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University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, April 29, 1992
Child-abuse reports increase after death of Lawrence toddler
Rise may be due to growing awareness
By Michelle Betts Kansan staff writer
The number of child-abuse cases reported in Douglas County almost doubled from January to February and has remained constant since then, according to Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services.
Fifty-five cases of child abuse were reported to the state agency in January, and 100 cases were reported in February. The number remained high in March, when 96 cases of child abuse were reported. Statistics are not yet available for April.
Bill Pickering, Douglas County social services chief for the agency, said the number of reports might have increased because of publicity surrounding the death of 23-month-old Eric Brewer.
Brewer was found dead Feb. 5 in a trailer home in North Lawrence. According to the Douglas County coroner's report, the toddler died from a severe blow that ruptured his liver.
Pickering said about the case, "It brings the idea home that child abuse is about life and death, not about a spanking."
Wendy Brewer, Eric's mother, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the case. Her boyfriend, Donald Bruce, was charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in connection with the case.
Brewer's older brother, who is seven years old, was taken from his mother this month after a school nurse found bruises on his arms and leg, according to district court records. The boy said his mother had hit him.
Tom McDonald, associate professor of social welfare, said that it was not uncommon for one child to be left in the home if another had been abused.
Abuse reports nearly double
Reported child-abuse cases in Douglas County nearly doubled from January to February. SRS officials think the reporting could have increased because of the publicity of the beating and death of a 23-month-old Lawrence boy.
December '91 85
January '92 55
February '92 100
March '92 96
April '92 N/A
Source: Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services
"The death of a child should be looked at intensely," he said. "There should be a strong reaction to it, and everybody should take a look at what is going on."
McDonald said social services agencies needed to be careful in removing children from families and should make a reasonable effort to preserve the family unit.
Boy Byers, child protection supervisor for Social and Rehabilitation Services, said the end of the school year usually brought an increase in child-abuse reports.
Teachers and administrators do not want to leave children for the summer if they suspect those children are being abused or neglected, so they report the cases to the agency, he said.
Pickering said Social and Rehabilitation Services had to file a petition with the district attorney's office or refer the case to a law enforcement agency before a child who might be the victim of abuse could be removed from the home.
Julie Denesha/KANSAN
Hitting the pavement
Wayne Hathaway, a painter for facilities operations, secures crosswalk lines by pounding them into the asphalt. Hathaway said the department had to replace the crosswalk lines near the Campanile every year before graduation.
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ON THE RECORD
■ Jewelry and cash, valued together at $2,400 were taken between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. Friday from a student's
room in Corbin Hall. The student's door was not locked, KU police reported.
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