Child abuse and child poverty have both increased in Webster County since 2000.
In January, Iowa Kids Count released its data book, titled "Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children." The book, published by the Child and Family Policy Center, provides data on 20 different indicators of child and family well-being for all 99 counties in Iowa.
According to the CFPC, abuse and neglect of children ages 0-17 is up 48.2 percent in Webster County.
From a count of 8,419 children in 2010, 237 children, a total of 28.2 percent, were confirmed to have been abused or neglected during the year. The number is up from 2000, when out of 9,847 children, 187 or 19 percent were abused or neglected.
Webster County has the eighth highest rate of Iowa's 99 counties. The rate for Iowa is 17.3 percent, to 33.8 percent.
Roger Munns, Iowa Department of Human Services spokesman, said that while statistics are likely comparable statewide, "it's very difficult to pinpoint a specific reason in a specific area" for the increase.
"One reason for an increased rate is continuing trouble with unlawful drugs, particularly methamphetamine," he said. "That's been an epidemic in Iowa for a long time. When people are under the influence of drugs they simply aren't capable of making good decisions for their kids."
Munns said abuse rates can also be affected by reports of high-profile cases.
"Whenever there's an unusually tragic event involving child abuse, that almost always results in more reports, people calling the child abuse hotline," he said. "When that happens, there are more investigations and more founded abuses. It gets back to the question, is there really an increase or are we more aware of them than we used to be? The jury's out on that."
Not entirely unrelated, child poverty in Webster County has increased by 55.5 percent since 2000. According to the CFPC, in 2000, of 9,352 children, 1,197 or 12.8 percent lived below the poverty line. In 2009, out of 8,392 children, 1,670 or 19.9 percent were impoverished.
Webster County rated 18th out of 99 counties. The state's rate increased 15.6 percent, to 44.5 percent.
A family's income does not explicitly lead to abuse, Munns said.
"Most wonderful families come from all over the income spectrum. Just because you're poor, you're not a bad parent," he said. "But the most reliable predictor of abuse is income. It's not because you don't have money or income, it's the stress of poverty. It can lead to family stress."
According to Munns, if statistics for abuse and neglect is Iowa were separated into groups by income, there would be more in the lower incomes.
"Webster County is not unusual. Iowa is poorer than it was 10 years ago," he said. "You can see that in the benefits we hand out in food stamps. That has grown remarkably in 10 years. And most of it is economy driven. You'll find lots of evidence to show that people are poorer."
The number of children receiving services through the Women, Infants and Children program increased by 12.5 percent, according to the CFPC report. In 2010, out of 2,248 children ages 0-4, 938 or 41.7 percent received WIC services. In 2003, of 2,361 children, 876 or 37.1 percent benefited from WIC.
Webster County has the 10th highest percentage of children on WIC. The state percent is 28.2 percent in 2010, down 0.1 percent from 2003.
One positive, teen births in Webster County are down by 35.3 percent for ages 15-19. In 2010, of 1,303 females only 36 or 2.8 percent gave birth. In 2000, of 1,452 teens, 62 or 4.3 percent gave birth.
Kari Prescott, Webster County Health Department director, said the teen birth rate has lowered with the involvement of multiple organizations when the rate was high.
"It really brought an awareness to the county," she said. "The Health Department, Planned Parenthood, Linking Families, lots of organizations had a joint effort to make sure there was education in the school and with parents about the importance of talking with their kids about sexuality issues."
Contact Brandon L. Summers at (515) 573-2141