By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
MARYVILLE - The Nodaway County Sheriff's Office is launching a new task force meant to combat a rise in child sex crimes in northwest Missouri brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nodaway County Sheriff Randy Strong has seen an increase in abuse due to more people staying at home during the pandemic and more children being home from school during that time as well.
Studies show that about 1 in 7 children in Missouri have experienced abuse or neglect within the past year.
"A lot of times they were with someone who turned out to be their abuser," Strong explained. "Now that things are opening back up, some of these kids are coming forward and disclosing some things that have happened to them. So, nationwide, we're seeing an increase in crimes against children."
Strong and other county sheriffs in the area applied for a grant through the state to form a regional task force that can act as a liaison between law enforcement agencies, and facilitate training between the public and adults.
"Locally we've been trying to address this," Strong added. "We've seen (child-related crimes) rise here, and in meeting with some of the sheriffs in my zone up here, they were all experiencing the same thing. So, we started looking for a way to deal with that."
The end result is The Northwest Missouri Children’s Advocacy Task Force - headed by Director Jackie Cochenour. The Task Force will cover the area of Nodaway, Atchison, Holt, Gentry and Worth counties.
"It's kind of a beautiful opportunity for me to get involved with our region," Cochenour said. "I've been in our region for more than a decade serving our most vulnerable kids, so this is kind of a perfect fit and really exciting for me to be a part of."
People can contact the agency to set up a time for training, which Cochenour says will teach participants the signs to look for in an abused child, using a five-step program called Stewards of Children.
"This isn't just for teachers or anyone that's part of a youth organization," Cochenour said. "Every single adult can be a part of this. That way, we all as a community can be protecting our children even better."
The task force will also work with local law enforcement to provide a child-specific interview room and techniques for talking to minors.
Strong said the Nodaway County Commission has donated some office space to help with this project. He says this Task Force will include people from several different agencies with a variety of expertise, giving law enforcement some much needed assistance when it comes to responding child-related crimes.
"We have children's divisions to take care of the needs and do a safety plan," Strong said. "Sometimes, we need to remove the children from the home to protect them, so that gets a juvenile court involved and our prosecutor. We also have mental health officials to come in and work with the children."
The grant that's funding the project, worth nearly $191,000, is only in place for a year. That’s why Cochenour and those involved with the task force are asking the public for donations.
"We firmly believe that each adult is responsible for the safety of our children," Cochenour said. "So, we need to know what that looks like and what that entails and to have prevention plans. So, we're going to be doing a lot of training, a lot of outreach and a lot of education with all of the adults in the region so that we can react responsibly and prevent crimes like this from occurring to begin with."
People can donate to the Northwest Missouri Children’s Advocacy Task Force at this link. Cochenour says this task force will rely on the generosity from the public, and further state and federal grant applications, and hopefully be around for many more years to come.
"This is a legacy that's going to outlive any one of us," she said, "and it's really going to be a benefit for our children in our region."
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