Across Williamson and Travis counties, organizations that counsel children following incidents of abuse and neglect are working to address what they say is a rise in reported cases. In Travis County there were 2,157 confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect reported to state protective services last year and 731 cases in Williamson County, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Monica Benoit-Beatty, executive director of the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center, said population growth and community awareness have contributed to the rise in reported cases. “Last month we saw 76 cases, and the month before we saw 56, which was a really big jump,” she said. “I think there’s more awareness [about abuse], but as the county grows, we just don’t see [the number of cases] going down.” Benoit-Beatty said her organization handled about 700 cases last year, and about 70 percent of those were related to sexual assault. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services found that, statewide, victims of child abuse and neglect were most commonly females between the ages of 1 and 3. “[The need for youth and family crisis services] has grown—I mean it’s really grown exponentially,” said Richard Singleton, executive director of Round Rock-based family crisis intervention nonprofit STARRY. “Especially a couple years ago with the recession, families were really struggling and still are in a number of ways. That really increased the needs for these types of services.” This year STARRY nearly doubled its service area, Singleton said. Patty Conner, CEO of Hope Alliance—a nonprofit that aids victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Williamson County— said her organization has also seen increased demand for services. “We have had a constant increase in need, hotline calls were up 41 percent over the last 16 months,” she said As the area continues to see elevated rates of reported child abuse cases, community members should be on the lookout for children giving cries for help, Benoit-Beatty said. “The No. 1 thing is to believe the child, remain calm, and then report it and let law enforcement do the interviewing,” she said.
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Youth abuse services
Youth abuse services
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