Helping child abuse victims starts with 'first responders'

Last in a series

Child abuse, said Clete Winkelmann, is one of those things that make people want to cover their eyes and run away.

"We don't do that," said Winkelmann, CEO of Children's Home in Peoria. "We run into the situation. We are basically the first responders in child abuse cases. We get as much training and guidance as the police do in responding to these cases because we need to."

Winkelmann was referring child welfare workers at his agency as well as at others agencies in central Illinois, statewide and basically throughout the country. Often for the child welfare worker, being called into a child abuse or neglect case comes after the situation has become its most volatile and it can be dangerous.

But child welfare workers don't carry weapons to diffuse such a situation.

"Instead of weapons we carry a big heart. In the end, that's the most important thing of all," said Winkelmann.

In this final installment of The Peorian's series on child abuse and neglect called "Who Is Protecting the Kids?" we look into some of the largest agencies in central Illinois. We didn't attempt to interview all of them but those we did, we believe, represent a good sampling for the services available in the region to victims of abuse and neglect.

More important, it tells of the type of people those victims will encounter; the people who will use the resources available to them to get those victims out of harm's way and work with them so they can recover, get help and, it is hoped, be reunited with loved ones.

The Children's Home

The Children's Home has changed through the decades, nearly 150 years after it was founded. But its core mission, caring for the children in the community, has never wavered.

The mission statement is clear: Giving children a childhood and future by protecting them, teaching them and healing the, and by building strong communities and loving families.

Its stated vision is concise: A healthy community where families and children come first.

Safety comes first for the children but also for the caseworkers, Winkelmann said. When police are called because of suspected child abuse, a caseworker is brought in, as well, whether from the state Department of Children and Family Services, from the Children's Home or another agency. Not only are the situation volatile, but the locations sometimes are less than desirable for one reason: Most of these cases involve people of poverty. These are not Peoria's most affluent neighborhoods.

"Everyone goes through TCI (Therapeutic Crisis Intervention) training to learn ways of controlling behaviors while deescalating volatile situations. Sometimes that becomes necessary just to get a child out of harm's way," he said.

That, he said, is just the start of the job The Children's Home will do with each child it comes in contact with. Because the goal of the state and every agency it contracts with is to keep the family together from the start or return the child to his parents, the whole family comes under the treatment of the agency.

"We are no longer just treating the child that shows up on our doorstep, so to speak. We are reaching far deeper into the family to learn what we can about the situation that brought that child to us to begin with. Then we try to help fix it, or else the kids would be right back here again in no time," Winkelmann said.

It's important to note that most of the children under the care of Children's Home particularly those in foster care, are wards of the state while their abuse or neglect case wends its way through the juvenile court system. There are currently about 15,000 children under the care of the state, which is far fewer than 20 years ago when agency were quicker to remove a child from a suspected abusive situation. Said Winkelmann, "In the 90s we removed too many kids from their homes. We did it when we saw the smallest of risk there could be harm and we learned that can cause just as much if not more damage," he said.

But removal from danger still is very much a part of what the Children's Home does. It has foster care services among the many child care programs in its stable. It has six locations where 400-plus employees provide for a monthly average of 1,100 children.

Only 150 of those children, however, are in foster care. Besides foster care, Children's Home offers behavioral health services. Many of the children have behavior problems and mental health issues that prevent them from being home or put into foster care. These children live at Youth Farm in the western part of Peoria County, an area that Winkelmann described as "serene, with peaceful open space that is much better for helping them to heal."

The Youth Farm has a capacity of 50 beds, of which 45 are dedicated to children sent by DCFS. "We need more capacity than that, but neither we nor the state can afford it. It is an expensive level of care. Our goal there is to get them stabilized to the point that can be moved into foster care," he said.

Children's Home also has group homes for children who cannot be put into foster care or until foster care can be found. Some are children too old for the foster care that is available. Nonetheless, Winkelmann said, they are well cared for and supervised and receive treatment toward helping them heal from the trauma they've endured.

Children's Home provides educational services through Kiefer School so the children don't fall behind and also now offer The Academy for Autism.

"We strive to keep up the quality of care for these children, which includes health assessments and crisis intervention, with family preservation the goal. Like other agencies, the goal is to find permanency within 18 months because we don't want these kids to linger in the system," Winkelmann said.

