Chapter 4: Safety
4.1 Abused and Neglected Children
Definition
Abused and neglected children are children who have been physically, sexually or psychologically injured or who have been abandoned by a parent or guardian.[1] Child abuse and neglect is measured by (1) referrals to and action by the Division of Children Youth and Families (DCYF)[2] and by (2) court filings and dispositions.[3]
Findings
The latest data from the DCYF indicate that there were 6,391 assessments of abuse and neglect in 1998.[4] Six hundred and sixty six (666) cases in 1998 were determined to be founded and require some action by the state. For every 1,000 assessments, there were 104 founded cases.[5]
DCYF provided a breakdown of reports and founded cases per 1,000 population in each of the five economic clusters of communities.[6] Figure 4-1shows there is a clear relationship between the incidence of referrals deemed to require assessments and community economic conditions. In contrast, there is little or no relationship between community economics and the incidence of founded cases.
Figure 4-1
Of the 666 cases determined to be founded in 1998, Figure 4-2 displays their status at the end of the year.
Figure 4-2[7]
In calendar year 1998, 146 child abuse cases were filed with
the district and family courts of New Hampshire. These related to 120
households. During the same year, 768 cases of child neglect were filed,
relating to 574 households.[8] Cases were filed almost equally against men
and women.[9]
By the end of the 1998, 111 of the abuse cases had been disposed of by the courts and 35 were still open or pending. The disposition of these cases is shown in Figures 4-3 and 4-4.
Figure 4-3
Figure 4-4
These court cases were analyzed by economic cluster as shown in figure 4-5. There is a weak relationship between community economics and the rate at which cases are filed.
Figure 4-5[10]
Significance
Child abuse and neglect pose a significant challenge to overall child health and well being. Child abuse and neglect are linked to juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, school failure and drop out, teen pregnancy, and emotional disturbances.[11] Resources need to be devoted to prevention and early intervention services that target the multitude of challenges that threaten to overwhelm families, including: poverty, substance abuse, lack of parenting skills, and domestic violence.[12]
Resources also need to be devoted to enhanced data
collection. Existing data limitations
at both DCYF and the courts hamper analysis of abuse and neglect of our
children. For example, because the
department has not issued regular reports in a number of years, it is not
possible to determine whether there have been any important recent trends in
reports or substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect. Moreover, lack of data prevents further
policy analysis. For example, because
cases are inadequately documented, it is impossible to find answers to such
questions as: Are reports from particular sources more likely to be founded
than others -- doctors, schools, neighbors? Are some school districts failing
to report possible cases given the number that are being reported by other
sources in the same community? Why are
the number of reports so high in poorer communities but the number of founded
cases relatively flat across all communities?
Improved data collection will help the state direct resources where they
are most needed.
4.2
Youth Violence
Definition
Youth violence is measured by (1) firearms in schools and (2) youth arrests. Firearms in schools are those incidents reported to the state in which a student was found to have brought a firearm to public school. Youth arrests count arrests of persons under age 18 by state or local police.[13]
Findings
According to a report from the New Hampshire Department of Education, fifteen incidents of children bringing firearms to school occurred during the 1996/97 school year and five incidents in 1997/98.[14] These were reportable incidents under the federal "Guns Free Schools Act."[15]
Table 4-1
|
Firearms Brought to NH Schools 1996-1998 |
||
|
Grade |
Incidents |
Types |
|
5 |
2 |
Handgun, incendiary device |
|
6 |
1 |
Handgun |
|
7 |
1 |
Handgun |
|
8 |
6 |
Handgun (4), .38 caliber pistol (2) |
|
9 |
4 |
Handgun (3), Colt .45 automatic |
|
10 |
3 |
Shotgun (2), Handgun |
|
11 |
1 |
Shotgun |
|
12 |
2 |
Handgun, rifle |
The number of incidents was split evenly between students in middle school (Grades 5-8) and high school (Grades 9-12). Of all the incidents reported in New Hampshire in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 school years, handguns accounted for almost all the firearms brought by the students. This is consistent with national statistics, which show that handguns were selected by 58% of students who brought firearms to school.[16]
The Department of Safety keeps records of youth arrests. In 1996, the most recent year for which data are available, there were 7,298 reported youth arrests in New Hampshire.[17] Of these, 5,170 were boys and 2,108 were girls, a ratio of 2.45 to 1.
