[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 76 (Thursday, June 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1129]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   STATEMENTS BY KAREN RICE AND DANIELLE INKEL, CANAAN HIGH SCHOOL, 
                         REGARDING CHILD ABUSE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 5, 1997

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of my colleagues I would 
like to have printed in the Record this statement by high school 
students from Canaan High School in Vermont, who were speaking at my 
recent town meeting on issues facing young people.

       Ms. Inkel: Good morning, Congressman Sanders. We would like 
     to bring your attention to the issue of child abuse. Child 
     abuse is a serious problem in today's society. We need to 
     focus on it and we need to fight it.
       One specific thing that we feel needs to be done is to 
     start a child safety network. This is sort of like a criminal 
     network. As of right now when there is a complaint of child 
     abuse to Child Protective Services, a case is opened and an 
     investigation is begun. If this family moves to another State 
     the case is closed. The former State can warn the new State, 
     but because of confidentiality, the case stays closed. This 
     means that the abuse will most likely continue.
       We feel that all the States should work as one to unite to 
     fight this problem. Across the United States why cannot we 
     unite to fight this problem.
       Ms. Rice: In order to start this child safety network we 
     need to come up with something for funding. We suggest that 
     we increase alcohol, tobacco and other consumption-based 
     taxes by about 0.5 percent. The money generated from these 
     taxes would be used to start up a child safety network.
       If this program were started the lives of many innocent 
     children would be saved. We understand that a few people will 
     lose their incentive to buy, but there are still many other 
     users willing to buy at any cost. Therefore, we believe that 
     there will still be left money earned to go into a 
     desperately needed program, one that protects the wellbeing 
     of children.
       Child abuse is wrong and it is a disgrace that so many 
     cases go undetected and unpunished. It is time that the 
     government do something about this atrocious problem.
       Child abuse is a very serious problem. Last year there were 
     200,000 cases of child abuse reported. One female in every 
     three or four is likely to be sexually victimized before she 
     is 18 years old. Data for males is more scarce and less 
     reliable, but it is 1 in 10 and 1 in 6, and 2 percent of 
     Americans will be sexually victimized in childhood; child 
     abuse is one of the most unreported of all crimes.
       It is a problem everywhere. There is child abuse in every 
     State, and what we really want to--first of all, we need more 
     money because there are some caseworkers that are getting 50 
     or 60 kids a week to have to take care of and that doesn't 
     give them much time to actually sit down and work with these 
     kids, so more money needs to be put to that. And we wanted 
     money for this program of the child safety network because of 
     these families who are just moving out of the State and the 
     cases are just being closed because they cannot say anything 
     because of confidentiality and these kids are just going to 
     be moved everywhere and nothing is being done about what is 
     going on.
       Ms. Inkel: I have no idea really why someone would ever 
     imagine hitting a child. Some say it is because they were 
     abused when they were younger, some blame it on alcohol and 
     drugs,

     

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