Doctor urges to better support needy families as county’s child abuse rate remains above state average

Stronger community response for needy parents and children is the best way to address child abuse prevention, said Dr. Joyce Gilbert of the Providence Abuse Intervention Center to the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on Tuesday, March 28.

Gilbert spoke to the commission as it proclaimed April 2023 as Child Abuse Prevention Month. The proclamation recognizes that the county’s incidence rate of child abuse has been higher than the state average for five years in a row, with 36.2 victims per 1,000 children reported in 2021.

“[Child abuse] occurs because we are stressed as a society,” Gilbert said. “Because children are not small adults, it's so very important that every child have a safe, nurturing, caring adult who understands their developmental age and stage and who supports them through each activity of growing up.”

“The way we can provide the best for our children is to understand that every adult needs the support in our community to help them raise their children.”

The proclamation mentions that there were around 2,316 reported victims every year from 2016-2021. Nineteen percent of adults in the county experienced physical child abuse before turning 18, while 35% of youth have experienced psychological abuse by the time they are in 8th grade.

Gretchen Thaller from the Maternal Child Health Division of Thurston County Public Health Department said they do not expect better figures for 2022.

“We had a high number of children who lost their lives during [2022] to abuse,” Thaller said.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Cailen Cecil shared with the commissioners that her office received 122 cases of child abuse in 2022, with charges filed for 46 of the cases.

The commission also proclaimed Friday, April 7, as “Go Blue Day,” in which everyone is encouraged to wear blue to create awareness about child abuse and show support for abuse prevention.

Thaller said there would be pinwheels around the community to remind people about the cause.