NEVADA News

- Researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and community leaders are teaming up to try to prevent child abuse.
They have launched a new campaign targeting parents and how they choose their partners.

UNLV found that in almost half of the child deaths related to abuse
and neglect reported in Clark County over the last two year, the
perpetrator was almost always the mother's boyfriend.

One case that made headlines is where police say that two young boys
in Henderson were forced to eat vomit and beaten by the boyfriend.

And another case is the 16-month-old little girl that was shaken to death.

Prevent Child Abuse Nevada wants to stop these tragedies before they happen.

They are launching a new campaign titled "Choose Your Partner Carefully."

They will be posting flyers and posters around town with tips on who to choose to care for your child.

For more information about this campaign, go to www.preventchildabusenevada.org.
http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/146142375.html

It wasn't too long ago that a similar campaign was proposed here by several dedicated and respected members.
This campaign should be set up nationally and promoted heavily.

It needs to be nationwide. Also, when the mother allows this she needs to be arrested and prosecuted.

Bad date - Why mom's boyfriend may be bad for her kids' health

by AMY KINGSLEY
Last updated on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 1:52 pm

Compatibility is complicated, even for twosomes. Personalities, interests and background all come into play. It gets even more complicated when you add kids to the mix.

Unfortunately, complicated doesn't even come close to describing the alleged crimes of Cory Terrell Simmons, who was arrested on Feb. 17 for murder by child abuse in the death of his girlfriend's child. Or to 3-year-old Adrian Garcia, who died at the hands of his mother's boyfriend.

The trial of Cody Geddings played out on the website of the Las Vegas Sun. He was watching 16-month-old Addison Weast on March 31, 2010, when the toddler suffered head injuries that led to her death two days later. His girlfriend, the child's mother, initially covered for him. But she testified against him at trial, and in January a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder.

Amanda Haboush, director of Prevent Child Abuse Nevada, is familiar with the statistics. Seven out of 12 deaths by child abuse in Clark County last year happened at the hands of a parent's partner or friend. In most cases, the mother's boyfriend inflicted the fatal abuse. Haboush's organization, which is affiliated with UNLV's Nevada Institute for Children's Research and Policy, has launched a campaign urging area parents to choose their partners carefully -- for the sake of their children. They had a press conference with Metro last week and put up posters at bus stations in areas of town with high rates of domestic violence.

The campaign is modeled on a similar program in Ohio, where researchers saw alarmingly high numbers of child abuse cases committed by boyfriends and girlfriends not related to the victim. Parents who think about the adults they bring into their children's lives may end up preventing serious injury and death.

"When that boyfriend is not related to the child, they don't have a natural attachment to the child," she said.

Most adults have a natural instinct to protect, or at least not hurt, small children. That may not be true for certain depraved souls. Other perpetrators may not actively try to hurt a child, but they may not know how to care for babies and toddlers. The doctors who testified at Geddings' trial said baby Addison may have died as a result of being shaken.

The Choose Your Partner carefully campaign urges parents to observe how their partners express emotions, and how they treats other children and adults. Angry types and people who regularly drink or use drugs shouldn't be entrusted with children.

It seems pretty obvious. Why would a mother or father leave their children with anyone with red flags like those? That answer is also pretty obvious: They think they don't have a choice.

In many cases, parents left children with someone they just started dating, someone they didn't know very well. They did it because they had to work, or go to an interview or doctor's appointment, and they didn't have access to regular child care.

Marlene Richter, director of Shade Tree Shelter for women and children, said she hears those stories. Mothers who can't afford child care often resort to family, friends and boyfriends, which can endanger their kids.

"Child care issues are huge," she said.

The campaign is aimed at parents. But none of the murders mentioned above were committed by parents. They were committed by other adults. So why isn't the campaign aimed at the adults who are actually committing the abuse?

Haboush said parents are responsible for the safety of their children. They must exercise caution when choosing care-givers. The campaign is supposed to remind parents to do just that whenever they leave their child with somebody new, whether it's a boyfriend, aunt or baby sitter.

Richter said society should scrutinize abusers more harshly than parents.

"To ask the mother or father, 'Didn't you sense danger?' At least at the same time you need to ask why this predator did this," she said.

She and her staff educate mothers about the dangers relationships can pose. If a boyfriend is abusive to her or her pets, there's a good chance he'll be violent to her children. In fact, in 60 percent of domestic abuse cases, the violence also extended to the children, according to client questionnaires.

Shelter staff members teach women not to rush into relationships for economic or emotional reasons. That could be the difference between life and death for some children. For Richter, the message just urges parents to treat partners the same way they would treat any baby sitter. Ask questions. Look into his background. Don't assume he will be nice to your child because he is nice to you.

"We have so many layers of background checks for anyone who works in a school or day care," Richter said. "This is a way to say to the moms and dads, 'Don't let your guard down.' Please don't accept help when you haven't checked it out."

http://lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2012/04/14/news/local_news/iq_52612933.txt