11-14-11 Common Council Meeting Minutes

Home Browse Search

REGULAR MEETING NOVEMBER 14, 2011 , Whereas nationally, a report of child abuse is made every ten (10) seconds with almost five (5) children a day losing their lives each day; and the rate of child abuse being estimated to be three (3) times greater than what is reported; and Whereas, in Indiana, thirty-eight (38) children died as a result of child abuse or neglect in 2009, with 89% of the children who died from abuse or neglect being 5 years of age or younger and 68% of the children were under the age of 2 years of age; and , Whereas recent news reports at the local and national levels show the very dire state of affairs involving child abuse and neglect cases; with Indiana reporting that more than 105,000 reports of child abuse and neglect are taken on average each year; and Whereas, such alarming facts underline the urgent need for any person who has reason to believe that a child is a victim of child abuse or neglect make a report to any of the following agencies: Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-800-5556 South Bend Police Department 574-235-9201 St. Joseph County Police Department 574-235-9611 Mishawaka Police Department 574-258-1678 with Indiana Code § 31-33-5-1 setting forth the “duty to report” requirements. The State of Indiana’s current website reports that at least one (1) child dies each week of unsafe environments; and , Whereas child abuse or neglect refers to a child who is alleged to be in need of services (CHINS) with the governing Indiana state law being set forth at Indiana Code § 31-34-1; and , Whereas there is nothing in the Juvenile Code which limits the right of a person to use reasonable corporal punishment when disciplining a child if the person is the parent, guardian or custodian of the child; and , Whereas any person, other than the accused, who makes a report of child abuse or neglect is immune from criminal or civil liability unless that person acted maliciously or in bad faith; and , Whereas there are many programs and agencies working hard to prevent child abuse and neglect in our community, some of which include:  Prevent Child Abuse St Joseph County (PCASJC), who has been a part of St Joseph County since 1993 and in 2009 joined the family of affiliates at Family & Children’s Center who is dedicated to “strengthening the emotional and behavioral health of the communities”; who joined with the mentors at Washington High School to address child abuse and neglect in their health classes resulting in more than 20 students working with WSBT Radio Group to produce Public Service Announcements [Email: contact@pcasjc.org and website: http://www.pcasjc.org]  The Casie Center – A Child Advocacy Center Serving the Needs of Children and Families of St. Joseph County, Indiana [912 E. LaSalle Avenue, Suite 100, South Bend, IN 282-1414; thecasiecenter@gmail.com]  Special Victims Unit (SVU) of the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office which was originally established in 1996 as the S.T.O.P. Unit and renamed and expanded in 2003 to be a multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplinary collaboration in investigation and prosecution [Family Justice Center of St. Joseph Count (FJC), 711 E. Colfax, South Bend; 235-7818] 2