THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9510010037
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
School officials have asked Pasquotank Social Services to review why the department confirms so few instances of child abuse reported by educators.
Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools Superintendent Joe Peel met Friday with Social Services Director Gwyn Coleman to discuss the low rate of ``substantiated'' cases resulting from school referrals.
Pasquotank educators, who see each day the social and family problems affecting children, reported 36 possible cases of child abuse or neglect to Social Services during the 1994-95 school year, district records show.
Of those, two referrals were substantiated - found to be actual abuse or neglect cases - by the department.
The numbers were reported at a Sept. 20 meeting of the School Board's Academic Affairs Committee. Meeting minutes say the committee addressed ``longstanding concerns among staff that their referrals often did not result in positive action.''
``Looking at the numbers, the immediate response that I have is, yes, we need to look at the cases,'' Coleman said after talking to Peel on Friday. ``I individually will be looking at those cases with our staff.''
Although she takes the numbers seriously, Coleman said she would reserve judgment on what they mean until she reviews individual cases. She said the statistics don't explain the rationale for how the cases were handled.
Of the 36 recorded reports from the school system, 13 were dropped without an investigation, and 19 were ruled unsubstantiated after social workers investigated. Two of the cases went unresolved, school records show.
None of the 20 referrals dealing with 5- to 12-year-olds was substantiated by Social Services.
The substantiation rate for school referrals is about 5.5 percent, a third of the county's overall 1994-95 rate of about 16 percent, Coleman said. The statewide rate, according to a report she received Friday, is about 70 percent but varies widely from county to county.
Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools psychologist Holly Glenn, who compiled the school referral numbers, said she was concerned that so many referrals from qualified school counselors had been screened out or found to be unsubstantiated.
The Academic Affairs Committee minutes say the numbers indicate ``a serious problem in following up on complaints of abuse and neglect.''
Each agency said it will review the cases to look for referrals that shouldn't have been made or reports that should have had better follow-up.
Peel and Coleman also agreed to commission an outside consulting team that will help the two agencies work together more efficiently.
Their discussion comes as a growing number of agencies are cooperating more closely to tighten the safety net for children.
Newer state and federal programs, such as Smart Start, encourage various child-serving agencies to work together to look after children's welfare.
But some school systems, perhaps the most visible agencies dealing with kids, feel they bear the brunt of responsibility for all agencies when children are let down. A new state education structure puts even more pressure on schools to ensure children's success, Peel said. ``With the new accountability, we've got to teach all these kids,'' he said. ``We need to make sure everyone's helping.''
Part of the reason fewer reported abuse cases are substantiated, Coleman said, is that stringent state laws define what legally constitutes abuse or neglect.
Many children whose safety is at risk are not defined by law as being neglected or abused, Coleman said - a source of frustration both for those who report possible abuse and for those who investigate it.
``Sometimes the law is vague,'' Coleman said. ``The law sometimes does not go as far as what the community says is their values.
``That's where we hope that our community can move into doing preventive-type services.''
Officials for both agencies said they hope a continuing dialogue will lead to better protection for children. But they acknowledge that it won't be easy.
``I think the solution is going to be really complicated,'' Glenn said. ``There's no doubt about that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
REPORTS IN 1994-95
SOURCE: Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: CHILD ABUSE CHILD NEGLECT by CNB