Marion County supervisors heard Tuesday what less than $10,000 can do to help abused children.
DiDi Ellis, executive director of Kids Hub Child Advocacy Center, delivered an update of the organization’s services while requesting the same amount provided by Marion County as last year, $9,370.
Ellis said 111 Marion County children received forensic interview and victim advocacy services from July 2017 to May 2018.
Forensic interviews are when experts talk to abused children about what happened to them, and victim advocates go with children to court until the case is finished and can provide testimony, among other help.
The number of child abuse cases in Marion County is high. Ellis said it has nearly as many as much larger counties the organization serves, such as Lamar and Forrest. Ellis said the district attorney’s office here has accepted plea deals on 14 cases and currently has 10 child abuse cases pending trial.
District Attorney Hal Kittrell attended the presentation and supported the efforts of Kids Hub.
Ellis said there’s been a slight rise across the board in the services children receive when comparing data for the past two years.
“The number of children receiving forensic interviews increased 2 percent, the number of children receiving advocacy services increased 46 percent, and the number of mental health referrals had no change and the number of referrals for forensic medical evaluations increased by 16 percent,” she said. “No matter these numbers, the fact that child abuse in Marion County is a problem remains the same and we are making significant strides to ensure families involved in these allegations receive the services that are so critical to their overall well being.”
Ellis asked the board for the same amount of funding and thanked them. Board members then thanked Ellis for the visit.
It’s among the first of what will be many requests for county dollars for the fiscal year that begins in October. Department heads in Marion County are expected to bring their budgets to supervisors beginning July 16. The proposed budget will be published in late August with a public hearing set for 10 a.m. Sept. 6. The annual budget will be amended by Sept. 30 and take effect Oct. 1.
Pictured Above: DiDi Ellis, executive director of Kids Hub Child Advocacy Center in Hattiesburg, speaks with the Marion County Board of Supervisors Tuesday. It helped 111 Marion County children this past year. | Photo by Mark Rogers
