D.A. Says Child Abuse of Any Kind Will Not be Tolerated

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said today child abuse of any kind will not be tolerated in the county in response to the release of two annual reports.

Lacey said the reports—the Child Death Review Team Report and the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect (ICAN) State of Child Abuse in Los Angeles County Report—will be used to understand the causes and impacts to help with prevention.

"My office manages the daunting task of holding accountable those responsible for harming or committing homicide against our children," Lacey said.

The reports represent the most comprehensive county-level child abuse data in the nation, she said.

"We believe that knowledge about the issues will contribute to more effective interventions by all agencies and will heighten the public focus on the need to prevent my office and other official agencies from intervening on behalf of young victims after a tragedy has occurred," Lacey said.

The comments were made as part of a policy committee meeting at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration attended by interagency officials, where they discussed issues on child and youth homicides, suicides, accidents and human trafficking of youth.

Deanne Tilton, ICAN's executive director, said violence in the home of children has been linked to disabilities, early death and disease as adults.

"Violence in the home can hurt in ways we never expected," Tilton said.

Tilton called for all those who touch the lives of children to work together to fight child abuse and neglect.

ICAN was created in 1997 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to develop services for the prevention, identification and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

—City News Service