"But we do much more than work with kids who are abuse or neglect victims. One thing we're trying to do is work is closer unison with healthcare organizations to try and bridge the gap between physical and behavioral health. If you have someone with chronic mental health issues I guarantee he or she will have physical health problems, also," Winkelmann said.

The Center for Prevention of Abuse

When people think about the Center for Prevention of Abuse, the first thought that normally comes to mind is spousal abuse, that this is the place women go to be protected from abusive husbands or boyfriends.

After all, it was founded in 1975 as a rape crisis center and from 1978 to 1993 it was called Tri-County WomenStrength. The change to its current name came because in the 15 years in between, it came to be much more.

As Martha Herm, the center's executive director said, nobody ̶ women, men or children ̶ is immune to the effects of abuse.

Indeed, the mission of the center is to the point: To help all people to live free from violence and abuse.

Programming for children began in 1983 and has expanded through the years to include presentations aimed at preventing abuse, including teaching children through age 12 or 13 rules to protect themselves from unwanted touches. There are also programs that aim to prevent bullying, a sexual assault prevention programfor high school students and programs that are gender specific.

There are several programs, as well, for teachers and school staff on emotional teaching techniques, address bullying in schools and mandatory reporting of abuse.

In addition, The Center for Prevention of Abuse is one of only 12 centers in Illinois to offer Safe From the Start programs for children age birth to 5 who have seen or experienced any type of violence.

Herm said when a mother has been physically abused by her husband, one can bet the children in the family witnesses or heard it happen. "If a parent is being abused, there is a two-third likelihood the child or children or being abused. And even if the child isn't being abused in a domestic violence situation, they are affected by it. We have to try and make them understand it is not their fault," Herm said.

"Sometimes the child is made to be the scapegoat by the abuser. That child needs to understand they are not and we have treatment to help them, treatment that provides nurturing and loving."

Herm acknowledged domestic violence used to be all about the wife or mother. "It took a lot of time and research before we figured out that the kids get it. They know about it. They are affected," she said. "Research is even showing that abuse a pregnant woman goes through affects the development of the child. That is significant because domestic violence goes way up during pregnancy."

Programming at the Center for Prevention of Abuse approaches treatment of abuse from a family-centered standpoint "because we know the violence, the abuse, is not happening in a vaccum. It affects the whole family. Not only that, there is a thousand times more likelihood that a child of abuse will grow up to be an abuser or an adult victim. We are working to break that cycle."

Very little of the casework her agency does is court ordered, but Herm said the agency's reputation and quality of care results in referrals from police, churches and other social service agencies. "We know the child of abuse or domestic violence needs immediate help. We are ready to give that help," she said.

The Center for Prevention of Abuse remains the region's top agency to help victims of sexual assault, regardless of the age of the victim.

Herm said teaching children to prevent it is key in many situations, but teens and adults also must be aware of things they can do to be less vulnerable.

The center also strives to prevent elder abuse, which is a problem Herm said doesn't get the attention it needs. As with preventing child abuse, everybody needs to be aware of potential elder abuse situations and report it if they see or suspect it.

The Center for Prevention of Abuse can be visited at www.centerforpreventionofabuse.org. In a crisis situation the center can be reached at (800) 559-7233.

The Center for Youth & Family Solutions

When the Religious Freedom Act was adopted in June 2011, an interesting scenario developed. For decades the state had relied upon faith-based charities such as Catholic Charities for foster care and adoption services for victims of child abuse and neglect.

That became a problem for those faith-based organizations opposed to same-sex marriages or couples being allowed to adopt and the state's hands were tied; it could not discriminate against same-sex, civil union couples.

Rather than letting the 1,000-plus children under the care of Catholic Charities fall through the cracks, a group of its employees and directors formed The Center for Youth & Family Solutions, filing the requisite paperwork to ensure a continuity of care for the children. They hired the employees of Catholic Charities and picked up leases.

"These kids already had gone through some pretty heavy trauma. We didn't want any disruption in the care they were getting or in the efforts to find them permanency," said Tricia Fox, CEO of the Center for Youth & Family Solutions.

Added Anthony Riordan, chief operating officer, "It has been proven that if a child loses his or her caseworker, the success rate of getting the child back home falls from 75 percent to 17 percent. We were determined not to let that happen."

