Knoxville child advocacy group struggling to keep up with demand of abuse cases
“The need is so dramatic right now for kids” said Childhelp’s executive director.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - It’s an alarming statistic concerning Tennessee’s children. Tennessee’s Department of Child Services (DCS) reports calls to the state’s child abuse hotline are up 61% statewide over the last 12 months. What do those numbers mean for East Tennessee?
When we talk about those hotline calls, the DCS said the east Tennessee region has received more than 2,200 calls resulting in 950 cases so far this year. Serving as a child advocacy center in Knoxville, Childhelp is also noticing an increase in calls to its’ national hotline.
The center’s executive director, Ken Bender, said the Childhelp hotline has received over 1,000 calls and 133 texts and chats in Tennessee.
Bender said due to that increase they are currently working on a waitlist.
”We currently have a waitlist of almost 70 kids and we’ve just received funding from the city and the county to increase our mental health councilors. We’ve added three more and we’re still not going to be able to keep up with the pace. The need is so dramatic for kids right now,” shared Bender.
As the children wait, Bender said they are living with safe guardians.
When it comes to the nature of the cases Childhelp is seeing, Bender said they are seeing a variety. “There has not been a significant increase in any one category. There’s been a large increase all across whether it’s sexual abuse physical abuse or neglect it’s been everywhere. But we’ve definitely seen a large increase in needs for mental health counseling,” said Bender.
Bender said if you suspect a child may be dealing with abuse or neglect problems, you should try to talk to them and be patient.
”So really it’s really listening to these kids and talking to them. When you see something is wrong or they’re withdrawn ask them what’s going on and talk to them about it. Because with the way COVID isolated everybody it’s changed things for kids,” shared Bender.
The number for the Childhelp National Abuse Hotline is 1-800-4-a-child or 1-800-422-4453.
The hotline is not only for reporting things, but operators will help you with information and resources.
For more information about Childhelp and their 24/7 hotline click here.
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