East Austin Among 'Hot Spots' For Child Abuse, According To New Report

EAST AUSTIN, TX — Overall, child abuse cases are decreasing in Central Austin. But in East Austin and the more rural areas of the county, incidents are on the rise.

Those are among the findings of of a newly released report by Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas researchers. The 40-page report sought "hot spots" for abuse throughout the area in an effort to pinpoint the causes of child abuse and the effect the scourge has on children.

Among the report's key findings as it relates to East Austin is the lack of community services offered in that part of the city, yielding an inequitable division of such resources citywide. The majority of mental health services and substance abuse facilities are located west of Interstate 35, the report found, despite the fact that the most prevalent rates of child abuse occur in East Austin.

Researchers call this the "East Austin Crescent," a reference to the mapping pattern that emerged as part of researchers' area of study.

"The mapping done for this study revealed a crescent-shaped pattern of substantiated reported of child maltreatment for children 0-14 years of age in Travis County," researchers wrote. "The areas with the highest concentrations of maltreatment border the urban core of Austin to the north, northeast, east, south, east and south, forming a crescent pattern often referred to by service providers in the field as the 'East Austin Crescent.' "

Researchers caution that some counts of abuse children may be underrepresented, the wrote in the report.

"While the map depicts child maltreatment predominantly occurring east of Interstate 35 in areas that border the urban core of Austin, it is important to note that this map focuses only on high density areas of child maltreatment.

"Low density areas of child maltreatment are not shown, therefore this map understates the problem in rural areas. That being said, this map provides us with the areas where the largest number of high-risk children would be impacted by prevention and intervention efforts."

Researchers also noted the children in the study were predominantly Hispanic, at 57 percent of the total number studied. Another 20 percent identified themselves African American, 19 percent as Anglo and 5 percent were reported as "other." Children were equally distributed between male and female, with the average age being 4.86 years old.

It was the younger children (among a group capped at 14 years old) that emerged as the most susceptible to abuse, the report found. Children from infancy to 4 years old made up a larger percentage of substantiated reports of child abuse — 53 percent — than children between the ages of 5 and 14 years old.

The report also broke down its findings in terms of school districts. One might extrapolate from the data that most of the children studied emerged from the Austin ISD. But that was not the case, researchers wrote.

"At first glance, it may appear that the highest concentrations of child maltreatment solely impact youth in the Austin Independent School District," the report reads. "However, a closer look reveals that Del Valle ISD, Manor ISD, Pflugerville ISD and Round Rock ISD all contain areas of high concentration."

The report also identifies factors contributing to child abuse, including lack of affordable housing, poverty, homelessness and overcrowding among them. A greater housing stock for affordable housing is among suggestions offered, which would, in turn, provide homes for residents and deter child abuse as an environmental issue.

In its conclusion, the report offers three suggestions for moving forward:

• Raise Awareness: "Our goal is to continue to raise awareness about the issue of child maltreatment in our community through research and dissemination of findings."
• Call to Action: "These findings provide an opportunity to mobilize community leaders toward common action in the prevention of child maltreatment in Travis County. We are a community rich in resources. Imagine if together we could mobilize our academic organizations, philanthropic institutions, technology and business sectors, non-profit organizations, research entities, healthcare organizations, and the new 10:1 City Council districting system to end child maltreatment."
• Create a Shared Vision: "Together we can create a shared vision of affordability, equitability, and resiliency for our community. By involving committed stakeholders that represent various sectors of our community, we improve the viability and strength of our shared vision."

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