Figure 4-6
Figure 4-7
Figures 4-6 and 4-7 provide a visual representation of the top ten offenses overall, and the way the percentage of arrests differs by gender. The largest difference is for runaways: they account for only 4% of the arrest of boys but 15% of girls. The category labeled “Other Offenses” is an aggregation of many offenses, most of which are not separately identified in the original data.[18]
Significance
Violence is a major problem in the United States
that affects all youth.[19] School violence is an especially serious
concern. It is reasonable to expect that schools be safe environments for
learning and that children not be worried about violence in their schools. Although the number of incidents of
students carrying firearms to school in New Hampshire is small, it is indeed
disturbing that most of these incidents involve handguns, mirroring national
trends.
Another national trend to note is the increase in arrests of female youth for more violent offenses. In New Hampshire, the largest difference in arrest figures for male and female youth is the higher female rate of runaways. Historically, female youth have fled rather than engaged in violent actions. Recent national studies suggest this historical trend is changing. According to a 1999 national report from the U.S. Department of Justice, arrest rates for youth increased twice as much for females as for males between 1981-1997. Simple assault arrest rates for female youth increased more sharply than the male youth rate from 1981-1997. From 1992-1995, while male youth arrest rates for aggravated assaults declined, rates continued to increase for female youths.[20] The national trends suggest that we should be alert for similar changes in our state.
Bullets
·
The 1999 Youth Risk Behavioral Survey found that 7.5%
of the high school students surveyed reported they had carried a weapon, such
as a gun, knife, or club on school property on one or more of the past 30 days.[21] That
survey did not include middle-school students, who may be at least as likely to
carry weapons as high school students.
·
In New Hampshire, minors are not prohibited from
possessing either a handgun or long guns, and parents are not required by law
to keep loaded firearms out of the reach of children.[22]
·
Parents, school leaders, government officials and
lawmakers must address the issue of accessibility of all firearms including
handguns, and support efforts of violence prevention that target all
school-aged children from elementary through high school.
4.3 Court Involved Children
Definition
Court involved children include both children in need of services and juvenile offenders.
Children in Need of Services (CHINS) are children under age 18 who are truant, who habitually run away from home or repeatedly disregard the lawful requests of parents or guardians, or who commit offenses that would be criminal violations if committed by an adult.[23] A count of CHINS "cases" is a count of charges filed in New Hampshire courts.[24] A count of individuals is a count of uniquely identifiable juveniles.[25] Rates are calculated as cases per 1,000 population.
Juvenile offenders are children charged with offenses that would be crimes if committed by an adult.[26] A count of "cases" is a count of charges filed in New Hampshire courts.[27] A count of individuals is a count of uniquely identifiable juveniles. Rates are calculated as cases per 1,000 population.
Findings
In 1998, there were 1,330 CHINS cases filed with the courts. These cases related to 937 different individuals. Of the cases, 732 dealt with boys, 591 with girls, and for 7 cases the gender was unknown. [28]
For boys, approximately 73% of all CHINS cases were filed against males ages 14-18, 22% against males ages 10-13, and 3% against males ages 0-9. For girls, 77% of the cases were filed against females ages 14-18, 16% against females ages 10-13, and 2% against females ages 0-9.
That same year, 1998, there were 7,262 juvenile cases filed with the courts. These cases related to 3,993 different individuals. Of the cases, 78% dealt with boys, 21% with girls, and 1% with individuals for whom the gender was unknown.[29]
Figures 4-8 and 4-9 display the count of both CHINS and juvenile cases for male and females offenders age 9 through 17.
