Dear Editor,

In March of 2022, it was determined that Mahoning County Children Services ranked

#1 in all of Ohio for child abuse or neglect allegations, of those reports, a case was opened

for 1,128 of the 4,483 investigations. Out of those cases, 488 were physical, 487 were

neglect, 132 were sexual, 54 were medical neglect, 59 were dependency, 66 were

emotional maltreatment, and 237 families were in need of services. Worst of all, these are

only the reported cases; for every one case that is reported, two go unreported. Those

children are left to suffer in silence, without any relief. I urge you and our community to bring

attention to this exponentially growing issue.

As if children being abused and hurting isn’t bad enough, there is a direct link

between children being abused and them growing up to be aggressive and have behavioral

problems. With more than 600,000 children abused nationally each year, that also produces

600,000 plus at-risk youth who are predisposed to continuing this vicious cycle in their

adulthood. This is why abuse is a national epidemic. Although it would be difficult to make

change nationally, we can absolutely work towards making change in our own backyard.

Children never deserve to be abused or neglected, but sadly child abuse does not

discriminate. These children and the future of Mahoning County is in jeopardy.

As it stands right now, this problem is bad enough; as a community, let’s not let it

fester. Let’s treat our children better, reach out if you need help or know someone that

needs help, be on the lookout for suspicious behavior, report mistreatment to the

authorities, and collectively brainstorm new programs that can be put in place to help

struggling families. In 2020, 1,750 children nationally had their future stripped when child

abuse took their life. Let’s not let it keep happening.

Thank you for your time,

 A Concerned YSU Nursing Student

Resources:

Mahoning County Children Services 2021 Report to the Community

Child Maltreatment 2021 Report

Long Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect

WFMJ Article