Tuesday, March 3, IQSy/The Battalion/Page 7 f
World and Nation
eports of child abuse, neglect
ise 55 percent within four years
WASHINGTON (AP) — Reports
>f child abuse and neglect jumped
icarly 55 percent from 1981 to
[985, while resources to help such
hildren increased only a fraction of
hat amount, according to a state-by-
itate survey by a House committee.
States attributed the rise in re-
)orts primarily to increased public
iwareness of child abuse and severe
:conomic hardships on some fami-
ies, said the survey by the House Se
ed Committee on Children, Fami-
ies and Youth.
The shortfall in resources was due
argely to cuts in federal assistance,
he states reported, with services fur-
her hampered by staff problems
ind the difficulty of coordinating
he effort of several different agen-
Committee Chairman George
Miller, D-Calif., said the survey doc
uments “for the first time, on a state-
by-state basis, the inadequate re
sponse to this national tragedy.
“Absent an active role by the fed
eral government, neither the states
nor the charitable organizations will
have the capacity to respond fully to
this growing problem,” Miller said.
The committee staff sent letters
and questionnaires last spring to the
governors of all 50 states and the
mayor of Washington, D.C. It then
conducted extensive follow-up inter
views.
The report was scheduled for for
mal release today with the approval
of the 18 Democrats on the commit
tee.
The dozen Republican members
complained about the survey’s meth
odology and its claim of comprehen
siveness.
According to the survey, cases of
child abuse and neglect reported to
state child welfare agencies rose 54.9
percent from 1981 to 1985. The
only state to report a drop was
Wyoming, with a 10.4 percent de
crease.
“Neglect is the most common
form of maltreatment, affecting
more than half the children re
ported,” the survey said. Sexual
abuse accounted for only 14 percent
of the cases reported, the report
said, but showed the most dramatic
and quickest increase — from 25,677
cases in 1981 to 70,767 in 1985 in
the 19 states reporting complete in
formation.
Forty-five states linked the rise in
child abuse reports to greater public
awareness, while three-quarters of
the states ranked deteriorating eco
nomic conditions in the top three
factors affecting the reporting rate.
Federal program cuts since 1981
have resulted in a loss of $131.5 mil
lion in child welfare funds in the 31
states that provided complete infor
mation, the commitee said.
Overall, taking federal, state and
local financing into account, there
was a $37.7 million gain in resources
available for child abuse prevention
and treatment from 1981 to 1985,
the report said.
“This 1.9 percent increase
amounted to a little more than $1
million per state,” it said.
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Storm report
accidentally
'destroys' city
CHICAGO (AP) —- A National
Weather Service bulletin that er
roneously said the city of Rock
ford haa been demolished by a
tornado was sent to hundreds of
Midwest radio and television sta
tions Monday and read on the air
by some announcers.
Five minutes later, a disclaimer
was sent explaining that the bul
letin was transmitted by mistake,
said meteorologist Steve Kahn.
The bulletin was part of a test
conducted to prepare for the up
coming tornado season, he said.
He olamed a change in com
puter software at the service’s
Chicago office for letting the bul
letin get out.
One broadcaster whose station
used the bulletin said, “That’s
very upsetting to find out you
may have panicked thousands of
people needlessly.”
Senator goes undercover, calls
mental patient abuse 'shocking'
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A law
maker who got a job at a state mental
institution, although he used the
name of a dead convicted rapist, said
Monday he found patient abuse and
incidents that “made ‘One Flew Over
the Cuckoo’s Nest’ look like a pic
nic.”
State Sen. Richard Codey said he
watched employees corral and prod
patients with a pointer, heard a co
worker brag of assaulting sleeping
female residents and was ordered
not to intervene when a disturbed
patient stuffed cigarette ashes and
butts into his mouth.
State • officials responded by
launching an investigation of hiring
practices and conditions at Marlboro
Psychiatric Hospital, where Codey
sp>ent six days as an orderly last
month.
“If in fact the picture he described
is an accurate one, it’s an unaccepta
ble, if not outrageous, situation,”
said Human Services Commissioner
Drew Altman.
Codey said he proved his guess
that applications of prospective
workers at mental facilities are rarely
scrutinized.
In 1985, he alleged, more than
300 of the nearly 4,000 employees at
New Jersey’s seven psychiatric hospi
tals had criminal records. Under a
policy in effect since October 1985,
the Department of Human Services
requires background checks, includ
ing checks of fingerprints and Social
Security numbers, for all prospective
employees of state psychiatric hospi
tals.
To determine if hiring practices
had improved since then, Codey ap
plied for a job at Marlboro, which
has about 800 adult residents, using
the name, address and birthdate of a
dead convicted rapist and the Social
Security number of a dead convicted
armed robber. He described himself
as an unemployed restaurant
worker.
Codey, 40, said he was hired as an
orderly after interviews with two ad
ministrators that took 30 minutes,
and began work Feb. 17.
He said he was shocked by cava
lier attitudes among fellow employ
ees and in witnessing the abuse of
patients. He said one worker told
him he couldn’t wait until evenings,
when he would sexually assault
sleeping female residents.
Codey said some employees not
only condoned beatings, but also
learned how to administer them
without getting caught.
“One person said Tf you hit them
and someone sees you, you get fired.
So what you have to do is put them
in a closet and then give them a beat
ing,’ ” Codey said.
There was no immediate com
ment from the hospital’s executive
director, David Sorensen.
Codey, chairman of the Senate In
stitutions, Health and Welfare Com
mittee, said he plans to draft legis
lation that would force state
psychiatric units to better screen ap
plicants.
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