Indeed, CYFS faced and conquered big challenges to get here. But it has not, Fox and Riordan agreed, lost sight of the challenges its client children face every day. "We made the transition as seamless as we could for the clients. But it wasn't easy," Fox said. "It required quite an amount of pure perseverance. It took time. We had to get banking, take over $24 million worth of state contracts, redo other contracts..."

But it got done.

The agency's rocky start did not thwart its mission, however. It remains solid today: "The Center for Youth and Family Solutions engages and serves children and families in need with dignity, compassion, and respect by building upon individual and community strengths to resolve life challenges together."

That mission, the agency states on its website, www.cyfsolutions.org, reflects the belief in the "enduring strength, creativity, and perseverance of the human and community spirit to respond to and resolve life challenges."

What helped matters for CYFS is that the leadership and staff that moved over from the Peoria Diocese already had a proven track record, a reputation for getting done what needed to be done, said Riordan.

"The state (Department of Children and Family Services) knew we'd have the same administration, the same caseworkers and the same drive. This field is driven by performance-based results. That's the way it should be. Just because you care isn't good enough. You have to do the job well and we do," he said.

Fox said the state uses a complicated formula to measure the success of agencies, to see which ones performance best under all types of circumstances. "Our rating was solid and that, more than anything, is why the state helped us get this done," she said.

The services CYFS offers include adoption services, comprehensive behavioral health counseling, youth and family outreach, crisis pregnancy counseling, Intact Family Intervention, foster care, Guardian Angel Residential Program for youth.

It also is central Illinois' leading agency in dealing with runaways. That's a program, Riordan said, that could easily have fallen through the cracks because no other agency seemed ready or willing to step up and take it over. "We've been doing it for a long time and we have a 98 percent success rate and returning runaways to their families rather than being removed from the home," he said.

Just as important, Fox said, are the behavioral counseling CYFS and other groups such as Children's Home perform. "Some of these services would not have been picked up because of costs. The state has cut mental health services so drastically through the years somebody has to pick up the slack," she said.

Riordan said in many communities where CYFS goes, "We are now the only game in town."

One of the statistics CYFS touts is the 55 percent success rate in reunifying foster children with their natural parents. Reunification, Fox said, is something all child welfare agencies strive to achieve. "It's not just about getting kids that have been removed from their families into foster care and through childhood. Even in cases that end in adoption, we focus on open adoptions because these children, especially the older ones, know who their relative are and usually some form of communication continues," she said.

Added Riordan, "To act like that bond between the family and the child doesn't exist beyond adoption is counterproductive. We have to deal with it. Usually, it's the child who ends up maintaining contact."

Fox said the ideal foster care situation is to find a foster family where the child can stay at the same school and community and to maintain relationships with family. In fact, she said, a relative is usually the best option as a foster parent. "Rarely is it believed that starting over someplace complete different is the best option," she said.

With runaways, the first thing CYFS does when called in is to do a needs assessment of the child to determine if there is a risk to returning them home, Riordan said. Often, he added, the reason the runaway gives for leaving home triggers the response CYFS taken. "Typically, running away is a symptom of other dynamics going on in the family. That does not mean, though, that there is any risk to the child. That is what we have to discern and that isn't always easy. There could be a lot of moving targets to assess," he said.

It's a responsibility that takes special training as well as a big heart to take on, Fox said. "We have to make big decisions that affect a lot of lives."

The ultimate goal: Keeping families intact

Second in a series.

There is no question what the goal of child welfare agencies is when it comes to disposing of child abuse or neglect cases: To keep the family together.

Where there is grey area is with the question of what's in the best interest of the child. And from the start of a case, which is typically a telephone call to law enforcement or the state Department of Children and Family Services, the answer to the question becomes a judgement call.

"We no longer just place children when there is an allegation of abuse. Our primary purpose is child protection and we investigate all claims, but there is always the issue of whether the situation warrants removal of a child from a home. Those are case-by-case decisions for our investigators and caseworkers," said Karen Hawkins, deputy director of communications for DCFS.

"Certainly we are committed to protecting the children. But also, our goal is to keep the family together from the start, if we can. In 1997 there were 55,000 children in foster care and now there are less than 15,000. It isn't because there are fewer reports of abuse or neglect; it's because we are doing what we can to work the case and keeping the child with the family while getting them the help they need. One thing we have learn through the years is that states are not great parents," Hawkins said.

