March on Kirkwood to honor child abuse victims

Fifty-seven children in the state of Indiana died as a result of child abuse in 2005, said MaryAnna Moore, an investigator with Monroe County Department of Child Services.\nIn order to commemorate these victims of child abuse, the Monroe County Department of Child Services will hold a candlelight vigil and solemn march starting at 6 p.m. Thursday.\nThe march, which will begin at the Sample Gates and end at the Monroe County Courthouse, is an annual event in Bloomington.\n“The goal of the agency is to promote awareness of child abuse and neglect,” Moore said. “We want people to recognize child abuse as a community issue.”\nFollowing the march there will be several guest speakers, including Monroe County circuit court Judges David Welch and Steven Galvin, as well a group of \nchildren who will recite a poem, Moore said.\n“There will be an opportunity to learn what you can do to \nhelp prevent child abuse and neglect,” Lindsey Smith, Monroe County Department of Child Services director, said in a letter to the community.\nAccording to the Indiana Youth Institute Web site, 8,122 children were abused in 2004, and there were 13,128 total neglect cases. Causes of abuse include lack of parenting skills, an authoritarian method of discipline and mental health problems, the Web site stated.\nIn Indiana, child neglect is usually due to drug usage, pregnancy or family or marital problems, according to the \nWeb site. \nWhile many state laws exist to protect children from abuse and neglect, 21, 250 children were still mistreated in 2004, according to Indiana Youth Institute statistics. \nThe movement to publicize child abuse began in 1989, when a grandmother in Virginia discovered that her grandson had been killed from injuries received by his parents, Smith said. Out of this tragedy began an advocacy program to prevent child abuse and neglect. Every April, supporters of child protection wear blue ribbons to honor the campaign, Smith said.\nFree blue ribbons to support the movement to prevent child abuse can be obtained from the Monroe County Department of Child Services office, located at 401 E. Miller Drive.