April Declared Child Watch month at Child Watch event Tuesday

Apr. 5—FAIRMONT — April is now Child Watch month, after the Marion County Commission approved a proclamation Tuesday afternoon at the Marion County Courthouse.

Along with the proclamation reading, which was presented by County Comission President Ernie VanGilder, two awards were given to Child Protective Services employee Angela Glasscock and recent Foundation for Rape and Information Services retiree Debra Bonasso.

But, the proclamation reading was just one stop of many during the Child Watch Visitation Day held Tuesday.

Child Watch is an event to show community members what it is like to be a child experiencing abuse and neglect and what resources exist for kids that they might not have known about otherwise. It is held annually and planned by representatives from the Marion County Child Advocacy Center, Marion County Head Start and the Marion County Department of Health and Human Resources. The event has been held in Fairmont since the late 1990's, but took a three year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants were given a trash bag and a name tag to begin the event. Throughout the day, they toured different facilities around Marion County and were given informational handouts. Some facilities' guests toured include HOPE Inc. Domestic Violence Center, Fairmont Regional Medical Center, Edgemont Head Start, the National Youth Advocate Program and Marion County Child Advocacy Center.

At Fairmont Regional Medical Center, participants heard from WVU Medicine Pediatrician Christine Banvard, who works with Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners who can extract evidence using a forensic exam kit five days after a sexual assault incident has occurred while most places are only able to extract for two to three days after an incident. Banvard also examines victims of sexual abuse. She shared common misconceptions regarding sexual abuse, such as how a victim should behave or the myth that virginity can be proven by examining the hymen.

"Panic and shock occur in the emergency room. Many women don't show anything, because they're numb and they may be less likely to be believed, because they're so numb and unemotional about this tragedy that just happened to them. But, we take that into account; nurses and doctors are trained that this is a realm of possibility," Banvard said.

She also shared that boys are often victims of sexual abuse, as well. One in seven girls and one in four boys under the age of 18 are likely to be sexually abused in their lifetime.

At the Child Advocacy Center, trained staff members interview children who have experienced instances of sexual abuse, specifically, or severe physical abuse, neglect, drug endangerment or witness to violence. Participants learned that the legal process for children who have been a victim to abuse is lengthy and requires children to share traumatic details with several entities multiple times. One goal at the CAC is to eliminate the amount of times children have to reshare their trauma. To emphasize how difficult this process can be, CAC Executive Director Michael Baker, had guests participate in a short activity.

"I want you to close your eyes and I want you to think about the very last time that you had sex. Think about the person's face, think about the context in the relationship. Everybody got a clear mental image in your mind? Now everybody open your eyes, turn to the person to your right and tell them every single thing about that," Baker said as the room filled with laughter.

"I just want you to just put this into perspective. As uncomfortable as the thought of that may be, think about being a nine year old and think about the person who violated you as being someone you loved or cared about, such as a grandfather or uncle. Then you come to a place and you have to tell a perfect stranger, that you've never met before, the most horrific, horrible thing that's ever happened to you. And you have to trust that the system is going to protect you."

After lunch at DHHR, participants visited the courthouse and heard from Judge Patrick Wilson and Jeni Pigott from the Marion County Prosecuting Attorney's Office about difficulties surrounding abuse and neglect cases. Until the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pigott exclusively handled all of the abuse and neglect cases in Marion County both on the civil and criminal side, which she did for 10 years.

Pigott said she has worked on cases worse than anything she could watch in a horror movie. She covered how drug usage in parents affects neglect and abuse cases and how cases increased after the pandemic, among other topics.

"Conservatively speaking, 85% of my cases have at least one parent using drugs or multiple drugs — actively using; highly functioning. But they get that one bad batch and the next day, I have to tell their babies that their mom overdosed or their dad died last night. Happens weekly here.

"So drugs are definitely the predominant factor that he said fuels the other types of allegations that we see. You can get so hooked on drugs, you don't care what condition you let your kids live in, you don't care if they bathe, if they have food, if they have clothes that fit if they go to school, so it's just the cycling pattern," Pigott said.

Pigott said the cases she covers are especially difficult because despite abuse, children want to be with their parents and think the abuse they face is normal. So, being "the bad guy," for taking kids away from their parents is difficult. She also sees cycles of abuse. For example, a grandparent who abused their child and that child becomes an adult who is now abusing their child.

"So, the heartbreaking part of what these kids live through is that they don't know how bad it is. They truly have no idea that what's happening in their lives is wrong. That is their person, that is their parent, for better or worse. So, we're the bad guys, we have to rebuild trust. We have to show them that it doesn't have to be like that, It can be better. And that's a hard process to accomplish and overcome," Pigott said.

She said she thinks more people would be involved either by becoming a CASA volunteer or foster parent, if they knew how bad conditions and cases are.

The group visited Stepping Stone Inc., which is a level one residential treatment facility for boys ages 14-21. They also heard from other local organizations like Marion County Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, Child Protective Services and Family Services, while traveling on the bus.

Edgemont Head Start is hiring a variety of positions and accepting applications for students for the 2023 school year. For more information, visit their website.

Reach me at sshriver@timeswv.com or 304-367-2549.