Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 1978)
tlhild ahuse By CAROLYN BLOSSER Special to The Battalion Last year in Texas 101 children edas a result of child abuse. This Itatistic, perhaps the most startling eported by the Brazos County De- artment of Human Resources, con- rnis the fear the child abuse and eglect is a serious problem in exas. The Department or Human Re- jurces, a division of the Texas De- lartment of Public Welfare, also re nted the following: —In Texas during 1977 there ivere 162,000 cases of children re- irted as needing protection. —Of these, 142,560 were sus- ected of being abused and ne glected. too many tragedies THE BATTALION TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1978 Page 5 -% Ei J\xe Department of Human \esources usually receives be- wen 20 and 25 complaints of hildren in need of supervision lac/i month. Most reports come 'rom relatives and neighbors of he children, not all of whom are wessarily abused. . . Pat Ar- nickle, child placement worker. —Of these children, 8.700 were ilaced in permanent adoptive As far as can be determined, no deaths occurred last year in Brazos County as a result of child abuse, TiTl ss>d Pat Arbuckle, one of the coun ty’s five child placement workers. Except under severe circum stances, police do not investigate al- 2. And legatins of abuse or neglect, she mblb sa ‘d- Any reports are referrred to a( j Vfr the Department of Human Re- jj_ t sources. Arbuckle said the Department usually receives between 20 and 25 complaints of children in need of supervision each month. Most re ports come from relatives and neighbors of the children, not all of whom are necessarily abused, she said. Most of the families we re deal ing with do not harshly abuse their children,” she said. “Most of the children are neglected or minimally abused.” She said most child abuse and ne- ill er he FBI Oasis condi ceofthi IcCron) ys coil •ameup gleet results from a lack of knowl edge of parenting skills, lack of money for proper medical care, or lack of supervision because both Mrs. ! P^ 611 * 5 work. Many families cannot afford to pay for day care, she said. Stress and alcohol also frequently ’at eup res - llions i erty an Monday employs testimoi ;ed wife ; Vegas il he was .S lead to child abuse, Arbuckle said. Sometimes, however,the problem is a philosophical one. "Some parents believe harsh physical discipline is the best way to bring up a child,” she said. When a complaint is received, the case worker must first decided if it is an emergency situation that needs immediate action, Arbuckle explained. The worker tries to find a relative or responsible neighbor to provide supervision for the child. If that can’t be found, the children’s shelter is the next consideration. The only children’s protective shelter in Brazos County is operated by Twin City Mission Inc. in Bryan. Children who are picked up by the Department of Human Resources are sent to this shelter, which is run by the Rev. and Mrs. Warren Barnes. Here the children are evaluated to find proper care, and are usually placed in foster homes. Twin City Mission’s shelter can hold only 13 children at one time and they can stay no longer than 30 days, Barnes said. Last year 38 chil dren were placed in he shelter. Since Sept. 1, it has housed 15 chil dren. The shelter houses children from the seven counties in Region 6: Brazos, Leon, Washington, Grimes, Madison, Burleson and Robertson. The child may range in age from in fancy to 17, but Barnes said the majority placed in the shelter are teen-agers. Barnes said some of the children placed in the shelter have suffered Some of the children placed in the shelter have suffered from malnutrition as a result of ne glect, some have been physically abused, and others have been sexually molested by fathers and stepfathers. . . Rev. Warren Barnes from malnutrition as a result of ne glect, some have been physically abused, and others have been sexu ally molested by fathers and step fathers. However, it is the emotional trauma, not the physical abuse, that is most difficult to remedy, Barnes said. Because of this many of the children have trouble staying in their foster homes, he said. For example, two brother, 8 and 10, were placed in the shelter after being picked up for passing bad checks. One 16-year-old who has been sexually molested by her step father is back in the shelter after being in and out of three foster homes. The Twin City Mission shelter is funded partially by the Department of Human Resources and partially by private donations. Barnes said the government funding of $2,400 a month is soon to be cut back to $1,400 a month. He said this will force the shelter to rely almost com pletely on private donations. After taking a child out of his home, the Department of Human Resources acts as a temporary man aging conservator, Arbuckle said. The Department has custody of the kids while the parents go through counseling