Staffers at the Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County are preparing to deal with an increase in the number of reports of child abuse.
Chief Operating Officer Dan Powers told Collin County Commissioners the fact that kids are back in school in-person gives them the opportunity to report abuse to a teacher, counselor or other trusted adult. The number of reports had dropped in 2020 as many schools went to online-only instruction because of COVID-19.
"When kids started going back to school in the spring we saw an astronomical increase in reports," said Powers. "We actually had the two busiest months we've ever had, so we're expecting in the next two weeks that's going to happen again."
The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to an increase in reports of on-line child predators.
"There's a 147 percent increase in cyber-tips in Collin County. These are crimes against children involving the internet," Powers said. "Bad guys were at home trolling for kids, and unfortunately kids were at home, too - on the internet."
He applauded the staff at the Children's Advocacy Center for its ability to deal with the additional demand for services during the past year as kids dealt with new levels of stress.
"During COVID in the last year, children's mental health has taken a horrible toll," he said. "One in five adolescents are reporting high levels of anxiety right now, one in four are experiencing high levels of depression."
He also advised Commissioners about plans for a second location in Collin County. The organization held a fund-raising campaign that secured millions of dollars for a new facility. Staff at the second location will perform the same duties as the original site, but will provide a second option for kids and law enforcement as Collin County's population continues to grow.
"We're going to have two Children's Advocacy Centers. One still in Plano, it will still be fully operational, but we're going to bring half of that multi-disciplinary team up here to McKinney," Powers said. "We started construction a couple of weeks ago and we expect to be moving in this time next year."
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