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CABARRUS COMMUNITY CHILD PROTECTION TEAM <br /> <br />Report to County Commissioners <br />August 19, 2002 <br /> <br />Child Abuse and Neglect...A Serious Issue <br />The abuse and neglect of children is a serious issue in Cabarrus County, as it is in most other <br />counties in this state. It is aggravated by poverty and economic conditions but it is by no means <br />confined to low income families. Substance abuse is often present in families where child abuse <br />and neglect is occurring. Inadequate parenting skills play a very large role in mistreatment or <br />neglect, of children. <br /> <br />The statistics for Cabarrus County for the last several years: <br /> <br /># of # of children <br />Children substantiated <br /> <br />1998-99 1528 369 <br /> <br />1999- <br />2000 1485 385 <br /> <br />2000- <br />2001 1557 313 <br /> <br />2001- <br />2002 Pending Pending <br /> <br />Community Child Protection Team's Legislative Mandate <br />The Cabarms Community Child Protection Team has met continuously since 1992 as a result of <br />state legislation enacted to improve the protection of children. That legislation also requires that <br />the team report annually to the County Commissioners regarding its efforts to protect children <br />and we are submitting this report to comply with that request. <br /> <br />Community Child Protection Team's Membership <br />The CCPT is made up of members from many sections of the community: school personnel, <br />early intervention, law enforcement, the faith community, Head Start, social workers, health <br />professionals, crisis ministry, domestic violence prevention, and others. The team meets two <br />months each quarter, a total of eight times annually, and reviews open cases of child abuse <br />and/or neglect with investigating social workers from the Department of Social Services. <br />Members make recommendations and suggestions regarding those cases. Approximately sixteen~ <br />cases are reviewed annually in this way. A list of members is attached. <br /> <br />Public Education Awareness and Advocacy <br />The team is also responsible for education and public awareness efforts to alert the community to <br />the problem of child maltreatment. The team advocates for children's needs in the area of child <br />protection and for action to address the needs of children. In the last several years, the team has <br /> <br /> <br />