until it’s felt the children can return to their homes. Brazos County has not state or community supported counseling service for parents, such as Parents Anonymous. The Bluebonnet Psychiatric Center does offer pri vate counseling, but many parents can’t afford the fee, Arbuckle said. By CAROLYN BLOSSER Special to The Battalion Wednesday afternoon. The )ack-porch screen door of the two- aci J 01 ^’ wo °den-frame house bangs nut. A young, blonde-haired girl in er slor^i re ^ j urn P su h and sandals enters neden. She has big brown eyes and smooth, fair complexion. Jane (not her real name) looks like ‘ n y typical 8-year-old schoolgirl, ut there is one difference — she is ln abused child. She her '•year-old sister, who is not abused, paying at the Twin City Mission -nildren’s shelter in Bryan while ■'ey wait for placement in a foster orne. rrollton. 50 seed tryinl her frii >r husls s testa ns, tradict) Katheryn Barnes, who along with hecas ,er husband runs the shelter, knows , ec cali an ,^ background well. She s been orally molested by 'er stepfather and uncle since she | W as 5 years old. Her parents are al- j 1:0 °hcs. Her mother is now drying aa ? u h Jane goes upstairs to put up her °ks. Sitting on top of the yellow c est of drawers in her room is a vis shell n i fr ame d picture of her mother, ill 0n the wall above ,an f Prayer: ■eekshel she oil me® l J ndant ;r hid r a ■ears nonth OSli id ;ea oitfl Intid* miH at sf 1 K Abused children find home in local shelter bed A r'^j >W * wa ^ e to see the light s has kept me through the * , night, nd now I lift my voice to pray at He will keep me through the day.” ^hen she first came here she u ,' v<) black eyes. Her body was Wack and blue all over. She’s been ergoing psychiatric treatment.” jane returns to the den and sits on irian 011 i buying on the floor amid m ,L re ° to V s are two sisters, 10 ^nths and 2 years old. Their par- ? are separated and the children ••nin.theTflnds'ajob. 1 ’'’ 1 "’" Unti ‘ ' heir Jane picks up the older child and BiH er ln ^ er bounces the g P anc ^ down on her knees while n y patting her back. The 'Unger sister wets her pants and "e appeals to Mrs. Barnes to let ^ change the diapers, he s too grown up. She doesn’t *• 0w h°w to play. She gets emo- . i na y upset and then hysterical en things don’t go her way. You j 6 handle her with kid gloves. ” j, ane Picks up the baby and carries car fi n 1 adjoining bedroom. She anrfl . her down on the bed egins changing her diapers. i ne n |ght she wanted to wash ha air w iib an empty bottle of trial aw *hat had been thrown ay ' She became very upset and but anything would have set it off. One minute she’d be that way and the next minute she’d be perfectly calm.” A few minutes later the screen door bangs shut again. Jane s sister is home from school. The girls eat some vanilla pudding for their after noon snack. Jane tells her sister, “Did you know that if you eat vanilla pudding, you’ll grow up and marry a handsome prince?” “She needs somebody she feels secure with — somebody to sit down and love her and talk to her. One afternoon she climbed in the chair with me and we slept there all afternoon.” Pouring rain prevents the chil dren from playing on the swing set or in the playhouse in the backyard. Instead, the girls settle in front of the television set in the den. “Mrs. Barnes, may I change the channel please?’ Jane asks. I don t like ‘Sesame Street.’ They only teach a bunch of different letters and stuff like that. I know all of that already.” She flips the channel and stops. Her face lights up. “Oh, I love ‘Leave It to Beaver. This is so funny.” Mrs. Barnes is optimistic that Jane can lead a normal, well- adjusted life in the future. “If she gets in the right enviro- ment and stays in it, I think she 11 eventually outgrow her emotional problems. If people understand that those aren’t temper tantrums, but rather the effects of emotional trauma, I think she’ll be O.K. But it’s going to take a long, long time. Jane and her sister were recently placed in a foster home together. They are staying there indefinitely TOKYO &TCAK HOUSC AGGIE SPECIAL DINNER $ 2 95 Includes: Sweet and Sour Chicken Egg Roll Fried Won Ton Chop Suey Fried Rice Fortune Cookies Specials good for students Tues., Wed., Thurs. & Sun. Closed Mondays 2025 Texas Avenue Townshire Shopping Center 822-1301 CASH FOR USED BOOKS OI’ Army Lou is paying cash for your used books right now. USED BOOK HDQRS LOUPOT S BOOKSTORE Northgate - Across from the Post Office Parted crying when she couldn’t use the T,^ us band picked her up out of her j wra Pped her in a towel, sat wiik r n on t ^ le k e d and talked dow i r ^ or an bour. She came "HL- ? r •* USt as bappy as a lark. w , nk a lot of it was anxiety. She e( d that trial bottle of shampoo. Tuesday Nite Live At I HOP CHEESE OMLETTE AND THREE PANCAKES Welcome back to the Restaurant. Internatiooal House of Partcakes, $^49 ONLY Good between 10 p.m.