The death of a child is always a terrible thing. When the death is at the hands of a parent or caregiver, it is unimaginably tragic.
Sadly, it is imaginable here in Cumberland County and in Onslow County too, the homes of this state’s largest military reservations. In the hometowns of Fort Bragg and Camp Lejeune, child-abuse homicides still occur at twice the statewide rate. But thanks to a collaborative effort that includes military, state and local social services, the child death rate is declining.
According to a study by Action for Children North Carolina, there is a statewide drop in child homicides by parents or caretakers. The nonprofit’s first tally of child deaths covered 15 years ending in 2000. The latest research picks up in 2001 and continues through 2010. It found a 13.6 percent decline in deaths since the first study.
The falling homicide rate surprised the study’s authors, who expected increases in violence corresponding to almost continuous deployments in a decade filled with two wars. Instead, the military-civilian partnerships formed to combat this violence appear to be working.
They’re not, however, working well enough yet. Despite a 16 percent decline in child homicides among military families here and a 9.1 percent drop among civilians, there is still a battle to fight. Our goal should be a rate at or below the statewide rate. Ultimately, we want a rate of child homicides by parent or caretaker that matches the rate in 35 of the state’s 100 counties in the last decade – zero.
A local coalition is working to achieve that, especially staff on Fort Bragg, which is educating parents on the help available. That includes home visits to new parents by Womack Army Medical Center nurses.
Fort Bragg spokesman Tom McCollum says the post is making sure soldiers know that seeking help for emotional problems won’t derail their careers, but abusiveness to their families definitely will.
Action for Children officials have lauded Fort Bragg’s efforts to end child abuse and child homicides and say the post is now ahead of state and local government efforts. When the first study of child homicide problems was released eight years ago, Action for Children senior fellow Tom Vitaglione said, “The military was not there. Now, what we have is the military gung-ho and the state struggling to keep up.” The most recent study found only 10 of the 22 child homicides in the county were in active-duty families.
We hope the military continues on its pace, and everyone else does catch up. This is a battle that must be won. Our children deserve no less.