Jamie Pippin, the local DCS manager, talks about child abuse prevention. SBT Photo/SANTIAGO FLORES
At a glance
To inquire, contact 888-722-3678 or Lmartin@lssin.org.
Also, you can sign up to volunteer as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, serving as an advocate in the courts to represent a child in foster care. In St. Joseph County, only 35 percent of foster kids have CASA’s, limited by the number of volunteers, said local Director Brenda Matuszkiewicz. That leaves 428 foster kids who don’t have a CASA.
The next eight-week training course will begin Tuesday.
Inquire at 574-233-CASA or sjccasa.org.
Learn more about the efforts of Prevent Child Abuse in St. Joseph County at 574-210-9713 or pcasjc.org.
SOUTH BEND — Be vigilant. That’s what advocates for troubled children and a local Indiana Department of Child Services official urged in a news conference today in the wake of four felony charges filed Monday against a 21-year-old woman in the death of her son and the severe injury of her daughter, both toddlers.
“If you see something is not right, it doesn’t add up, call the hotline,” said James Pippin, manager of the DCS region covering St. Joseph, Elkhart, Marshall and Kosciusko counties.
The state hotline, 800-800-5556, will take anonymous calls to report any kind of suspected child abuse or neglect and to answer questions.
Nyesha Crockett, 21, was charged this week with murder, battery, aggravated battery and neglect of a dependent in connection with her son's death on Monday afternoon and her daughter's severe injury in February.
“I have children that live in this county,” Pippin said of his own family. “So I want to make sure my agency is doing everything it can to protect children.”
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