Child abuse----ii770807.html

By WILLIAM A. SYERS
A 1977 legislative intern, Syers was serving with the House Human Resources committee when this article was written.

BEFORE he was beaten to death by them Johnny Lindquist, a six-year-old Illinois boy, described his parents in this way: "You are not fit to be called human beings. Animals take better care of their young."

Normally this would be a shocking statement from a six-year-old. It is not shocking at all coming from a young boy who died before his seventh birthday in a coma with his skull fractured and his frail body covered with large red welts. Born on August 28, 1965, Johnny Lindquist immediately joined an older sister at St. Francis orphanage. His mother was tubercular. He lived in several foster homes during his short life. His last foster parents, Robert and Francis Karvenek, moved him to a farm in Wisconsin where he flourished in the wholesome environment. He loved his foster parents and the pony they gave him. He lived with the Karveneks for three-and-one-half years. In 1970 his natural parents began legal proceedings to regain custody. Johnny prayed every night that he would not have to return. On a previous visit there was evidence that he had been mentally and physically abused by his father. During the time he lived with the Karveneks, they never received any letters from the Lindquists.

The Lindquists had five children. Mr. Lindquist had been unemployed since 1967. A social worker apparently advised the Lindquists that their monthly welfare check would be larger if they regained custody of the child. On February 25, 1972, Johnny Lindquist was returned to his natural parents. There is no official record of a court order for that action. Judge Thomas Rosenburg was quoted in the Chicago newspapers as saying that the Illinois Apartment of Children and Family Services took it upon themselves to return the child to his natural parents. After the case hit the papers, an assistant state's attorney lamented, "We have a Johnny Lindquist every month, but nobody hears about it."

The Lindquist case spurred new legislation in the area of child abuse in Illinois. This article investigates the progress those laws have made in dealing with the growing problem of child neglect.

Twelve years have passed since Illinois first enacted a law requiring reporting of child abuse, and a great deal of information has been collected. But those who have analyzed the statistics may question whether the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the courts, and local welfare agencies have yet to come to grips with the problem. The facts highlight these shockers:

• Mothers are the leading child abusers. The majority of abusive parents are repeaters and are known to social service agencies.

• More than two-thirds of all child abuse and neglect cases occur in one-parent homes. A higher than average number of abused children are illegitimate.

• Child abuse occurs at every level of society. And most of the abusers are, by ordinary standards, responsible persons — only 10 per cent of the parents who abuse their children have serious mental illness or deficiencies.

A profile based on the actors most commonly found in child abuse cases is as follows: The typical child abuser is a young mother. She is probably under 24 years of age, and her child is either illegitimate or premature. It is likely that she has more than one child, is alone in raising and supporting the child and lacks money to make ends meet. She is most likely to be white, and there is a better than average chance she lives in Cook County. The mother often has a recognized potential for abuse and has dealt more than once with an agency in the field.

Perhaps the most alarming statement comes from Vice President Walter F. Mondale. Writing in Trial magazine (May-June 1974), the then senator from Minnesota said that if estimates by experts are truly indicative of the problem, child abuse could turn out to be a more frequent cause of deaths among children than such diseases as muscular dystrophy, leukemia, cystic fibrosis or even automobile fatalities.

What the law covers
A Chicago physician, Dr. Daniel J. Pachman, working with the Illinois Commission on Children, prepared the first draft of an abuse reporting law in January 1962. The Abused Child Act of
August 1977 / Illinois Issues / 7

1965 was succeeded in 1975 by a new law. This statute, the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (Illinois Revised Statutes, 1975, Chapter 23, sections 2051-2061), defines abuse and neglect and lists those who are required to report abuse and neglect of children. In addition, the new act authorizes permissive reporting by any other person presumed to be acting in good faith. (The problem before with ordinary citizens reporting abuse and neglect was they had no immunity from suit if they could not prove their allegations in court.) Chief sponsor of the new law was Sen. Philip J. Rock (D., Chicago).
The new law allows physicians to retain temporary protective custody of children they believe might be in imminent danger if returned home. The physician notifies the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) so that the agency can go to the Juvenile Court to retain temporary custody of the child. Physicians are also authorized to take color photos or x-rays of an injured child — to preserve evidence of the injuries — at state expense. The act retains provisions for a confidential central registry of reports of child abuse and neglect. The 1975 legislation also amended the Juvenile Court Act to strengthen the provisions regarding the appointment of a guardian ad litem (a special, court-appointed guardian) for minors. It mandated that the courts appoint a guardian ad litem when the minor before the courts was involved in a child abuse or neglect petition. The role of the guardian is to look out for the child's interests in cases where these run counter to those of parents charged with abuse or neglect.

