T
o the children who enter this room, it seems safe enough. Crayon drawings of flowers and happy suns hang on the wall. A tiny barn in a bucket is filled with plastic giraffes, dogs, elephants and dinosaurs. A brown rocking chair sits in the corner. The children might not notice the microphones embedded in the walls, the fisheye cameras hanging in the corners or the one-way mirror the police peer through. The little boy or girl will sit on top of blue carpeted steps, cut and modified to fit this room, while Karen Winston, who looks like she could be a grandma, asks them questions. And then they tell her terrible, sickening stories.
all in the family More children in Spokane County are being abused and neglected. but some families have managed to break the cycle By Daniel Walters
“I’ve heard all kinds of things,” says Winston, forensic interviewer for Partners with Families and Children. “‘He grabbed me by the neck and choked me.’ ‘He hit me.’ ‘He punched me in the stomach.’ ‘He put his mouth on my privates.’” Sometimes the kids will withdraw, or they’ll cry and curl up into a ball. She tries to make it easier for them. Do you want to whisper it to me? she might ask. Can you tell me just one thing that happened? Would it be easier to write it down? She never forces them to talk. Just a few rooms away, nurse practitioner Teresa Forshag examines and photographs any physical wounds. She’s seen bruises and belt marks and broken bones. She’s seen blows to tiny heads from big, adult fists. She’s seen sexually transmitted diseases in children. Just this year, she’s seen cigarette burns on genitals and burns on children dipped in scalding water as a punishment for potty training messes. “We’ve had some fatalities this year,” Forshag says. “Fatalities due to physical abuse.” Last year, more than 10,000 children in Spokane County were referred to Child Protective Services. CPS investigated 5,500 cases and was able to prove that at least 820 children suffered at least one incident of abuse. Moms, dads, boyfriends, grandparents and caretakers had beaten, molested, neglected and abandoned the very ones they were supposed to protect. And nobody knows how many more kids were abused, because nobody knew, saw or bothered to report them. Worse, the abuse cases have increased just as the community’s ability to help has weakened. Says Winston: “It looks a little bit like scorched earth out there at times.” ...continued on next page
young kwak photo
August 22, 2013 INLANDER 21