Rally Recognizes Children Who Have Been Abused, Neglected

BY RUTH LIAO
Statesman Journal
April 4, 2007
It took one encounter with a volunteer to help Pamela Butler, who was shuttled around in foster care since she was 7 years old.
Butler, who described members of the state system as overworked and underpaid, was 15 years old when she met a court-appointed special advocate, or CASA.
"I wasn't looking forward to repeating my life story for someone who wouldn't be there for more than two weeks," Butler said. "But I was wrong."
Now a college senior at the University of Oregon, Butler is on track to graduate with degrees in Spanish and business. Butler credited the foster-care support network for her turnaround.
Cordoned off by yellow police tape near the Capitol entrance were 18 baby seats, toddler chairs and rocking chairs. Each represented a child who died as a result of abuse or neglect in Oregon in 2005. In Marion and Polk counties, 1,808 confirmed victims of child abuse were reported in 2005, enough children to fill 32 school buses.
Marion County Circuit Court Judge Pamela Abernethy, who oversees the juvenile services and foster-care system, also spoke at Tuesday's rally.
Nurturing a healthy relationship between a parent and a child is crucial for early childhood development, Abernethy said. She held up her right hand in a fist.
"It's like a hand born without fingers," she said. "The physical architecture of the brain depends on that relationship.
Northeast Salem resident Nancy Boaz held her grandson Jayson during the rally. She said her daughter Melissa receives services through Healthy Start, and encouraged the rest of her family to attend. Boaz said reporting child abuse should be a responsibility for every adult and other children who know or hear about it.
"A lot of kids are neglected and people don't even help," Boaz said.
rliao@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 589-6941