Child Molesters, Child Abuse Effects: Bulimia, Eating Disorders, Addictions

That's not likely to happen, but Mallory said he is pleased with the effort being made by some 30 people who met recently to discuss the establishment of a state-mandated Child Welfare Planning Council in Cumberland County.

The purpose of the council, according to Ethan Aronoff, coordinator of the Cumberland County Human Services Advisory Council, is to reduce the number of families that become involved with DYFS and to help support healthy families, stronger communities and safe children.

Based on statistics from 2002, Cumberland County is No. 1 in the state for the percentage of child abuse and neglect cases reported per 1,000 children. The number of cases was 1,763, Mallory said.

Cumberland County was No. 2 in families with reported problems per 1,000 children. The number was 1,028 families.

"We were number three in the percent of substantiated reports," Mallory said. "Every time we get a report, we check to see if it is valid.

"I feel the Child Welfare Council is going to be a wonderful opportunity for people to become involved with child welfare efforts," Mallory said. "I think it will be a big help to DYFS. It will help children when people are involved in an organized way to deal with the issues of child abuse and neglect."

Aronoff explained: "The new Child Welfare Planning Council will come under the Division of Prevention and Community Partnerships of the New Jersey Department of Human Services. The council is to be made up with 49 percent service providers, government leaders and human service providers, with 51 percent to be community residents, hopefully residents from the hot spots that have been identified."

The hot spots are areas where the highest numbers of cases of child abuse and neglect are received by DYFS, according to Aronoff. These primarily are the center-city areas of Bridgeton, Vineland and Millville.

Neighborhood hubs will be established, with information and referral services. They will be staffed initially by volunteers and eventually by paid professionals when funds become available.

Aronoff emphasized that the planning council, when established, will work cooperatively with existing county-level planning bodies by sharing information and conducting planning and assessment activities.

"The council will assess the strengths and needs of Cumberland County communities and identify existing resources, duplication and gaps in services," Aronoff said. Its goal is to make sure that a range of services - from primary prevention to intensive intervention - is available and accessible to all families.

Aronoff said the group discussing the establishment of the planning council included representatives from the cities of Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland and from their school systems; N.J. Department of Human Services, Cumberland County Human Services Advisory Council, Cumberland County DYFS, Rowan University, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Rutgers University, area service providers and community residents.

The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 23. For more information, call Aronoff at (856) 453-7804