Task Force Says Arkansas Can Do More to Help Abused Children
By: Adam Rodriguez
Updated: September 13, 2012
Lisette Yang writes her name on a white sheet of paper, but she isn't a teacher or daycare worker.
Lisette is a forensic interviewer, an official-sounding way of saying she talks to kids who have been abused.
"You are there to try to get the child to tell you what happened to him or her."
Lisette works at the Child Protection Center (CPC) in Little Rock; one of 13 Child Advocacy Centers in Arkansas.
Kids entering the CPC the are greeted by bright colors and toys in the front lobby. They come with family or police officers with horrible tales of abuse. But the center is a safe place where kids can come and tell their story one time, to one person.
Senator Percy Malone says ever since his election to the state legislature in 1995, he's worked to help abused children.
"Their lives are ruined forever in many cases, so we gotta focus on the children," Malone said.
Malone heads the Task Force on Abused and Neglected Children. The group met at the Capitol Tuesday to discuss several potential bills for the upcoming legislative session. Not bills to punish abusers says Malone, but help the children.
"We look after them. They're the focus of our work in this state," Malone said. "We want to get the bad guys caught, put them away, but not at the expense of forgetting the children that are abused."
Lisette is a forensic interviewer, an official-sounding way of saying she talks to kids who have been abused.
"You are there to try to get the child to tell you what happened to him or her."
Lisette works at the Child Protection Center (CPC) in Little Rock; one of 13 Child Advocacy Centers in Arkansas.
Kids entering the CPC the are greeted by bright colors and toys in the front lobby. They come with family or police officers with horrible tales of abuse. But the center is a safe place where kids can come and tell their story one time, to one person.
Senator Percy Malone says ever since his election to the state legislature in 1995, he's worked to help abused children.
"Their lives are ruined forever in many cases, so we gotta focus on the children," Malone said.
Malone heads the Task Force on Abused and Neglected Children. The group met at the Capitol Tuesday to discuss several potential bills for the upcoming legislative session. Not bills to punish abusers says Malone, but help the children.
"We look after them. They're the focus of our work in this state," Malone said. "We want to get the bad guys caught, put them away, but not at the expense of forgetting the children that are abused."
