Pinwheels represent a change for endangered children

By JUSTIN DENNIS

jdennis@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

The 1,000 pinwheels planted at Boardman Township Park to raise awareness of Mahoning County’s child abuse and neglect cases are a reminder that “every child matters,” said Andrea Mistovich with the Child Advocacy Center of Akron Children’s Hospital.

Mahoning County Children Services’ 14th annual Pinwheels for Prevention luncheon Thursday at the Holiday Inn in Boardman acknowledged the child advocacy work done in Mahoning County every day — and reminded that work is never truly done.

April is National Child Abuse and Prevention Month. Nationwide, one in every seven children has experienced some form of abuse or neglect, Mistovich said. In Mahoning County, it’s estimated a child is abused or neglected every 30 minutes, on average. She said abuse prevention is up to the community members — to report suspected child abuse at the first “inkling.”

“It only takes a little wind to make that pinwheel move, just like it only takes a little effort to make a difference in that child’s life,” Mistovich said.

Mahoning Sheriff Jerry Greene, the luncheon’s keynote speaker, said his office conducted nearly 170 investigations involving children in 2018 alone, including more than 50 instances of abuse, neglect or endangering and nearly 30 incidents of sex abuse — “a ton of work.”

“From December 2014 until now, every [child abuse or neglect] case that has been presented to the grand jury or given to the prosecutor’s office and then the grand jury has resulted in a guilty plea or a trial conviction — every case,” Greene said, to applause.

The office maintains two dedicated, full-time investigators with Children Services, he said. Their tactics are often unlike traditional police work, he said — often, children are threatened by parents to lie; some haven’t yet learned to speak.

The office also coordinates the county’s first human trafficking task force, through which the first tried case recently resulted in a conviction and a 30-year prison sentence. The county’s proximity to interstates 76 and 80 and state Route 11 makes it a “hot spot” for human trafficking, and children are often the victims, Greene said.

Greene said reporting child abuse is a “brave act” and “often the first step in helping to protect a child and assisting a family need. To report suspected child abuse or neglect, call Mahoning County Children Services at 330-941-8888.

“We need to spread this message to our community friends — if you see something, say something,” he said.

Jennifer Kollar, Children Services spokeswoman, also awarded the agency’s Community Spotlight award to Kaylor White, from Choffin Career and Technical Center’s early education department.

For 38 years, students at the center have coordinated a winter clothing drive for needy children in the county. This past December, the drive brought in 200 sets of gloves, hats, mittens and scarves to be doled out by Children Services.

“Choffin’s winter apparel collections and donations have kept Mahoning County children warm all year long,” Kollar said.