How many cases?
Cases of child abuse and neglect reported to DCFS have risen steadily since fiscal year 1966, the first year for reporting. In that year, 483 cases were registered with DCFS. By 1973 this had more than doubled, to 1,160. By 1975 the figure had doubled again, 2,801. After the 1975 legislation, it shot up to 6,748 in fiscal 1976. Permissive reporting by private citizens, as authorized in the 1975 law, had increased more than 1,200 per cent.

The role of the private citizen in protecting children from abuse becomes apparent when the sources of child abuse reports are analyzed. In fiscal year 1976, almost 37 per cent of child abuse reports came from private citizens and miscellaneous sources. About21 per cent were reported by hospital personnel other than physicians. Law enforcement agencies were responsible for approximately 21 per cent of the reports and schools for 11 per cent. Interestingly, physicians in hospitals account for only about 4 per cent of child abuse reports, and private physicians, sending in a little over 1 per cent of the reports, are only slightly better sources than day care centers and babysitters. Public aid agencies are lowest on the list.

What is child abuse?
"Abuse" means any physical injury, sexual abuse or mental injury inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by a person responsible for the child's health or welfare.
"Neglect" means a failure to provide, by those responsible for the care and maintenance of the child, the proper and necessary support, education as required by law, or medical or other remedial care recognized under State law, other care necessary for the child's well-being; or abandonment by his parent, guardian or custodian; or subjecting a child to an environment injurious to the child's welfare (Ill. Rev. Stat., 1975, Ch. 23, sec. 2053).

Child beating accounted for more than a third of the cases reported in 1976 (2,566 cases or 38 per cent of the total). This was followed by neglect, 2,436 cases. Other types of abuse were: injuries of more than one type, 472; sexual abuse, 352; burns, 183; malnutrition, 147; fractures, 120; poisoning, 3; not reported, 4; and all other, 465. In addition, there were 52 deaths with 43 dead on arrival at the hospital and 9 expiring later.
Two-fifths of the 1976 cases involved children from 3 through 9 years of age. About a fourth of the children were under 3, and about 35 per cent were 10 or older. Those suspected of abuse or neglect were mothers in 48.9 percent of the cases, fathers in 16.0 per cent, both mothers and fathers in 9.9 percent. Others included stepparents, foster parents, mother's boyfriend, brothers or sisters, other relatives, babysitters and neighbors.

What can be done?
A provision desperately needed in Illinois for eliminating child abuse and neglect was pointed out by Mary Lee Leahy, director of DCFS during the Walker administration. She told the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse in l974: "It distresses me that we have all sorts of statistics and abuse reports ... but nowhere in our statewide statistical system do we record how many counseling sessions have been provided for abusive parents." This was still the situation early in 1977. DCFS spokesmen can provide the number of man-hours worked by lay therapists and volunteers, but they can't tell you how much this has helped.

If child abuse is a significant problem then the way to solve it, according to those who have studied the problem is to deal with it where it originates: with the parents. Placing children in temporary protective custody or foster care does not solve the problem. Studies in Denver indicate that nine-tenths of all child abuse can be dealt with effectively in the home, with therapy for the parents or with a nine-month trial separation. During the separation, abusive parents earn their children's return by actively receiving assistance and extensive therapy.
The DCFS is authorized by law to provide social services to families of abused children, but department workers complain they can only work with the parents when the parents are willing to cooperate. Parents, they contend, fail to show up for appointments or to answer phone calls. The courts can, of course, force parents into therapy as part of their penalty. The difficulty that has arisen is the result of a common assumption of expertise on the

Who must report?
Any physician, hospital, surgeon, dentist, osteopath, chiropractor, podiatrist, Christian Science practitioner, coroner, school teacher, school administrator, truant officer, social worker, social services administrator, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, director or staff assistant of a nursery school or a child day care center, law enforcement officer, or field personnel of the Illinois Department of Public Aid having reasonable cause to believe any child with whom they have direct contact has been subjected to abuse or neglect shall immediately report or cause report to be made to the Department n addition to the above persons required to report suspected child abuse and neglect, any other person may make a report if such person has reasonable cause to suspect a child has been abused or neglected (Ill. Rev. Stat; 1975, Ch. 23, sec. 2054).

