OHIO–Summit County Sheriff Says Child Abuse Linked to Future Crime

AKRON, Ohio (June 21, 2011) Law enforcement took a stand against child abuse and neglect Tuesday, saying that child abuse and neglect is not only hurting kids todayit will also cause increased crime in the future. Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander sounded the alarm at a news conference at the Sheriffs Office. He called on state lawmakers to maintain state funding for voluntary home visiting programs so that Ohio can be eligible for new federal funding for these programs that can reduce child abuse and neglect and later crime.

The number of children who are abused or neglected in Ohio is greater than the capacity of the Akron Zips football stadium, Sheriff Alexander said. Proven programs such as the Nurse-Family Partnership prevent 50 percent of child abuse and neglect among those served.

He released a research report from the anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Ohio showing that more than 34,000 Ohio children were abused or neglected in 2009a rate of almost 100 kids every day, on average. In addition to harming children today, child abuse and neglect also leads to increased crime in the future. The report estimates that 1,300 of the kids who were abused and neglected in Ohio in 2009 will become criminals as adults, who otherwise would have avoided such crimes if not for the abuse and neglect they endured as children.

While most children who experience childhood abuse or neglect never become violent offenders, survivors of abuse and neglect are significantly more likely to commit crimes as adults. One researcher found that being abused or neglected almost doubles the odds that a child will commit a crime as a juvenile. The survivors are also more likely to abuse their own kids, creating a cycle of violence that can span generations.

Alexander said voluntary home visits for at-risk families could prevent many cases of abuse and neglect from ever occurring. These programs send nurses or trained paraprofessionals to help pregnant mothers and new parents learn about their childs health and developmental needs. Research on one quality program has shown that providing this support to new families can significantly reduce the likelihood that parents will abuse their kids and also can cut future crime.

 

Another program operating in Ohio, Healthy Families America, has data from a randomized controlled trial in New York state showing that mothers in the program reported engaging in one-quarter as many acts of serious physical abuse as the mothers not receiving the programs services.

Ohio has begun to invest in voluntary home visiting services. However, local grants and state support combined cannot provide funding to serve all of the eligible families statewide, and state funding has been cut significantly. Help Me Grow, Ohios statewide early childhood initiative, provides funds to counties to run home visiting programs such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, Healthy Families America and Parents as Teachers.

Law enforcement leaders thanked the Governor for his commitment of $33.5 million per year in the Executive budget and called on the State Legislature to maintain the states investment in home visiting services so they can be eligible for new federal funding now available to increase access to home visiting services by more families.

We understand the fiscal challenges facing the state legislature as they work to develop the next biennial budget, Cyndy Rees, State Director for Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Ohio said. Thats why we need to invest in proven early interventions like voluntary home visiting to help the most at-risk families. These programs offer significant cost savings for every family served by reducing federal, state and local spending on child welfare and criminal justice.

A study of Nurse-Family Partnership in Elmira, New York compared at-risk children whose mothers received visits with similar children whose families did not participate. Children in participating families were half as likely to be abused or neglected. Children who did not participate in the program had more than twice as many convictions by age 19 as those in families who received the visits.

Evidence-based home visiting programs are also highly cost-effective. Analysis from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) found that the Nurse-Family Partnership program produced a net savings for taxpayers of over $20,000 for each family served.

Sheriff Alexander is a member of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, a national anti-crime organization of 5,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and violence survivors, including more than 320 in Ohio.

###