-2 a.m. 103 COLLEGE 846-1817 She said that the Department of Human Resources only has time for counseling on a very limited basis. “We don’t have the time to give any therapeutic counseling,” Ar buckle said. “We do try to teach parenting skills and serve as a sounding board for the parents. “We have become an urban community, but we still have rural resources,” she added. “Urban problems are here, but the help is not.” A one-hour counseling session at the Bluebonnet Psychiatric Center costs $35 if it’s with a social worker, and $45 it with a psychologist, said Felice Klein, director of social serv ices at the Center. She said the fees are scaled for income. Patients pay only a per centage of the fee, and the Brazos Valley Mental Health and Mental Retardation Center pays the rest. Klein said the Center’s counsel ing focuses not so much on the abuse itself, but rather on symptoms of deeper problems. “Abuse is not an isolated thing by itself, she said. “Parents usually feel other stresses and tensions. When we find a way to deal with the multiple problems of life, the abuse takes care of itself. “Abuse is usually impulsive,” Klein added. “I think all of us take our frustrations out on our families at times. The parents don’t intend to hurt the child. They feel extremely guilty and sorry for it. We try to help the parents to gain some im pulse control.” Parents Anonymous is a national self-help organization for parents who have a tendency to abuse their children. It was established in 1970 under the original name of “Mothers Anonymous” by Jolly K., a 29-year-old mother who herself was a child abuser. Currently there are more than 90 Parents Anonym ous chapters in the United States and Canada. Parents Anonynous describes it self as a crisis intervention program whose primary objective is to help prevent damaging relationships be tween parents and their children.” Parents Anonymous offers its members two basic forms of help: 1) weekly group meeting at which par- f ents troubled about “losing their cool with their children” can share experiences and feelings and learn to support as well as challenge each other; and 2) personal contact among members during periods of crisis. The nearest Parents Anonymous chapter is located in Houston. A toll-free number for Parents Anonymous is California is 800- 421-1353. According to “Child Abuse and Neglect: Legislation, Reporting and Prevention, Texas law mandates any person who has reasonable cause to suspect child abuse or neglect to re port to the county welfare unit (De- pax'tment of Human Resources), or any local or state law enforcement agency. However, there are no penalties for failure to report. The central registry is the Texas Department of Public Welfare in Austin. In Austin there is a 24-hour Child Abuse Hotline (800-252-5400). A hotline spokesman said they receive about 1,200 calls each month. He estimated that between 30 and 40 percent of the calls report child abuse and neglect. Receiving calls 24 hours a day is the most important aspect of the hotline, the spokesman said. In emergency situations during the middle of the night the hotline can contact welfare workers at home to help an abused child who has been admitted to a hospital or taken to a police station. The spokesman said most of the calls come from neighbors and rela tives of the suspected abused child. The hotline then refers the calls to the child welfare agency in the ^gurU^^vhere^the^aljAarigmates^^ COMING^ SOON! University Bookstore 2nd LOCATION CULPEPPER PLAZA OPEN TO BUY YOUR BOOKS and IN FULL OPERATION THIS SPRING UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE NORTHGATE AND CULPEPPER PLAZA A MYTH? JESUS A REAL HISTORICAL FIGURE? A “GOOD” MAN OR PROPHET? SON OF GOD??? Either Jesus Christ is the Son of God or He is not. There is no middle ground. Eventually every person has to make a decision regarding Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God, and if a person arrives at that conclusion, then there is a heaven to be gained and an eternal hell to be avoided. On the other hand, if Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, there are a lot of people in the world who are sincerely deluded. Christianity becomes little more than just another “religious system” among many, and the folks who are “playing” Christian have little reason to ask that others around them investigate the Christian system. What is the answer? A neutral position is impossible, since any attempt to remain neutral becomes automatically synonymous with unbelief. Is Jesus the Son of God, or isn’t He? Some say yes. Some say no. If you’re a person who has been wondering about what to do with Jesus Christ; If you are a person who has considered becoming a Christian; If you’re a person who is violently opposed to Christianity; If you’re a person who would just like to see evidences for and against Jesus’ Sonship presented objectively — then perhaps this is for you. On Jan. 17, 1978