Kentucky 1st in child abuse & neglect deaths

Kentucky is 1st in child abuse and neglect deaths, reports Ken Walker of the Western Recorder, that state's Southern Baptist newspaper.

He and reporter Dannah Prather write:

Released by the Every Child Matters Education Fund of Washington, the report said 41 Kentucky children died in 2007 in circumstances where abuse or neglect was substantiated. That number was higher than the 26 deaths counted by the state. Federal authorities include situations where abuse or neglect occurred, even if it was not a direct cause of death.
. . .
According to the report, Kentucky’s average of 4.09 deaths per 100,000 children led the nation, followed by South Dakota (4.08), Florida (3.79), Nebraska (3.59) and Missouri (3.51).

“It’s heart wrenching that each day in America, five children will die from abuse and neglect, but what’s worse is that the real number is even larger,” said Michael Petit, president of Every Child Matters.

They are also writing about Baptist services to children. Yet they come right at the need, facts first, flinching from nothing, showing that Baptist state newspapers can still do real journalism.

Read it here.