By Meredith Gardner
meredith.gardner@theindependent.com

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Independent/Scott Kingsley Jaecee Day, 6, shoots for the basket in a game of knock out at Third City Christian Church. The Church has 143 kids enrolled in their after school program and typically sees 65-75 children per day. Independent/Scott Kingsley Johnathan Leitschuck (right) Mike Ready (lower right) and Jackson Sikes, 5, work on building cars while Tanner Hudson and Ethan Roby (upper left) work in the background at Third City Christian Church. The Church's after school program, which is open until 6 p.m., is available to children in kindergarten through fifth grade and offers many different activities. Click Thumbnails to View

It's a case Michelle Walker, a licensed clinical social worker for Grand Island Public Schools, has faced before.

Throughout the school day, teachers, secretaries and other school workers might hear a student mention that they or their siblings have been left home without supervision.

"It seems to be just kind of luck sometimes," Walker said.

School social workers follow up on such reports and, in some cases, make home visits to check on things, Walker said. If necessary, they contact law enforcement or the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to intervene.

However, "we definitely try to be preventative," Walker said. "If we can identify a high-risk family, we want to get to them before it turns into a state Health and Human Services (issue)."

In Nebraska, there are no clear-cut guidelines on when a child should or shouldn't be left home alone. State statute does not specify an age at which a child can be unattended in a residence only that a child 6 or under cannot be left alone in a car, said Sara Mann, a child abuse investigator for Grand Island Police.

That means each time police receive a call about a child being left unattended, investigators must consider the individual circumstances before deciding whether it's a case of child neglect, Mann said.

Mike Nelson, a child abuse investigator with the police department, said it's probably more fair that way, as one child of a certain age may be considerably more mature than another.

"(It's) clearly a case-by-case basis," Nelson said.

Typically, law enforcement becomes involved with situations of children being left home alone when someone calls in with a concern or when a child has been injured, Nelson said.

Anyone who suspects that a child has been abused is required by Nebraska law to report it to the Health and Human Service Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 1-800-652-1999 or their local law enforcement agency.

As they work with Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services officials, officers take into account a variety of factors, including the child's age, maturity level, access to a phone, knowledge of emergency plan, ability to prepare needed meals and whether other young children are present.

"It's kind of everything, the totality of the situation, before we can really say it's a neglect case or not," Mann said.

Physical neglect is the most frequently substantiated type of child abuse or neglect in both the state and the Central Service Area, which includes Hall County.

According to HHS records, there were 5,787 substantiated cases of physical neglect statewide in 2004, the most recent data available. Of those cases, 438 were recorded in the Central Service Area.

A caregiver's refusal of health care, delay in health care, abandonment, expulsion, inadequate supervision and other forms of reckless disregard for a child's safety and welfare are all considered forms of physical neglect.

Neglect can also be emotional and educational, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

It's rare that local child abuse investigators get calls about problems with children being left home alone, Nelson said. In many cases, police don't hear about such cases until a serious problem has resulted from a lack of supervision.

Reports of children being left home alone typically happen more often in the summer when school is no longer in session, Mann said.

Of the cases she has seen, parents typically leave young children unattended for economic reasons.

"They can't afford to hire somebody, or they don't have the means to make that happen," Mann said.

There's also the issue of convenience, Nelson said, as some parents think it it's easier to leave a small child home alone for a brief period of time than take them to run an errand, even if such an action isn't wise.

No matter what the reason, leaving a young or immature child home unattended can create a dangerous situation, Mann said. There could be house fires, intruders, contact with strangers, cooking hazards, access to weapons and exposure to unsafe chemicals or substances, among countless other issues.

When deciding whether to leave a child home alone, parents should consider both the age and the maturity level of the child, as well as the duration of time the child will be unattended. If a child will be watching younger siblings, parents should ensure they aren't giving the child too much responsibility.

Children should be trained in what to do in case of emergency and left with access to a phone and contact numbers.

"I would recommend that they talk to them about safety issues," Mann said, such as not opening the door or answering the phone when home alone.

Overall, parents must evaluate whether they are giving their child too many adult responsibilities, said Sondra Schwehn, director of the Central Nebraska Child Advocacy Center.

"You just don't ever know with kids," Schwehn said.

Resources to contact concerning any type of child abuse:

Adult/Child Abuse and Neglect 385-6123

Child Support Enforcement 385-5155

AA/Alanon/Alateen (programs for alcoholics and their families) 389-4089

Council on Alcoholism 385-5520

Woman, Infants & Children (WIC) 385-5188

Big Brothers/Big Sisters (community/school based mentoring program) 384-3456

Boy Scouts 382-3717

Girl Scouts 382-2020

4-H Program 385-5088

TeamMates (school based mentoring program) 385-5950

YWCA 384-9922

YMCA 395-9622

Community Resources

The following community resources are available to help families and respond to concerns about sexual abuse or any type of child abuse:

Child Advocacy Center (offers interview and advocacy services), 385-5238

Hope Harbor (homeless shelter for women and children), 385-5190

Salvation Army (shelter for men), 382-4855

Heartland Court Appointed Special Advocates (help for abused/neglected children in the court system), 385-5125

Hall County Juvenile Services, 385-5124

Wellness Works/Por Su Salud (information on a variety of health/education topics), 398-5050

Building Nebraska Families (assistance for moving from welfare to work), 385-5088

Center for Advocacy and Resource Education/Youth Encouraging Support (for families with physical, mental or emotionally challenged children), (877) 225-0500

Girls and Boys Town Shelter, 381-4444

Heartland Visitation Center (supervised visitations, exchange point for parents), 385-5665

Mid-Plains Foster Care Services, 385-5555

It Can Happen Here

In October 1999, 2-year-old Faisal Marrufo-Gutierrez was killed in a trailer fire. The boy and his 4-year-old brother had been left at the home unattended while his parents were at work and his 7-year-old sister was at school.

The fire was accidentally started by the older boy, who was playing with a butane lighter. According to then-Hall County Attorney Ellen Totzke, a love seat in the living room was ignited and the fire spread throughout the residence. Marrufo-Gutierrez died of smoke inhalation.