‘Child abuse didn’t go away’
♦ Harbor House works with a host of local agencies to lessen the trauma.
With local schools back in session, Harbor House is getting more child abuse referrals. Not because of an increase in abuse; because the abuse is now being seen.
“When the pandemic struck, the first thing we realized with the shelter-in-place order was that victims of abuse would be trapped, with no safe space,” Executive Director Joe Costolnick said.
Those who work with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault had the same fears, he said. But in the Rome-based child advocacy center, they knew exactly what was coming: a rapid decline in calls for help.
“With child abusers — they’re not people who just got off a train. They’re people who are close to the children,” Costolnick explained.
The numbers, he said, have cemented their concerns for children at risk in Floyd, Polk and Haralson counties.
In 2018, Harbor House’s trained advocates conducted forensic interviews with 185 young suspected victims of abuse.
In 2019, they interviewed 222 area children thought — by law enforcement, teachers, medical personnel and others — to be suffering from neglect or some kind of physical mistreatment.
Eight months into this year, they’ve just crested 100 referrals.
“We might get to 150 at this rate,” said Costolnick, a former police detective who’s aware of what must be slipping through the cracks of the social safety net.
“Child abuse didn’t go away just because COVID came around,” he added.
But despite the new challenges, he said, Harbor House staff remain committed to their mission of lessening the trauma of a child as they navigate the criminal justice system.
The nonprofit was recently reaccredited by the National Children’s Alliance, following an extensive application and site review process. One of its local partners, Floyd County CASA, also renewed its national certification as a court-appointed special advocate program for children.
Just 750 child advocacy centers and 900 CASA programs earn those standings nationwide.
“It’s not an easy process ... our community should be proud of it,” Costolnick said.
NCA uses a set of evidencebased standards that require a multidisciplinary team approach, collaborating with other agencies in child abuse investigation, prosecution and treatment.
Reviewers look closely at how a center handles medical exams, interviews, therapy and other victim supports — and how well they’re tailored for children, and diverse cultures as needed.
“We’ve learned over the years that every time they have to tell their tale, it’s like revictimizing them,” Costolnick said.
That’s where the teamwork comes in. Local police, hospitals, the Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia, judges and district attorneys work with Harbor House in an effort to limit the long-term effects.
“They bring the child here to talk to a highly trained forensic interviewer who will, hopefully, elicit all the needed information in that one setting,” Costolnick said. “Then we coordinate all the services needed for that child and their caregivers ... so the trauma doesn’t become the focus of their lives.”
He told of one case, several years ago, where a 6-yearold girl was being sexually abused by a man renting a room in the family home. The father came home from work early one day and the man committed a violent assault on the child in an effort to stave him off. A police chase ensued.
The parents were undocumented Hispanics, Costolnick said, so the family was worried about how that would affect their status on top of the trauma of having a child who had been violently sexually assaulted.
Harbor House was able to coordinate reassurances throughout the process and arrange for therapy as long as she needed it.
The man is now serving a 25-year sentence and will be deported after that. The child was graduated out of therapy after a year and a half. She and her family are still in Georgia.
“That’s the kind of thing that makes a difference,” Costolnick said. “Not all of those work out that well, but the whole set of tools came together. Everybody trying to do their part.”