8 / August 1977 / Illinois Issues

part of the courts. The courts need help specifically from the agencies, which are involved in each individual case. DCFS is one such agency. In December 1976, Illinois Juvenile Court Judge William S. White was forced to order DCFS to submit annual and biennial progress reports on children under its jurisdiction. Judge White cited over 15000 violations of the reporting requirements by DCFS. Such progress reports, if submitted accurately and in a timely fashion, could prevent tragedies such as the Lindquist case.
A new approach?
But the 1975 legislation adopts a new approach: state money to involve local agencies in approved abuse programs. Before this can become fully effective, DCFS will probably need to maintain a list of services available in each area: availability of DCFS caseworkers, psychiatric counseling, group therapy, lay therapists, surrogate mothers, visiting nurses, parents anonymous groups, availability of short-term and long-term placement, homemaker services, day care centers, babysitting services, family planning agencies, job counseling, training and referral services, home improvement services, and "crisis nurseries."
Crisis nurseries are not currently used in Illinois. They allow parents with abusive potential to drop off children indefinitely in times of distress. They are preventive in nature, and they help parents deal with their problems before court intervention becomes necessary.
Legal students of the problem of child abuse have pointed to problems of evidence which arise because the offense takes place in the home, and those who witness it firsthand often can't be compelled to testify because of their relationship to the abusive adult. While the legislature probably cannot or should not dictate standards of evidence to the courts, some argue that the Juvenile Court Act utilizes shifting standards of proof and that a degree of uniformity should be written into the law.
The use of criminal penalties for child abuse seem to have been discontinued except in cases of severe abuse or death. The courts and social agencies have learned through experience that there is little therapeutic value in the criminal Prosecution of suspected abusive parents. At best, the court process embitters parents against the child protective authorities. An acquittal equals approval of abusive conduct or neglect. The behavior or potential to abuse is not altered by either a prison term or a suspended sentence. Indeed, some experts argue that criminal prosecution deters abusive parents from bringing injured children in for medical treatment. But the criminal penalty sections which remain in the child protective statutes are rarely used because most actions in this area are of such a serious nature that the abusive parents are charged under the criminal code with more serious offenses, such as assault, manslaughter, murder or taking indecent liberties with a child.
The extent of child abuse in Illinois is now clear, but what is not so clear is what society intends to do about it. Society, in the end, pays for the suffering of abused and neglected children. They are the children of today who can't learn and become juvenile delinquents. They are the adults of tomorrow who may be seriously mentally ill. Some become major criminals. Worst of all, they can become another generation of parents who pass on the pattern they have been taught: they become parents who abuse and neglect their own children.

Task Force reports on abuse of retarded children
REPORTS of child abuse in state-supported childcare facilities prompted the governor last May 19 to appoint a special task force to study the problem. The 18-member panel was formed after allegations of staff cruelty and negligence toward mentally retarded children living at Windgate House in Woodstock.
Windgate had received a great deal of publicity after newspaper reports of alleged abuses that included putting tabasco sauce on the tongues of mentally retarded children as a form of punishment, as well as giving cold showers or denying meals, and, in some cases, striking children on the hands and face.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) notified Windgate on May 13 of its intent to revoke the facility's license. The department listed a bill of particulars on abuses ranging from tying children to toilets to allowing one to drown and seven others to become injured due to negligence.
The task force said in its interim report of June 15 that such abuses as were alleged at Windgate came about because of "a crazy quilt" system of health care agencies with overlapping responsibilities "which has historically failed to protect the very children who need the most protection." The report went on to say "that state activities. .. may have actually contributed to encouraging conditions in which abuse could occur."
Cleo Anderson, a member of the task force, and an inter-agency liaison and coordinator with DCFS, admits that "there may be a case for closer coordination between agencies" in monitoring care of the mentally retarded. Anderson says DCFS was monitoring Windgate at the time of the alleged abuses, but "we couldn't do it around the clock. There aren't enough monitors for that."
The task force's interim report said that no state agency had been "derelict in discharging its mandated charge." The report said, "The problem seems to be a system which lacks the specificity of assignment and the correct standards against which to measure the quality of service to hold anyone accountable."
Such standards and specific divisions of responsibilities were to be outlined by the task force in its final report to the governor August 1. According to Ray Unterbrink of the Association for Retarded Citizens, the findings will "probably require mostly executive action."
Unterbrink believes that while active, physical "abuse by commission" as was alleged at Windgate gets the headlines, "passive abuse" is an equally prevalent problem in dealing with the retarded. Such abuse, which entails not helping a child develop to the fullest, may also be addressed in the final report.
In the meantime, investigations by four state agencies of the Windgate home have proceeded, and the hearings and court battles over license revocation there may continue for quite some time. (See Names, p. 29 for members of task force.)

August 1977 / Illinois Issues / 9

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