So, what is child abuse or neglect?

DCFS defines it as succinctly as it can in a manual that can be found on its website. The manual is intended for those people who are mandated to report cases or suspicions of abuse, such as teachers, healthcare workers, law enforcement workers and pretty much anybody who works with children on a regular basis.

Physical abuse occurs when a parent or a person responsible for the child's welfare:

• Inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows to be inflicted upon such child physical injury, by other than accidental means, which causes death, disfigurement, impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss or impairment of any bodily function.

• Creates a substantial risk of physical injury likely to have the physical impacts listed above. Examples include choking or smothering a child, shaking or throwing a small child, and violently pushing or shoving a child into fixed objects. Other circumstances include incidents of domestic violence in which the child was threatened, violations of orders for the perpetrator to remain apart from the child, and a history of past sexual abuse which may place other children at risk.

• Acts of torture, defined by DCFS as deliberately and/or systematically inflicting cruel or unusual treatment that results in physical or mental suffering.

• Inflicts excessive corporal punishment that leaves bruises on a child, especially a young child.

• Commits or allows to be committed the offense of female genital mutilation.

• Causes illegal drugs to be sold, transferred, distributed, or given to a child under 18 years of age.

The DCFS manual spells out sexual abuse and also discusses the definition of neglect.

"Neglect occurs when a person responsible for the child deprives or fails to provide the child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, or needed medical treatment. Neglect is also alleged when an adult provides inadequate supervision of a child. This can occur when children are left either unsupervised or in the care of someone unable to supervise due to his/her condition.

Also, "a child who is subjected to an environment which is injurious insofar as (i) the child's environment creates a likelihood of harm to the child's health, physical well-being, or welfare and (ii) the likely harm to the child is the result of a blatant disregard of parent or caretaker responsibilities."

Hawkins said sometimes it takes a judgement call to decide how to proceed with a complaint and whether to remove a child or children from the home. "We train very thoroughly on this matter for that reason. There is no substitute for experience," she said.

In its manual, DCFS advises mandatory reporters and investigators to ask themselves the question "Has the child been harmed or been at substantial risk of harm?" This helps focus the issue and moves away from value judgments and attitudes about lifestyles, the agency said.

What causes parents or others to become abusers varies, of course, and research has found much of the problem is cyclical, that abused children grow up to be abusing parents. That isn't always the case, experts quickly point out; but breaking the cycle, they as quickly will add, is difficult to do.

But as far as underlying factors, poverty is the most common denominator, those experts said. It is also, they add, the likely reason there is large disparity in race for the victims of child abuse.

Currently, DCFS statistics show there are 17,117 people, age birth to 21, that are in various stages of being wards of the state because of child abuse or neglect. Of those, 8,793 ̶ or 51.4 percent ̶ are African-American, while 6,835 (39.9 percent) are white and 1,117 (6.5 percent) are Hispanic.

"Poverty is the number one risk factor across all of hell's domain, whether it's child abuse, mental and emotional health issues, substance abuse," said Timothy Drew, a Peoria psychologist who often works with abused children and their families. He was a social worker in the state's foster care system for several years before becoming a psychologist.

Like other child welfare experts, Drew said the chief reason poverty is the top denominator may be partly because those in poverty have to deal more with agencies and people who are mandatory reporters. It also, he added, is because poverty has become multi-generational. "The poverty we see today? We are reaping from the actions people took 100 years ago. That's why there is a disproportionate number of African-American kids in the system," he said.

"I guarantee you child abuse goes on in homes where the parents have six figure incomes. But very few of those come to the attention of child welfare agencies or they have other means of taking care of situations without foster care being involved," Drew said.

"It's important to remember, though, that nobody sets a goal to have their child put in foster care. It happens and it doesn't mean that mother or father doesn't love the child. In 20-plus years of working in the system I have never once felt that a mother didn't love the child," he added.

The three top factors in determining causes of child abuse and neglect, Drew said, are poverty, a family history of disorder, and unreasonable developmental expectations of the child, which could be a parent expecting a small child to be able to do more for themselves than is natural.

Poverty often causes a home environment to be unstable, which can affect a child as much as physical abuse if the parents are unable to care for them well or give them the type of nourishment needed to stay healthy," said Clete Winkelmann, CEO of The Children's Home of Peoria.

