Latest Casualty Spurs Troops in War Against Child Abuse

Mary Ann Xavier grimaced when she saw the article in the paper Friday about the 10-year-old boy from Orange who had been sexually abused with a miniature baseball bat and had his tongue burned with a hot knife.

Oh, God, she thought, we’re probably going to get him.

Xavier works at Florence Crittenton Services of Orange County, a residential treatment center for about 200 youngsters. It’s the kind of place where you don’t want new customers, because they’re mostly youngsters who have been abused. The 10-year-old who made the papers Friday, said to be the victim of longstanding abuse or neglect and apparently needing ongoing medical attention, is but another grim reminder that adults continue doing horrible things to children.

Meanwhile Friday, Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez had been listening for two hours to KFI, as callers to a radio show flooded the lines to deplore the 10-year-old’s plight. Even with a public already aware of child abuse, the sickening nature of the 10-year-old’s case hit a nerve.

“It’s outrageous,” Vasquez said, “and yet it’s a tremendous wake-up call that we have a lot of work to do yet.”

Xavier was among a group of people who, with much fanfare, spearheaded last year’s inaugural Orange County Children’s Summit. For the first time, summit leaders said, there would be coordination. No more duplication of services; no more bureaucratic tie-ups; no more lack of communication between jurisdictions or agencies.

The group never said it would make problems disappear in a year.

But a year later, with the dreadfulness of the 10-year-old’s situation in the headlines, the question is whether this is a battle that can ever be won.

It’s a question I put to several summit leaders. To my surprise, none was discouraged by the efforts of the past year. All see the war as huge but winnable.

Glenn Parrish, vice chairman of the new umbrella group known as the Orange County Partnership for Children, said: “We have tremendous work to do as a community. Our infrastructure of family and community relations and sense of community really have been beaten down. That took a long time, and it’s going to be a long time coming back, but every inch in progress will be noticeable. It’s about building families back up and building relationships in communities.”

Jo Caine has been doing community social work for the past 30 years. In recent months, she’s concentrated on gang prevention in Fullerton. Referring to the 10-year-old’s case, Caine said, “I don’t know why I’m constantly amazed that someone can treat kids that way.” Yet, she said, it isn’t enough to discourage her.

“I’ll tell you this,” Caine said, “my life is too full for me to feel I can waste my time on something I don’t feel can be accomplished. We don’t think we’re God and can take care of all problems, but I feel if we keep our sights on the mission of trying to make things better for kids, we will make some impact.”

This year’s summit, to be held Saturday at Orange Coast College, will focus on individual community involvement rather than countywide efforts, she said. “I think we tried to take too big a step last year,” Mary Ann Xavier said. “We’re kind of backing away from the broader picture, because that jump was too far.”

What’s exciting, Xavier said, is the increased involvement of youngsters this year. “It’s really neat when you sit down at a meeting with these kids. They’re so damn bright and good at cutting to the heart of things.”

What summit leaders want--what we all want--is some good news from the front.

Probably in November, there will at least be some news.

That’s the target date, Vasquez said, for the county’s second annual report on a wide range of “indicators” in such key areas as teen pregnancies, child abuse, violence and school dropouts.

While not daring to predict whether the numbers will offer hope, Vasquez said he’s buoyed by greater cooperation of agencies and increased public awareness in the last year.

Fair enough, but that falls on deaf ears to the public. It wants some signal that we’re moving toward a society where 10-year-olds aren’t abused.

As a reserve police officer who still pulls an occasional patrol shift, Vasquez has answered domestic violence and abuse calls.

It’s why he conceded that the problems kids face can seem overwhelming to solve.

“In some respects, yes, because I go out there and see conditions children are living under and then go back in on Monday and I’m a county supervisor, and it is a very emotional thing, because you want to do better. You know the problems are out there, and sometimes it’s really tough to translate what you see into strategies that will work.”

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.