WVCAN releases stats for North Star Child Advocacy Center
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PARKERSBURG - The North Star Child Advocacy Center in Parkersburg saw over 600 children over the past year dealing with allegations of sexual abuse, drug endangerment and more.
The West Virginia Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN) recently released its Statewide Data Report for the 2023 fiscal year (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023).
The data in the report reflects service from West Virginia's 21 Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) which provided official service to 46 of 55 counties in the state.
A CAC provides a safe, child-friendly facility where Child Protective Service (CPS), law enforcement, prosecutors, and child treatment professionals work together to investigate abuse, hold offenders accountable and help children heal, according to a press release from North Star.
During fiscal year 2023, West Virginia CACs served 4,879 children, a nearly 10% increase in new children served in the last five years, according to the press release.
Locally in 2023, North Star Child Advocacy Center saw 604 children in the last calendar year compared to 618 the previous year. This is the fourth year in a row that North Star has seen over 600 children in a single calendar year, and the first time they have seen a decrease in the number of children seen since 2018.
Some of the highlights from North Star's report includes:
* 44% of the children served were there because of allegations of sexual abuse.
* 34% of the children served were there because of allegations of drug endangerment, compared to 14% statewide and only 3% nationally.
* 45% of the children served by CACs were between the ages of 7-12 years, 26% were between the ages of 0-6 years.
* 60% of the children seen were female. 40% were male. (Less than 1% were categorized as other)
* 90% of the alleged offenders were 18 years or older.
* 98% of alleged offenders were someone the child knew. 51% were parents, 12% were stepparents, 19% were other relatives and 8% were a parent's boyfriend/girlfriend.
* 48% of children are reported to have one or more disabilities as opposed to 30% statewide.
* 78% of the children interviewed disclosed abuse, with 22% not disclosing any abuse.
* 6% of the children received a medical exam.
* In 44 of the cases, criminal charges were filed, as opposed to 26 the year prior.
* There were 15 criminal indictments, as opposed to three the year prior.
* There were zero offenders acquitted (declared not guilty.)
* There are approximately 22,487 children in the five-county area covered by NSCAC.
"In looking at both the state report and North Star's numbers, its readily apparent that the role child advocacy centers play in the states mission to not only take care of our kids, but to assist the strained criminal justice system and overworked Child Protective Services is more important than it has ever been," said Greg Collins, executive director of North Star. "Many people don't realize that our center is not a `walk-in' facility. The forensic interviews we take come directly from law enforcement or CPS and are already in the investigative process.
"Another misconception is that all the children we interview disclose some type of abuse, when in fact, in the previous fiscal year, only 78% disclosed abuse.''
The forensic interview process is designed to be neutral and seek the child's story without them being led to say one thing or another and is not an interrogation, Collins said.
"The prosecutors get what they need to have a chance at a successful prosecution and the judges recognize and appreciate the neutrality in which they are done," he said. "When I see that in 44 cases criminal charges were filed in 2023 as opposed to 26 the year prior, I know that what we are doing is working.''
Regarding the slight drop in the number of children seen in 2023, Collins states that is because of a multitude of factors.
"It doesn't mean there was a drop in child abuse cases,'' he said. "Keeping in mind that our cases come from CPS and law enforcement, there were times in 2023 where both struggled to keep up with their cases.
"High caseloads, low manpower and mental health fatigue of the people doing the daily work are both key in what we see coming in the door."
North Star led the state's 20 other child advocacy centers in two notable categories. The first being the number of new children served at the center and the second being, once again, the number of forensic interviews conducted.
"We are leading the state in workload with only five forensic interviewers who are also cross trained as family advocates, and 2 ½ support staff to do the business and grants for the center to keep it all going," Collins said. "I can't say enough about the fortitude, dedication and heart of not only this staff, but of the men and women of law enforcement and CPS seeing this evil at the ground level daily."
Wood, Ritchie, Wirt, Pleasants and Calhoun counties are officially served by North Star. Other counties are provided services as a courtesy for various reasons. Some do not have a CAC providing official service, some are cases that have been conflicted out of a certain county, some are just a matter of convenience and partnership within the West Virginia Child Abuse Network as North Star is the closest to the area of the investigation.
North Star is a non-profit that does not have a consistent form of funding. The money the center uses to operate comes from federal and state grants, foundations and donations from the public.