"We no longer just treat the child who shows up on our doorsteps. We are reaching deeper into the family to try and find the root causes of the problem. If we can fix that, the better the chances we keep the family intact and the less likely that child ends up back here," he said.

Helping parents to fix their problems, even if it is making sure they know where to get help with food and other basic needs, could go a long way toward breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect, said Pam Perrilles, executive director of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) of Peoria County.

That includes children traumatized by witnessing domestic abuse, she said. "Our first goal is advocating for the child's best interest but also, we do our best to help parents fix the underlying problems," she said.

Martha Herm, executive director of the Center for the Prevention of Abuse, said he facility is best known as a safe haven for women who are victims of domestic violence. But those women usually have children who also need to be protected.

"Very young children who have seen or experienced any type of violence can be very traumatized. That's why we provide counseling to women and children and provide programming for those children. If a parent is being abused, there is a two-thirds likelihood the child is, as well," Herm said.

"Even if they are not, they see it and hear it and it affects them. They sometimes are made out to be the scapegoat. We often have to help them understand that what is going on with their parents is not their fault," she said.

Herm said domestic violence research used to be all about the women. "It took a lot of time and research to figure out that the kids get it, they know about it. They are affected. That's why we no approach the issue from a family-centered standpoint because the violence is not happening in a vacuum. It affects the whole family," she said.

While breaking the cycle of violence and abuse may seem a lofty goal, keeping families together is realistic and improved treatment is helping more families reach that goal every year. In 2013, for example, CASA closed 52 abuse and neglect cases and 45 of them ended with the families being reunited.

Statewide, reunification is up as well, with more than 55 percent of the cases ending on that positive note, said Tricia Fox, CEO of The Center for Youth and Family Solutions.

"It's no longer just about getting the kids through childhood then setting them out on their own," she said. "The goal is to work toward reunification from day one, usually."

She said the state wants each child abuse and neglect case to reach permanency within 18 months of it being opened. Otherwise, children would linger in foster care and the system would be more apt to damage them than help them.

Permanency can mean either family reunification or the child being removed permanently from the abusive home and being adopted. The experts interviewed all agreed there will always be cases that removing a child permanently is in that child's best interest.

Drew said some children possess a resiliency that is more innate than taught and they often are the ones who break the cycle. He described one woman whom he first encountered when she was 16 years old, put into a foster home because her single mother had a drug abuse problem. "Now 20 years later, she has kids of her own. She's a single mother and is at poverty level, but her kids have never been in the system. The big difference is she learned what substance abuse can do and she stayed away from drugs," he said.

Winkelmann said he believes the state and private agencies such as The Children's Home have gotten much better through the years at being able to keep children with their parents without jeopardizing their safety.

"I'm not going to try and say we have a perfect system. Of course it can be better. Are we protecting the kids? Absolutely," he said.

The child welfare field has become more professional and more outcome-driven, which has brought about better case assessments and better methodologies, said Anthony Riordan, chief operating officer of The Center for Youth and Family Solutions. That agency is central Illinois' top agency in dealing with runaways, as well as abuse and neglect victims.

"We used to warehouse kids, just put them in group homes or foster homes while the case went through the juvenile courts. We've gone from that to treating the kids to looking into why these things happen, why they do what they do," he said. "The field is driven by performance-based results, which is the way it should be. Just because you care isn't good enough anymore."

There are success stories in the child welfare field, said Hawkins of DCFS. "It can be when we are able to step in early enough to keep abuse from happening. It can be knowing that a child who survived the abuse and neglect cycle is married with children and a stable home. In fact, we have many DCFS alumni who are now productive members of society and are good parents. Many go into social work themselves. They are an amazing group," she said.

"There is never enough being done for the kids. But we are doing what we can to make sure they are safe."

Tomorrow: We look at a special agency called CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate), a group of volunteers that are the voice of the children.

CASA: Giving children a voice

Third in a series.

Not all child abuse cases result in the child being removed from the home. In fact, most now end with the family remaining intact. But making sure that all of the decisions made in court are best for the kids is not simple. 

Dominique Alexandre once worked as a family attorney but has since become an advocate supervisor for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) because she always wondered if she was doing the right thing for the kids.

“This way I get to represent the child and I am never on the wrong side,” Alexandre said.