Figure 4-8
Figure 4-9
Court records also provide information on CHINS and juvenile cases by offense type and by disposition as set forth in the figures below. [30] Note, however, that the court records are rife with errors. For example, with respect to CHINS cases:
Ø About 64% of the 1,330 CHINS cases had no offense cited.[31]
Ø About 16% of the 1,330 CHINS cases had no disposition recorded.[32]
Ø Almost 12% of the cases had neither an offense nor a disposition entered.
Ø Less than 33% of all the cases had both the offense and disposition entered.
With respect to juvenile cases:
Ø About 3.4% of the 7,232 juvenile cases had no offense cited.[33]
Ø About 18% of the juvenile cases had no disposition recorded.[34]
Ø Less than 1% of the cases had neither an offense nor a disposition entered.
Ø Approximately 79% of the cases had both the offense and disposition entered.
Figure 4-10
Figure 4-11
Figure 4-12
Figure 4-13
Analysis of the CHINS and juvenile records reveals that court cases are more likely to be filed against juvenile residents of the state's poorer communities as shown in Figures 4-14 and 4 -15 below.[35]
Figure 4-14
Figure 4-15
Significance
Unfortunately, the most salient conclusion that can be drawn from these data is the inconsistency in data collection on children in the court system. A uniform statewide data collection system is needed. At present, each court records and maintains its own data, and the process of compiling relevant information from each court is an arduous one that impedes regular statewide reporting. With a uniform reporting system, the court would be able to provide regular statistical summaries of court cases related to juvenile behavior, CHINS, and child abuse and neglect. Such data would allow for comparisons of the disposition of cases over time, by court, by offense, by gender, and by community of residence.
The second conclusion that can be drawn from this data,
undermined in part by questions of data reliability, is the need to explore the
relationship between community economics and court filings against our
youth. As with abuse and neglect, the
frequency of court filings is correlated to community economics. And yet we know that, at least in the area
of abuse and neglect, the incidence of founded cases by DCYF does not
correspond to community economics. Why are more court cases filed against residents
of our poorer communities? Do more
offenses by and against youth occur there?
Are authorities more willing to intervene in families there? These
important questions, and others, require more detailed and consistent data to
address.
Finally,
we know from research that most youth crime occurs in the after-school and
early evening hours.[36]
At present, New Hampshire has approximately 30,000
youth unsupervised during after-school hours-- a number that jumps to 35,000
during the summer.[37] Youth who are unsupervised after school have
a greater likelihood of engaging in risky activities that can lead to dropping
out of school, drug abuse, teen pregnancy and illegal activities.[38] In contrast, youth that attend after-school
programs and summer programs enjoy healthier social relationships and peer
interactions and improved school conduct and performance.[39]
Both the public and private sectors need to devote
resources in the area of after school care to ensure that our youth receive the
support they need to reach their full potential. Action steps recommended in the Children's Agenda 2000 include:
Ø
State and local government should support after-school-
programming as a part of an adequate education.
Ø Communities should develop mentoring and job shadowing programs for junior and senior high school students.
Ø Businesses should develop family-friendly workplaces that offer flexible scheduling.
Ø Communities should open public buildings, including schools, to child and youth activities.
Bullets:
· Risk factors for court involvement include: poverty, family violence, poor school performance, substance abuse, mental illness and lack of appropriate supervision.[40]
· Effective prevention strategies combine substance abuse services, mental health services, after-school programs, tutoring, mentoring, conflict resolution, vocational training, and community service.[41]
4.4 Out-of-Home Placements
Definition
Out-of-home placements count children placed by the State of New Hampshire in settings other than their own homes. This includes both children placed because of child abuse or neglect and older children placed due to delinquency or other status offenses. Rates are calculated per 1,000 population of children age 0-17.[42]
Findings
On June 30, 1999, the Department of Health and Human Services reported a total of 1,884 children who were then in state supervised out-of-home placements.[43]
The figures below show the relative percentages of all children by type of placement, the breakdown of children placed by age, and the breakdown of placement by economic cluster.[44]
Figure 4-16
Figure 4-17
Figure 4-18
Significance
While young boys and girls are equally likely to be placed outside their homes, beginning at age ten, the number of placements of boys exceeds the placements of girls by 50%. By age 15, there are twice as many placements of boys as girls.
