Trying a Team Approach to Stop Child Abuse

PITTSBURGH, April 26, 2005 — -- In light of the rising number of child abuse cases in the United States, some cities and states are overhauling their child welfare systems to better protect children. Pittsburgh, for instance, turned its once-troubled system into what child advocates point to as a model for the rest of the country.

ABC News was granted extraordinary access as social workers in that city intervened to help the family of Latrice Smith, a 36-year-old battered wife and grandmother with a history of depression.

Smith and her two boys, ages 8 and 9, were destitute, and four of her children are already wards of the state. Social workers were concerned Smith was at risk of losing the remaining two due to neglect. She has had eight children in total -- one of her children died as an infant and one is an adult.

Over the years, local authorities received nearly a dozen referrals about the Smith family, said social worker Juanita Bryant, including claims of "domestic violence, sexual abuse, drugs and alcohol, [and] neglect."

Social Workers Try Team Approach

Conventional means of dealing with child abuse have not worked in Pittsburgh, so the city is trying a new team approach.

More social workers have been hired, reducing case loads to a manageable 15 per caseworker. In order to remove the cause of abuse and neglect, families are provided with financial help as well as mental health and drug abuse specialists.

"If you can provide support, that's what really tends to make a difference in keeping kids safe," said Marc Cherna, director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

A decade ago, eight children in Allegheny County died each year as a result of neglect or abuse. Today that number is zero.

But despite recent success, Pittsburgh officials admit keeping some families together is a risky proposition.

"A child's gonna die," said Cherna. "I mean there is no way to prevent child deaths forever."

Removing Children as Final Option

Officials say sometimes they have no alternative but to take children from their parents. Several social workers made that point painfully clear to Smith.

"The non-negotiable is the children must be safe at all times," social worker Helen Holloway told Smith in a meeting with other caseworkers. "These are goals that we expect you to follow so your children can remain in your care."

Smith admitted she needs help.

"I've tried to do it on my own, and I end up back at the same place again because, you know, I need help," she told the social workers.

Smith said she realizes how much her two remaining boys -- who haven't seen their siblings in two years -- are suffering.

"It has affected their very being. Everything about them is just a result of what they've been through with me and their dad," she told ABC News.

If the Smith family succeeds, it may be due to Pittsburgh's innovative approach to a national epidemic of child abuse.

ABC News' Pierre Thomas filed this report for "World News Tonight."