“CASA is the voice of the child” is part of the mission statement of the organization that advocates for children in severe neglect and abuse cases in juvenile court. 

CASA was founded in 1982 in Seattle. The Peoria chapter was founded in July 2005. “CASA volunteers provide consistency to the children on their case, submit reports to the judge prior to all court hearings, and make certain that the child’s best interests are represented,” CASA says on its website, http://www.casapeoria.org/casa-about.html.

Terry Pyatt, a retired Peoria police officer who is now an advocate supervisor, said CASA holds the juvenile court system accountable but can only become involved when appointed by a judge. Once a case is appointed, CASA will then call upon one of its volunteers to become an advocate to the child or children in that case.

Volunteers come from all walks of life and anyone can become a CASA volunteer provided that they pass a background check and have no criminal record. They also cannot have a case pending before the court themselves. Volunteers are asked for a two-year commitment. Depending on the severity of a case, the duration can be longer or shorter.

“All you need is an open mind and a desire in your heart,” Pyatt said during a recent informational meeting for new and potential volunteers.

Volunteers must complete a 30-hour training process and sworn in by a judge before they can be assigned to a case. One to three children in a case is average.

Training sessions happen four times a year. During training volunteers will learn how to understand the major issues that most of the families are facing, including poverty, domestic violence and drug abuse. CASA also asks that volunteers gain 10 hours of additional training throughout the year. Deb Deeb, a CASA volunteer who is on her first case with five children, said additional training can include watching a one hour TV special on abuse.

In 2013, CASA of Peoria County served 185 kids aged newborn to 18. During the year 52 cases were closed, with 45 of them reaching the ultimate goal, family reunification, which is considered a happy ending.

Although many happy endings occur, figuring out how to prevent abuse and neglect to start with is always another focus. The factor that pops up most is poverty; most of the children brought into the foster care system are children who live in poverty.

Peoria not only has the issue of poverty but the population of poverty is heavily race disproportionate. CASA reports that 17 percent of Peoria’s population is African-American and yet 60 percent of the children in foster care are African-American.

That doesn’t mean that there isn’t abuse happening in homes of other races and ethnicities, or in middle class and wealthier homes, Pyatt said. It just doesn’t get reported as much, he added.

Pam Perrilles, executive director of CASA of Peoria County, said the willingness to volunteer doesn’t mean CASA will be a good fit. A volunteer cannot allow religious differences or other issues get in the way. “You have to put aside your own prejudices so you can advocate for the child,” she said.

Luckily CASA is rarely in dire need of volunteers but the more volunteers the better, the agency said. It is always good to have people on hand whenever the need arises as there are about 1,000 pending cases pending.

A volunteer is a direct contact to the judge and is sworn in by the court, meaning they are not allowed to discuss any details with anyone, not even family members. Volunteers are to meet with the children in their case a minimum of one hour each month, report frequently to CASA supervisors and give a written report every six months to the court.

Deeb, who also has a full-time job, said it can get hectic scheduling the time to meet with the children but it’s wonderful and very rewarding. “You get to plan your own case,” she said.

“You will not look back and say I wish I hadn’t done that,” said another volunteer.

Some people worry about how safe it is to be involved in these cases but CASA assures them it would never let anyone be in harm’s way, Pyatt said. Volunteers said during the meeting that they’ve never been in danger or felt like they were in danger. In situations where a volunteer feels nervous visiting children at their home CASA will always send a supervisor along.

There is not a whole lot of interaction most of the time, volunteers agreed. Deeb said that it’s a lot of observation. “You slowly develop a relationship with the children but you’re mostly there to just sit and watch. You’re only there to advocate for the child,” she said.

“You become the child’s face, not only their voice,” Perrilles said. However, she added, CASA’s only mission is to advocate for the child in court and, during visits, to get the child to communicate. 

“One time I asked a child what he wanted me to tell the judge and he told me to he wanted me to tell him to have a happy birthday, and so that’s what I wrote in the report,” Alexandre recalled.

Volunteers have boundaries. The hardest thing is not being able to buy any gifts for the children or take them anywhere for fun once a relationship has formed. Volunteers are discouraged from giving birthday gifts and little toys, and even clothing or books of any kind.

