Sun editorial:

Protecting the children

Child deaths from abuse, neglect increase in Nevada as state budget cuts take their toll

Tue, Oct 13, 2009 (2:06 a.m.)

The number of children under the age of 18 who have died from abuse or neglect in Clark County this year has more than doubled the total for all of last year, rising from 18 to 37. In addition to the deaths, there were seven near fatalities from abuse or neglect this year, up from three last year.

Clark County isn’t alone. Washoe County has seen 16 children die from abuse or neglect this year, up from three in all of 2008. There have been three near fatalities there this year. There were none last year.

As Richard A. Serrano reported in Monday’s Las Vegas Sun, experts have a number of theories about the cause of the increase. One is that the increased financial stress on families from the bad economy has resulted in some parents taking out their frustrations on their children.

Tom Morton, director of Clark County’s Department of Family Services, said that in reviewing the cases, he could not find a pattern for the deaths. In many cases, he said, there is little his agency can do, citing the death of a 3-year-old who suffocated in a foster home after finding a plastic bag and putting it over his head.

There is more his agency could be doing to stop abuse and neglect, but it has been understaffed. Because of budget cuts, the department has 18 unfilled investigator positions.

That is not a surprise, considering Nevada’s child welfare system has been repeatedly criticized over the years, largely because it doesn’t have an adequate budget to do the job. For example, Every Child Matters, a not-for-profit child advocacy group in Washington, last year ranked Nevada 44th in per-capita child welfare spending.

This lack of funding isn’t a secret to Nevada’s leaders — there just isn’t the political appetite to do anything about it. Until there is, we can expect more child deaths and injuries due to abuse and neglect.

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