DeKalb County advocates, court officials work together to fight child abuse

SYCAMORE – Dozens gathered Tuesday in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse in Sycamore to raise awareness for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, hosted by area agencies that work to put children’s needs first.

The annual event, called Hands Around the Courthouse, was hosted by CASA DeKalb County, which provides trained advocates for children involved in the court system due to parental or guardian abuse or neglect. The advocates work on behalf of the child to make court recommendations and represent children as Guardian ad Litem. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates.

Jill Olson, executive director of CASA DeKalb County, said she’d recently heard a phrase relevant to CASA’s mission that’s stuck with her.

“A child’s shoulders are not meant to bear the burden of their parent’s choices, and I think that rings so true for all of us who work directly or indirectly in the field of child welfare,” Olson said. “We see these kids, who through no fault of their own they eventually become a part of the court system because their parents have abused and neglected them. So we are here today to remind all of us that what it boils down to is those children, that’s who should be front and center.”

While CASA DeKalb County took the lead in planning for this year’s event, officials said Family Service Agency of DeKalb County, helped host. The agency provides DeKalb County children age-appropriate prevention education and coordinates services and safe, child-sensitive support through its Children’s Advocacy Center to abused children and non-offending family members.

Numerous advocates from CASA, on- and off-duty police officers from DeKalb and Sycamore, and a handful of people representing Bikers Against Against Child Abuse – a group which works to create a safer environment for abused children – attended the event.

Associate Judge of the 23rd Judicial Circuit Court, Sarah Gallagher Chami presides over child abuse cases at DeKalb County Courthouse. On Tuesday, she told the crowd more than 600,000 children are abused in the United States every year, according to the National Children’s Alliance.

“Child abuse is an epidemic that most people don’t want to acknowledge,” Gallagher Chami said. “Child abuse can be open and obvious, or veiled and concealed. Child abuse can be physical, mental, emotional. Child abuse is traumatic.”

Children under a year old comprise 15% of all child abuse victims, according to the National Children’s Alliance.

DeKalb County State’s Attorney Rick Amato said organizations like CASA DeKalb County offer unwavering commitment to supporting children experiencing the lasting pain of real trauma.

Amato also said he’s studied Adverse Childhood Experience (ACES) surveys, for the past several years, and has been astounded by his findings.

“It’s a 10-question exam, 10 life scenarios. I encourage everybody to take a look at it, simply take a look at it. But what you will feel, what you will experience after doing so will change you,” Amato said. “You see, the scoring of ACES predicts the future, it predicts of what comes in our school. It predicts the future of what goes in our hospitals, it’s going to predict the future of what’s comes into our courthouse.”

Amato said those who dealt with adverse childhood experiences are more likely to deal with anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder and health issues – including cancer – than those who didn’t experience the same kind of trauma as a child.

“When I was looking at it, the thing that stopped me right in my tracks is that those with ACES, versus those that don’t, face a life expectancy 20 years less,” Amato said.

Considering the plight of abused and neglected children, Gallagher Chami said she thinks it’s an honor and a privilege she gets to preside over Dekalb County abuse and neglect court, despite the subject matter she’s required to make rulings on.

“I get to see first hand the organizations in our community who provide support to these families and children. CASA DeKalb County, the Family Service Agency and Safe Passage are a few of the organizations who provide invaluable support to the victims of child abuse,” Gallagher Chami said. “These organizations that are bringing awareness today serve our children in their darkest hours as their champion. We in the court system are grateful for the attention that is paid to the serious issue of child abuse in this community.”