Child Homicide Rates in North Carolina and Programs to Reduce Them

(FORT BRAGG, N.C.)– A new report by Action for Children North Carolina finds that between 2001 and 2010 there were 251 homicides by parent/caregiver (HPC) of children from birth through ten years of age in North Carolina. That represents a 13.6% decline from the 1985-2000 period.

Of the 22 HPCs in Cumberland County, 10 were of children in active military families, which is a remarkable 16% decline from the prior period. There were 12 HPCs in civilian families, which is a 9.1% decline.

Action for Children North Carolina, in conjunction with Fort Bragg, will host a media roundtable at Stryker Golf Course on 17 July at 1:30 p.m. to discuss these findings and explain the programs Fort Bragg and Cumberland County’s Department of Social Services have implemented to help reduce homicides by parent/caregivers of children.

“Fort Bragg has taken an active role in reducing the stress placed on our families by implementing and reviewing the effectiveness of our Army Community Support programs and by coordinating our services with those of the Cumberland County Department of Social Services,” said Thomas M. Hill, Fort Bragg’s Family Advocacy Program Manager.  “One of the many benefits of these programs has been our ability to reduce abuse cases, including child homicides.  But we won’t rest on our laurels, we will continue to find ways of improving our effectiveness and increasing our assistance to our families”

“Despite the enormous stress that military families have been under in the past decade, the HPC rates in active military families dropped by a remarkable 16% in Cumberland”, said Tom Vitaglione, a senior fellow with Action for Children North Carolina. “While the HPC rates for civilian and military families in Cumberland County remain unacceptably high, the fact that this media release is occurring at Fort Bragg is an indicator of the commitment of civilian and military leaders to
continue making progress in the reduction of these rates. Children and families are relying on that commitment.”

A copy of Action for Children North Carolina’s report, Collateral Damage on the Home Front: Ten Years Later, Making Strides in Reducing Homicides by Parent or Caregiver in the Military is available online via the following link.

http://www.ncchild.org/sites/default/files/2012_Collateral%20Damage%20Ten%20Years%20Later–Action%20For%20Children%20North%20Carolina.pdf

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Action for Children North Carolina is a leading statewide, nonpartisan, nonprofit policy research and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that North Carolina children are healthy, safe, well-educated and have every opportunity for success. For more information, visit www.ncchild.org.

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