There is a clear relationship between out-of-home placements and community economics. The 1,756 children for whom a New Hampshire town of residence was identified in the data were aggregated based on the five economic clusters. The chance that a child in one of the state's poorest communities will be placed out of his or her home by the state is nearly four times that of a child in one of the wealthiest communities. This general pattern is true for both older and younger children.[45] This pattern in New Hampshire is consistent with national data.[46]
4.5 What We Would Like to
Know About Our Children and Safety
KIDS COUNT New Hampshire
has never before included a section on child safety. We determined this year to provide whatever data were available
based upon our belief that knowledge of abused and neglected and court-involved
children is critical to any assessment of child well being in our state. What we found was that, despite efforts by
staff in both DCYF and the court system, tremendous gaps in information
exist. What follows are our
recommendations for change at the Department of Health and Human Services, the
Department of Safety and the courts.
Department of Health and Human
Services (DH&HS)
DH&HS has not produced an annual report on child abuse and neglect since 1986. DH&HS should return to its prior practice of issuing this annual report. The report should contain sufficiently detailed statistics about such matters as reporting sources, confirmation rates, regional differences, types of abuse, relationship between children and their abusers, time between reporting and disposition, and method of resolution that will allow the public and our policy-makers to have a better understanding of the problem and ensure that it is being adequately addressed.
With respect to out-of-home placements, DH&HS has legal responsibility for numerous children who are placed in foster homes, drug treatment programs and in other out-of-home settings. DH&HS was able to provide us with a count of children in placements of different types; however, the department could not meet our request for counts of children in second foster home placement and for average duration of placements. Such information should be captured and made available. Placement data should distinguish between placements made for purposes of avoiding abuse and neglect and those made for other reasons.
The Department of Safety
A return to annual reports is also recommended in the area of juvenile arrests. The last annual "Crime in New Hampshire" report was published by the Department of Safety in 1994, containing data for 1993. We were able to obtain simple tallies of the number of arrests of juveniles in subsequent years, but all such data have suffered from the problem that, unlike many states, New Hampshire does not require the reporting of arrests by local law enforcement agencies. Thus, data are incomplete. The problems caused by lack of mandatory reporting are summarized in the last annual Crime in New Hampshire report:
There
are several important reasons why this document can only serve as a criminal
activity indicator [rather than a true measure of criminal activity.] First,
the submission of necessary data is done on a voluntary basis by the police
agencies in the state and the number of reporting agencies often vary from year
to year. Secondly, inconsistencies arise in how data is interpreted by
submitting agencies that can conflict with the federal definitions.
The State should mandate reporting of arrests by all local law enforcement agencies. The Department of Safety should resume publication of its annual reports on crime. The data on arrests should be analyzed by type of crime, age and residence of arrestee, among other factors.
Court System
The need for uniform data collection and regular reporting is most clear in the court system. At present, the accuracy of information entered is of concern, uniform reporting of information is lacking, and basic issues such as the maintenance of a single record for each offender have not been resolved. The state is in clear need of uniform definitions and standards so as to produce useful information on how children and youth are involved in the courts. In particular, the court system should produce regular statistical summaries of the cases courts are handling with regard to juvenile behavior (criminal and CHINS) and child abuse and neglect so that the number of cases over time, by court, and by offense may be compared. The court should coordinate its data system with the "Bridges" data system in DH&HS. In future years, once these systems are integrated, analysis of their data could lead to significant insights into how to improve the State's response to child abuse and neglect and youth antisocial behavior.