Idaho child abuse increases

COEUR d'ALENE - State officials say newly released data shows a spike in the number of severe child abuse cases last year, at a time when many families were suffering from the recession.

The number of cases of life-threatening injuries suffered by children increased by 9 percent, with the biggest leap coming from the state's southwest, according to a report Tuesday by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

The number of what the department calls "priority 1 child abuse and neglect referrals," life-threatening and emergency cases, increased 8 percent in 2010 compared with 2009 in Kootenai, Benewah, Bonner, Shoshone and Boundary counties.

Beth Barclay, program director of the nonprofit child abuse prevention agency ICARE serving Kootenai County, said, "We know that poverty, unemployment and undue stress are the major precipitants of child abuse and neglect in any community."

Coeur d'Alene Police Department Sgt. Christie Wood said, "In 2010, we had a very severe case of child abuse with the Crossley twins. That type of case is not the norm."

She said there could be a number of triggers, including the economy, which contributes to instances of poverty for families, substance abuse issues, and learned behavior from the family cycle of violence.

Wood said the city of Coeur d'Alene had a total of 71 reported cases of child abuse in 2010, which is down from 78 in 2009. The city doesn't break abuse case statistics down based on severity.

The state data, on reports of emergency or life-threatening injury to children, track a 15 percent increase in the Nampa-Caldwell area. There was a 13 percent spike in Boise compared to 2009.

State officials did not identify specific reasons for the increase in those serious cases, but Tim Sanders, clinical supervisor for the welfare department's regional office, said the economy could be a factor.

"I think that one of the reasons we receive many referrals are because of poverty and family stress due to economic conditions," Sanders said.

The agency tallied more than 7,500 total reports of child abuse or neglect in Idaho last year, a total that was on par with 2009. Of those, 1,730 cases involved children in imminent danger, up from 1,594 reported in 2009.

"We are very concerned about the increase in severity of child welfare situations we are being called in on," department program manager Shirley Alexander said.

Department officials said it is important to stop or prevent abuse by alerting officials before situations get to the severe and life-threatening phase.

"Anybody in the community who has reasonable suspicion that a child is either being abused, neglected or abandoned, they have a right and responsibility to call that in," Sanders said.

Emily Simnitt, a Department of Health and Welfare spokeswoman, said calls for suspected abuse cases are encouraged and confidential.

"It can be uncomfortable. You might think you're being nosy, but if that child's in a home where they're being abused or neglected, they need the whole community to advocate for them and to watch out for them," Simnitt said.

Press staff writer David Cole contributed to this report.