By Vincent T. Davis and Peter J. Holley - Express-News

A statewide increase in child abuse and neglect-related deaths resulted in 280 fatalities last fiscal year, a 31 percent increase compared to the previous fiscal year and the highest since the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services began keeping records in 1998.

The largest increase was seen in Harris County, where child deaths from abuse or neglect rose 90 percent compared to 2008, according to the department's annual Data Book that was released recently.

Harris County's 67 deaths accounted for nearly a quarter of the state's deaths in the 2009 fiscal year, which was from Sept. 1, 2008, through Aug. 31, 2009.

“Certainly in Harris County we have the largest child population with over a million children, but we don't know why the number of child fatalities due to abuse and neglect has almost doubled in one year,” said Estella Olguin, a Harris County Child Protective Services spokeswoman.

Of the state's 10 largest counties, all but Tarrant County experienced increases last year, according to the report. The report also showed 12 more Texas counties reported a child death from abuse or neglect in 2009 than in 2008.

In Bexar County, 13 children died of abuse or neglect-related fatalities. The Bexar County deaths included an 11-month old girl who sustained head trauma, a 22-month-old girl who suffered blunt force trauma, and a 12-year-old boy injured while wrestling a teenager.

Olguin said the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is analyzing the statistics to see if they can figure out the basis for the increase, not only in Houston, but statewide. However, she said they may never know.

Patrick Crimmins, a CPS spokesman in Austin, said the increase in fatalities cannot be attributed to the agency's method of reporting child deaths, which has remained unchanged since 1998. To be included on list, the child must be under age 18, and “a CPS investigation must have confirmed an allegation of abuse or neglect that proved fatal” at the hands of a parent, relative, caregiver or another person living in the home — not a stranger.

Crimmins said that not all child deaths are considered criminal.

“A child drowning could result in a neglect finding because of a lack of supervision, but that doesn't mean that a parent would be charged with a crime,” he said.

The spike comes despite minimal increases in the state's child population and in the number of child abuse investigations.

Olguin said statewide intake cases increased less than one percent in fiscal year 2009.

But what Olguin said she has noticed is that “the severity of the abuse we're seeing is greater.” She also said most cases in Harris County also involved some sort of substance abuse.

“It's not new, but it's been increasing over the past few years,” she said. “The reports of abuse have not necessarily increased, but the type of abuse is more severe. We're seeing children being stabbed, starved.”

Crimmins dispelled the notion that the increase may be tied to the economy. Making such a claim, he said, would be “pure speculation,” adding the department has no data to prove otherwise.

The numbers in the department's annual Data Book were unacceptable for Vickie Ernst, chief operating officer for San Antonio-based ChildSafe, which provides services to child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse.

“The abuse and neglect of child fatalities are just sickening for all of us,” she said.

Jane Burstain, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, released a report in December based on comparable federal data from 2007 that she said hold true with recent findings. In the report, she said Texas has a higher death rate per capita when matched to other states. She said the reasons could be related to three issues: that other states are undercounting rates, and high poverty and high teen birth rates

She said children in families with an annual income of less than $15,000 are 14 times more likely to be abused and 44 times more likely to be neglected compared to children in families with an income of $30,000 or more.

Burstain said states like Texas with a teen birth rate at or above 53 per 1,000 teen girls had nearly one additional child death per 100,000 children compared to states with lower teen birth rates.

She said two legislative changes in 1998 began requiring inquests in the deaths of children age 6 and younger to determine if there was abuse or neglect.

She suggested the state can help prevent child deaths by investing in policies that help families living below the federal poverty line with services they need, such as health care, day care, and food stamps.

“If you don't pay on the front end you're going to pay on the back end,” Burstain said. “And one of the back-end costs is there will be more deaths from child abuse and neglect.”

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Emphasis added by H4K Editor