More on Child Abuse Prevention Month--and more invisible dads (Great Falls, Montana)

Another generic article featuring Child Abuse Prevention month. Like the posting below, notice what is NOT said. Though custodial moms are routinely held responsible (and roundly demonized) for the actions of their abusive boyfriends, dads get a free ride. Notice that the fact that this child had to have been beaten in a situation involving custody/visitation is NOT MENTIONED, though this logically must have been the case. Also notice that the father who was supposed to be responsible for this child's welfare is NOT NAMED and not blamed in any way (his name was JACOB ARNOTT). Though I seriously doubt that his girlfriend was bigger and meaner than he was, and that this poor little darling was just totally helpless to stop her. Utterly ridiculous. Mom is responsible for stopping the criminal actions of a guy who's six inches taller and 50 pounds heavier than she. But daddies are just helpless little things, even when they dump the kid in some psycho's care while they go out. Give me a break....

http://www.kxlh.com/news/seraphina-s-struggle-highlights-child-abuse-prevention-month/

Seraphina's struggle highlights Child Abuse Prevention MonthPosted: Apr 1, 2011 6:44 PM by Ashley Korslien (Great Falls)
Updated: Apr 1, 2011 6:45 PM

Just over two years ago, two and a half year old Seraphina of Great Falls was beaten against a crib by her biological father's girlfriend, Alicia Hocter.

Her mother Kendra recalled, "They didn't think she was going to make it through the night. She was having seizures, she wasn't responding to anything but more pain."

Hocter is now serving a 30 year prison sentence for the crime that left Seraphina blind, but Seraphina's mother says that true justice will never be served.

Kendra said, "(Hocter) gets to still live a normal life, yes, it's in a prison setting, but it's nothing near what Sera's prison is going to be like the rest of her life. Sera will never get better, we don't know the full extent of the damage, and so we are going to be with further testing for quite a while."

It's a story all too common in Montana, and child abuse and neglect is on the rise in Cascade County.

April marks National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the people that deal with abuse and neglect on a daily basis are taking the occasion to raise awareness.

Lisa Goff, executive director of CASA-CAN, noted, "People would be surprised at how much it is in the community. In fact, Cascade County has the largest number of child abuse and neglect cases in the state."

In 2009, 99 children entered the foster system in the county; that number grew to 142 in 2010, and already this year there are 40 new cases in the county.

That's an average of one child entering the foster system every two days.

But thankfully Seraphina has a second chance - something many children don't get.

Although she doesn't have her eyesight, she does have a loving family.

Kendra tells her daughter, "I love you more than anything and I know you have had a pretty rough road. But you are here for a reason and we are going to use your story and make a difference. And keep other children from going through what you have gone through."

If you want to help raise awareness of child abuse and neglect, you can purchase a wrist band from CASA-CAN.

They are five dollars each, and you can pick them up at the organization's office in the Cascade Copunty courthouse.

Kendra also started "Seraphina's Struggle," a Facebook page dedicated to raising awareness of the issue.