There are other ways to support the children if one cannot or does not feel it is right for them to become a volunteer advocate. Anyone can choose to sponsor a child by donating $100 a month to aid a child. CASA also holds fundraisers throughout the year, including the CASA Golf Event that will take place at the Country Club of Peoria on Sept. 17. CASA’s most recognized fundraising event, CASAblanca, will be at the Par-A-Dice Hotel and Casino on Nov. 1.

CASA, which is a United Way agency, relies strictly on the community for its funding. “We have no state budget and receive no government funding,” Perrilles said.

The organization requires money for the volunteer training and also for the salaries of the employees. One supervisor is needed for every 30 cases, she said.

CASA was formed and do the work that it does because “the kids deserve better,” Pyatt said.

“Kids learn from their surroundings. What they see and what they learn affects everyone, including society,” he said. “When there is a problem, you change the direction. The children need to learn that what they see isn’t the norm.”

Perrilles points out that “Society is more involved in children’s lives.” Keeping society so involved is almost imperative. When looking at the big picture, if a child can be helped and guided and if the cycle of violence can be broken, taxpayer’s money can be saved because the children can be kept out of the juvenile court system or even prison in the future.

Having at least one proper, caring role model in a child’s life can save society not only a lot of money but a lot of havoc, she added. “It can do wonders for a child’s self-esteem.”

“When a child realizes you are there because you want to be, that you are doing something for them without being paid, it really means a lot,” Deeb said.

She added there are times while working a case when she has wondered if she is making a difference. Then something will occur to make her realize that she is.

“It just seems like that are so many kids out there who don’t have a chance,” Deeb said. “But you just know you may write something (in a report) that gives them that chance.” 

Tomorrow: A look at a few of the agencies that deal first-hand with child abuse and neglect victims.

Protecting the kids is everyone's job

The responsibility for ensuring the safety of children or ridding them of the horrors of abuse or neglect should extend beyond child welfare services, police agencies and juvenile courts.

Those in professions that cause them to be mandatory reporters of abuse and neglect or even suspicions of such should not be the only people that do so. Indeed, that responsibility lies with each of us who knows or suspects a child unable to defend himself or herself is being abused or neglected.

In a perfect world, anyway.

So say the people in those professions, those charged with watching out for the kids. April is Child Abuse Prevention Month but for these folks and countless others like them it is a year-round duty; indeed, for many a 24-7 proposition they believe strongly in.

Over the next four days The Peorian will look at the issue of child abuse and neglect and present stories about some of the agencies that charged with watching out for the kids, keep them safe and fed.

Some of what we learned may surprise you but for the most part it all comes down knowledge: That is, knowing when a child is in need of help and knowing what to do about it.

Progress has been made over the last two or three decades but much more needs to be done to protect the children, to break the cycles of violence that result from abuse, to get families in poverty the help they need.

It takes more than just those who are paid to do it or volunteer their time to such efforts.

"We recognize we cannot do it alone. I certainly believe we in Illinois are very committed to protecting our children, but we need everybody to be our eyes and ears," said Karen Hawkins, deputy director of communications for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

DCFS, as it is most commonly known, has long been the agency charged with overseeing child welfare in Illinois. Founded 50 years ago, the agency also has had a host of critics through the years. That's because, Hawkins said, the public only hears about the cases that went wrong. "We're not perfect and don't claim to be. But statistics show we have had many, many successes and the number is growing," she said.

The agency is not about to rest on its laurels, however. "Much more can and will be done. But it starts with each individual. We need everybody in every neighborhood watching out for the kids. Some people believe it's none of their business to get involved, but we guarantee you the kids being abused or neglected want you to make it your business," Hawkins said.

Without those willing to step up, the situation would be far worse than it is. And it is bad enough, according to DCFS statistics.

The agency "receives, investigates and acts upon a report of child abuse or neglect every five minutes, child sex abuse every two hours, and the death of a child by abuse or neglect every day and a half," DCFS says on its website, www.state.il.us/dcfs.

It adds, "Tens of thousands of children are safer thanks to those who call our Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-2873 each year. Unfortunately, up to 80 percent of abuse and neglect goes unreported, and one in five Illinois children is abused before the age of 18.

"There has been progress but it's still one of those things where people want to just cover their eyes and run away from it," said Clete Winkelmann, CEO of The Children's Home in Peoria. "Every day, it seems, I find myself in a situation where people don't want to hear about what I do for a living. It's too distressing. Yeah, tell me about it."

