| A national report released Wednesday shows 16 | | | | children died from child abuse or neglect. Ten were |
| Nebraska children died from abuse or neglect in 2007, | | | | infants. |
| placing the state fourth in the country in the rate of | | | | Among those deaths, four infants died from shaken |
| those deaths. | | | | baby syndrome. Nine died from blunt force trauma. |
| Between 2001 and 2007, 86 Nebraska children died | | | | Five additional deaths were attributed to caretaker |
| from abuse or neglect, according to a report from the | | | | neglect, including three cases resulting from guardians' |
| nonprofit Every Child Matters. | | | | lack of supervision and attention to a child in a bath or |
| The report also showed Nebraska ranked 13th in per | | | | pool. |
| capita spending to address abuse and neglect, with a | | | | To address abuse and neglect, Reckling said, the state |
| $166 million child welfare budget. | | | | teams with other agencies for such programs as |
| The report said the state substantiated 4,108 cases of | | | | home visitation by public health nurses or social |
| child abuse and neglect in 2007, although the state put | | | | workers, and Project Harmony, which coordinates child |
| that number at 2,894. | | | | abuse assessment and investigation with law |
| Todd Reckling, director of Children and Family | | | | enforcement and the courts. |
| Services, couldn't verify the accuracy of the Every | | | | The state also sponsors public service campaigns to |
| Child Matters report. | | | | alert people to recognize and report abuse. |
| But he said any child death is one too many. They are | | | | And the state Legislature this year expanded the child |
| all heartfelt, he added, and the state tries to learn from | | | | health insurance program to cover more children. |
| each one to prevent future deaths. | | | | Kathy Bigsby Moore, director of Voices for Children in |
| Recent records from the state Department of Health | | | | Nebraska, said everyone should pay attention to child |
| and Human Services showed the state sometimes | | | | safety, to ensure agencies are responding, that there |
| has prior contact with the parents of children who die. | | | | are sufficient mental health programs for parents and |
| In a six-week period this year between June 21 and | | | | that lawmakers and state administrators are reacting. |
| Aug. 2, for example, there were at least seven deaths | | | | The economy will drive spending decisions in the |
| in which Child Protective Services was previously | | | | upcoming special session of the Legislature and in the |
| involved. In some cases, families had more than 10 prior | | | | regular session that begins in January, Moore said. |
| reports filed with CPS. | | | | Policymakers should connect the state's child deaths |
| The children in the six-week period ranged in age from | | | | to the need for good decisions about child welfare |
| 2 months to 14 years. Three were infants, two were | | | | reform and spending, and programs to prevent deaths, |
| toddlers and two older children. | | | | she said. |
| One was Michael Belitz, 12, whose decomposed body | | | | Richard Wexler, director of the National Coalition for |
| was found in the bathtub of his north Omaha home, his | | | | Child Protection Reform who spoke recently in |
| hands and feet bound with duct tape. | | | | Omaha, criticized the Every Child Matters report, calling |
| Family members had reported their concerns to HHS | | | | it hype and hysteria, even if well-intentioned. |
| before his death, and his mother, who has been | | | | Seventy-seven percent of child abuse allegations |
| charged with his murder, had left messages with a | | | | already turn out to be false, and many more involve |
| state caseworker earlier in the year seeking help. | | | | cases in which poverty is confused with neglect, he |
| In one of the infant deaths, co-sleeping with an adult | | | | said. |
| was a factor. One toddler died in the family's pool, and | | | | And yet, Every Child Matters wants to start still |
| a 14-year-old was killed in a rollover crash in a truck he | | | | another campaign urging every American to turn in his |
| had taken without permission. | | | | or her neighbor based on the slightest suspicion of |
| In June, the state's Child Death Review Team issued a | | | | maltreatment. |
| report of deaths in 2005 and 2006. During that time, 16 | | | | |