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October 29, 2004
Reservation intends to curb child abuse
Safer children and a community better educated about abuse - and stopping it - are the goals of a new partnership on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
Ronald Haugen, a Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer, starts work Monday as the child protection officer in Lame Deer. He will work with social services when abuse cases are reported and also go into schools and the community to provide prevention education.
The position is possible through a collaborative effort of the tribe and President Geri Small, BIA Superintendent Marge Eagleman, and BIA Law Enforcement Services, according to Matthew Pryor, the special agent in charge of BIA law enforcement.
"There is nothing else on our plate that supersedes child abuse and child maltreatment," Pryor said.
Child abuse, including sexual abuse, is an estimated 37 percent higher in Indian Country than the national average, according to the National Indian Child Welfare Association. Haugen is expected to have 300 referrals a year. That does not necessarily mean validated cases of abuse but could include child neglect and maltreatment, BIA Special Agent John Oliveira said.
Alcohol and other drugs also play a role, as substance abuse is a factor in about 95 percent of abuse cases, Oliveira said.
"Focusing on the child breaks the cycle," Oliveira said. "We're never going to win that war unless we focus on breaking the cycle."
The organizations saw a need to bring social services and law enforcement closer together to provide more and better service, Pryor said. Haugen's new office is next to the social services department, and the two agencies will work closely.
"It's in information sharing," he said. "There was no clear, established nexus between law enforcement and social services. This is an opportunity to fix that."
The program is the first of its kind in the BIA's six-state region that includes Montana. BIA leaders and Small hope it becomes a program other tribes will initiate. Some other programs beginning in the region include teen suicide prevention efforts, creating sexual offender repositories, restructuring the child abuse hotline and creating a child fatality review team within the BIA.
Small said statistics and harsh realities created the need for a child protection officer on the Northern Cheyenne reservation.
"Just even one child," Small said. "In our culture, they believe when a child is abused, it kills their spirit. That's why it's so important … any type of child abuse but more so sexual abuse."
Haugen's duties will include tracking sexual offenders on the reservation. Technically that is the responsibility of county law enforcement, but the information is a resource that Haugen can use to help protect children. He will also track people convicted in tribal court, who are not required to register as state and federal offenders are.
Another aspect of Haugen's work will be to provide education in the schools and to the community. About 86 percent of children report abuse when they are taught prevention concepts such as "good touch/bad touch," Oliveira said.
"It brings awareness to the child, at a young age, of essentially what is right and what is wrong," Oliveira said.
"How an adult should act around a child."
Haugen is a six-year veteran of the BIA Police Department in Lame Deer and will continue to be the agency's canine handler.
"Ron is a good person and will do well," Small said. "He is a tribal member, people know him and respect him and he's good with kids."
She likes the idea of Haugen spending time in the schools, both in terms of introducing himself to kids and also letting kids see an officer in a positive light.
"Just to inform them, let them know who he is and get comfortable with him," Small said. "Just going out to the schools is a big, big positive change."
Posted by Nealus at October 29, 2004 12:41 PM
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