Child report citing lack of prosecution prompts meeting
A recent report by Polk County’s Child Protection Team cited prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases as a gap in the county’s efforts to protect children. That report resulted in a meeting Tuesday, April 26 that could mean better protection of Polk’s children in the future.
Attending the meeting were District Attorney Jeff Hunt, Assistant District Attorney Doug Mundy, Polk County Department of Social Service (DSS) Director Sue Rhodes, DSS Program Director Lou Parton, DSS Child Welfare Supervisor Kim Wilson, DSS Child Welfare Supervisor Rose Johnson, Polk County Commissioner Renée McDermott, Polk County Manager Ryan Whitson and Polk County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Calvin Atkins.
Hunt called for the meeting after hearing of the child protection team report, which was presented to commissioners in March. Commissioners at one time proposed to adopt a resolution asking for better prosecution but did not pursue the idea after Hunt called for a meeting.
“This particular meeting arose as a result of an unusual and quite unique process involving this county commission,” Hunt said in a release. “However, cases of abuse or neglect of children and violence against women are high priority in my office and have been from the beginning.  Consequently, I quickly decided to seek a meeting as soon as possible. Clearly the sheriff, DSS and county commission share our philosophy of prioritizing these important cases. I believe we had a productive discussion. It never hurts to get everyone involved back on track and once again on the same wavelength.” (See Hunt’s full release, page 12 ).
Commissioner McDermott said she is proud of the county’s child protection team, which brought the concerns to the attention of commissioners and the public.
“I’m really proud of our child protection team from the DSS,” McDermott said. “They are very professional and care greatly about our children and their protection. I was proud they brought their concerns to the public and the board of commissioners. I hope the meeting will prove to be a new beginning for child protection in Polk County. We will be watching to see how things move forward.”
The report, presented annually, cited mental health and substance abuse as main factors in child abuse and neglect cases. It also cited lack of communication with the district attorney’s office and lack of prosecution as gaps in services.
“District Attorney Hunt pointed out his surprise that neither the DSS nor the county commission communicated with his office, or with him, before the DSS report was issued, or the majority members of the county commission were set to entertain a resolution which (in turn) restated the assertion in the DSS report,” said Hunt’s press release.
Parton presented the report to commissioners on March 21, stating that the district attorney’s office has a slot on the child protection team but does not attend meetings.
Hunt has said one issue with attending those meetings is that details of particular cases are discussed and those discussions are now required to be turned over as discovery to the defense.
“There will be more communication between agencies,” Whitson said regarding the intended outcome of the meeting. “The DA’s office will try to attend more meetings, but they are very short staffed due to the state budget crisis. There will be an attempt to prosecute more child abuse cases but the investigations and the evidence has to be such to support those prosecutions.”
Actions that have been taken by Polk County officials since the report was issued included a meeting of DSS officials, Whitson and a Polk County magistrate, who decided DSS workers can and will begin pressing charges against persons with misdemeanor violations, such as parents who do not send their children to school. Charges of neglect will also be filed when a person who is arrested for driving while impaired has a child in the vehicle.
“It was a productive meeting,” Whitson said. “The DA’s office will prosecute misdemeanor charges brought by DSS concerning compulsory school attendance law and abuse of juveniles in a vehicle driven by an intoxicated driver who is charged with DUI.”
DSS officials said this week they appreciate the opportunity to discuss issues of concern with Hunt and Mundy which were raised by the child protection team report.
“More open lines of communication between the district attorney’s office, DSS and law enforcement will bring all of us closer to our goal of improving child protective services in Polk County,” stated a release from DSS. “We look forward to working together more successfully.”