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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

The Hidden Good News About America’s Children

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Monday, December 24, 2012   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - In spite of the heartbreaking tragedy in Connecticut, there's actually some good news about America's children this holiday season. According to an annual report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, child abuse and neglect are down nationally for the fifth straight year. West Virginia's numbers have also been decreasing steadily.

Jim Hmurovich, president and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America, says the point is that child maltreatment can often be prevented, and people are doing just that.

"When people get involved, when people care, when people understand, good things happen. And when good things happen in this case, it means children are gonna grow up healthier and happier."

Hmurovich says the child abuse and neglect statistics can be sketchy, because the reporting and the standards vary widely. However, the overall trend of declining child abuse seems clear, he adds.

The figures show that nationally fewer than one out of every 100 children is maltreated. Nearly half of victims were age 5 or younger, and neglect accounted for about 80 percent of all child maltreatment cases. Hmurovich says much of that can be prevented, and the tools don't cost that much.

"Things like home visitation, parent support groups, training for parents of new children - a lot of things can be done, and many of our communities are starting to do those things."

Hmurovich says parents don't want to abuse their children, but they can sometimes feel overwhelmed. He says even something as simple as a neighbor asking an angry parent to go for a walk can do a lot.

"Certainly parents must be accountable, but they often ask for help. It's up to us to provide them with the support they need, so they can be the parents that they really want to be."

Hmurovich says government, business, churches, youth groups and ordinary people all have a part to play. That lesson seems to be getting though in West Virginia, he says.

"West Virginia folks ought to be very pleased with their Prevent Child Abuse America chapter. They are very aggressive and active in making sure that everyone has a role to play in children's lives."

More information about the report is available at www.goo.gl/tJ2cF.






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