In the Greater Peoria area, there are more than 1,100 active cases of child abuse or neglect being investigated or adjudicated. Each of those cases requires a case worker from one agency or another, whether it be those employed by DCFS, The Children's Home or other child welfare agencies. DCFS oversees all private child welfare agencies in Illinois.

Some agencies go beyond abuse and neglect cases. For example, The Children's Home works with children who have mental health issues. The Center for Youth and Family Solutions is one of the agencies that gets involved with adoptions, including of abused or neglected children who cannot be returned to their birth parents. It also is central Illinois' top agency for dealing with runaways.

Most of these agencies have foster parents at the ready to take charge of the kids who have been removed from their homes. The need for foster care has diminished greatly in the last 15 to 20 years, from a high of more than 50,000 children in foster care in Illinois to less than 15,000 now.

Whether that spells success depends on perspective. The chief reason for the decline is a shift in philosophy. Children aren't removed from their home as quickly as they used to be; there must now be a real danger to the child before that happens. The goal became reunification of the family, keeping the unit together unless it is deemed impossible for the safety of the child.

This shift occurred largely because of a recognition that the bond between a child and his or her parents is the strongest bond there is, even when abuse or neglect is involved. Often, experts say, the children will be hesitant to be truthful about abuse because they want to stay with their parents.

Also, even in cases where a child is in foster care so long they age out, or turn 17 and must be emancipated, they will return home to their parents. The same is true in cases where parental rights have been permanently severed and the child is adopted.

"It happens far more than people probably realize," said Anthony Riordan, chief operating officer for the Center for Youth and Family Solutions, which is the agency formed to take over the child welfare work of Catholic Social Services two years ago after a change in federal law mandated adoptions could not be denied to same-sex couples.

"To act like that bond doesn't exist is counter-productive. It's something we have to deal with and so it's better we try and keep the family unit together from the start," Riordan said. It's for that reason, as well, that his agency focuses on open adoptions after parental rights have been severed. "We think there should be some form of communication with natural family because these kids, especially the older ones, know who their relatives are."

Even in situations where a child is put in foster care, efforts are made to keep them in the same school or church – certainly in the same community – so as not to be too disruptive, said Tricia Fox, CEO of CYFS.

"We want the kids to maintain as many familial relationships as they can. Usually, when a child has to be removed from a home a relative is the best option to begin with. Rarely is it believed that starting over someplace else is the best option," she said.

Added Riordan, "We used to warehouse these kids. Take them out of their home and stick them in foster care or a group home. We have gone from that to treating kids through counseling and really looking deep into what is going on in the home."

That sort of assessment goes to quality of care, something DCFS emphasizes, said Winkelmann of The Children's Home. "Some people wonder if there aren't too many agencies doing the same thing. But there are 1,100 cases here alone and if you threw all those into one agency's lap, what happens to the quality of care? We all work with DCFS; they monitor us and we have performance indicators. And CASA holds us responsible as the voice of the court," he said.

CASA is Court Appointed Special Advocates, an agency manned mostly by volunteers who are appointed by juvenile court judges in Peoria County to be the advocate for children of abuse or neglect whose cases have reached adjudication stage in court.

These volunteers visit with the children throughout the duration of the case and make frequent reports to the courts about the well-being of the child. They become the voice of the child, said Pam Perrilles, executive director of CASA Peoria County.

"This is a huge responsibility for these volunteers. The reports they make are fact based, but they can be asked to make a recommendation about these kids. That is an enormous task at times. But working with these kids is so important because the kids come to realize that their advocate is a volunteer and is there because they care. It means much more to them," Perrilles said.

Volunteers at CASA go through extensive training before they are assigned a case. They are trained to better understand families, the effects of poverty, drug abuse and domestic violence. They are trained on what to look for when meeting with the children to make sure they are safe.

The children CASA serves are usually from the worst cases of abuse and neglect, Perrilles said, and yet the agency can say most end with the children staying home or being reunited with their families. "While our task is advocating for the child's best interest we will do our best to help parents fix the problem that caused the abuse. If we can break the cycle of violence it is better for the child, the family and for society," she said.

CASA closed 52 cases in 2013; 45 ended with the children being reunited with their family.

TOMORROW: A look at the types of abuse, the causes and the goals of the agencies that deal with them.