami reported in a recent issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry."

About 100,000 people named on a state computerized roster as suspected child abusers over the past seven years will get to challenge their inclusion on the listing in hearings beginning next month, state officials said yesterday.Stephen K. Berry, manager of the Maryland Department of Human Resources' child protective services program, said public notices will be printed in Maryland newspapers beginning Monday with a toll-free number to call for information on obtaining a hearing.Sandra I. Barnes, an assistant attorney general assigned to DHR, stressed that access to the agency's database on abuse and neglect cases is restricted to certain people in the state's Social Services Administration.

The House Judiciary Committee has never been known for enlightened thinking, particularly in social policy. But when the committee cut the heart out of domestic violence legislation this week, women members of the House of Delegates finally lost patience, letting fly with public criticism of their colleagues that carried an especially bitter tinge.The bill was a top priority for a broad coalition of women's organizations ranging from liberal groups to women's business associations. But their concerns were no match for the criminal trial lawyers who dominate the committee, whose sympathies evidently lie more with their clients, present and future, than with any female constituents who face the terror of domestic abuse.

WANTED: The Wonder Woman or Superman who can prevent misery from turning into tragedy, save lives and families, find homes for adoptable children, cure a troubled foster care system, boost the morale of case workers asked daily to make judgments worthy of King Solomon -- and do it all with a shrinking budget.Since Aug. 1, when the previous director moved to another post, the Department of Human Resources has been searching for a new chief for the Social Services Administration. So far, no luck.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration intends to call attention to the tragedy of child abuse and neglect through a series of high-profile events, but it will not propose funding any new programs to combat the problem, according to a draft of the planned initiative.Louis W. Sullivan, secretary of health and human services, "wishes to make the issue of child abuse and neglect a very high priority of his tenure," states the initiative, expected to be unveiled by the White House later this month.

After a successful first year of helping abused and neglected children, the non-profit group Voices For Children will celebrate on Friday with a fund-raiser at Columbia's Oakland Manor mansion.During the past year the organization has trained 25 volunteers to serve as advocates for abused and neglected children in cases that reach the juvenile court system.Acting as an independent fact-finder, a court-appointed volunteer investigates and gathers information on individual abuse cases. Based on discussions with social workers, parents, family members, teachers and the abused or neglected child, the volunteer makes a recommendation to the judge about how the case should be resolved.

Reports of child abuse are nearly overwhelming the Carroll County Department of Social Services. The number of reports of suspected child abuse this year is 64 percent greater than the total number of cases for all of 1992. Because state law requires all valid reports of suspected child abuse to be investigated within 24 hours, the department's staff is struggling to keep up.Whether more child abuse is occurring in Carroll today than last year or even 10 years ago is not the appropriate question.

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.

PHOENIX -- A five-month Department of Economic Security investigation concluded yesterday that "abuse and neglect" led to the death of a 16-year-old California youth at the Arizona Boys Ranch and prompted officials to deny an operating license to the paramilitary-style boot camp for juvenile offenders.The state report also revealed that 17 former staff members will be placed on the Arizona Child Abuser Directory as a result of their treatment of Nicholaus Contreraz of Sacramento.The directory is a confidential computerized list meant to help the department screen people for foster care and other children's services.

Applications for medical assistance, food stamps and aid to families with dependent children in Carroll have increased from a year ago.The Carroll County Department of Social Services has also seen an increase in reports of child neglect and abuse, both sexual and physical, Executive Director M. Alexander Jones told his board of directors at its monthly meeting yesterday.Mr. Jones also said the number of applicants who have moved to Carroll recently from other counties and states has gone from an average of 11.5 a month by the end of 1991 to an average of a month by the end of 1992.