A statewide organization dedicated to preventing child abuse is requesting Missouri lawmakers increase funding for added caseworkers investigating child-on-child sexual abuse.
Emily van Schenkhof, deputy director of Missouri KidsFirst, testified in front of the Missouri House of Representatives appropriations committee overseeing mental health, health and social services budgeting Tuesday. She wants the General Assembly to approve an additional $900,000 for 15 new caseworkers to the Children's Division who will specifically look into cases in which alleged inappropriate sexual contact was made between children.
"Failure to care for our children drives every single line in the budget that you are considering," van Schenkhof said, "and it's also the right thing to do because each and every one of our children deserve to grow up with bodily and psychological integrity."
Lawmakers gave the Children's Division authority to conduct such investigations during the 2015 session, when they passed a bill sponsored by Sen. Jeanie Riddle, R-Mokane. Missouri KidsFirst originally estimated the division would handle 600 cases annually after the new law came into effect in late August, but caseworkers saw 500 reports within the first month. By the end of December, the division handled more than 1,500 reports.
The state budgeted for five caseworkers, and the division was forced to have its seasoned caseworkers in other areas take on child-on-child sexual abuse cases. The Kansas City-based Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assaults trained about 175 front-line Children's Division caseworkers through federal funding, van Schenkhof said.
Caseworkers visit with victims and alleged child initiators (the term used for those who started the sexual contact) alike to connect them with resources, and each case is unique, van Schenkhof said. They meet with families to establish safety plans and discuss healthy sexual development. She added that a family member, like a cousin, is most often the child initiator.
"We need to care about these behaviors," van Schenkhof said. "These behaviors are not OK. It is never OK to subject someone else to sexual touch that is not consensual. Starting those conversations with families is really important. What we've heard is that many families are thrilled to having someone come in and talk to them. Many families didn't know how to deal with this."
A major component of the service is to steer initiators away from a life of sexual abuse. The earlier child initiators are treated, the better the results, van Schenkhof said. At 14 years old, minors who have committed sexual abuse are subject to punishment under law.
"When these behaviors first begin, the severity of the offense is typically smaller," she said. "What they are doing, the seriousness of it, increases over time. Juveniles, children - they are more amenable to change than adults, and so we really believe that intervening early when we first start seeing the problems means that the problem is most amenable to change at that moment. Kids need redirection; they need boundaries; they need their own trauma dealt with."
Rep. David Wood, R-Versailles, said expanding the service will save the state money in the long run if child initiators don't grow up to become adult sexual offenders, who can spend years incarcerated or participating in Missouri's Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services (SORTS) in Fulton, where they receive mental health services. In fiscal year 2016, which ends in July, Gov. Jay Nixon recommended nearly $450,000 for the SORTS program.
The Legislature also appropriated more than $208 million in 2015 for the Department of Corrections Division of Offender Rehabilitative Services, which supports seven programs including sexual offender assessment and treatment.
For the upcoming fiscal year, van Schenkhof said Nixon proposed a $1 million increase in treating Missouri sex offenders.
"If we don't (support the additional funding), we're going to see a much different consequence in 10-15 years," Wood said. "And in my time on the committee, I've had the guiding principle of: if it saves the state money and improves the services for the people in the state, it's a no-brainer. So to ask for money that does both of those things, I support your cause."
Van Schenkhof said she is "cautiously optimistic" the additional funds will be approved.
"I still think it's always an uphill battle to talk about increased funding and increased appropriations in a tough budget climate," she said. "I think it is going to be very challenging, but I absolutely believe that this is the right way of doing business, it's the smart way of doing business, it's the moral way of doing business, and it's something that we can all get our arms around and that we all want to be a part of."