Cuts put children in peril

Posted on Mon, Apr. 11, 2005


By Charles “Chip” McKenzie Special to The Star


For the past 10 years our community's most potent weapon in fighting the crime of child sexual and physical abuse has been the Jackson County Child Protection Center.

The center conducts interviews of children who have alleged abuse and provides continued support to the child and family members. In an incomprehensible move, Gov. Matt Blunt has proposed a budget that will eliminate the center.

Is there anything more important than the protection of children from further abuse, and the protection of our community from perpetrators who look upon any child as a potential victim?

There is no other source for funding for the center. Blunt needs to understand and appreciate that a cut in his budget means the elimination of the Jackson County Child Protection Center. That means all of our children are put in peril.

Charles “Chip” McKenzie is a former assistant prosecutor in Jackson County now in private practice. He is an advisory board member of the Jackson County Child Protection Center. He lives in Kansas City

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/opinion/11362123.htm

Surely those kids can all have panic buttons installed in their homes.