Over the past several years, there has been a significant increase in the number of sex crimes committed against children in our area.
In May alone, three men were arrested in Manitowoc County on child sexual assault charges: Travis L. Besaw of Mishicot, Joshua Ganzel of Cleveland, and Randy Kue of Manitowoc.
But it’s not just Manitowoc County, as Christopher L. Rentmeester of Plymouth was recently arrested on federal Production of Child Pornography charges.
In fact, the Manitowoc Police Department tells SeehaferNews.com that the Wisconsin Department of Justice has seen a 323% increase in the number of cyber tips for child sexual assault material cases since 2021.
Some have pointed the finger at Child Protective Services for not stepping in early enough or doing enough when they see abuse happening.
We spoke with Sue Ader, the Deputy Director of the Child and Family Services Division of the Manitowoc County Human Services Department, and Jenna Foster, a Child Protective Services Supervisor in the Department, who explained how exactly how they handle a report of suspected abuse.
Foster says that the entire process is quite extensive, right from the initial phone call.
“There are many, many questions that we have to gather information about because we try to learn as much about what is happening as we can so that we can make a good decision about what the next steps will be,” Foster revealed.
Sometimes, that initial phone call can take up to 45 minutes.
Foster said they ask questions like, “Who all lives in the home? Ages, date of births of children, if the child has any injuries, what does that injury look like? When did certain things happen?”
And that is just scratching the surface.
That report is then sent to the supervisors, such as Foster, who determine whether or not the case will be “screened in,” meaning it requires a visit to the home and a full investigation.
The supervisory team doesn’t just decide on a whim which cases to screen in.
They are required by state law to follow guidelines established in Madison throughout the entire process.
This includes having to meet the legal standard for abuse, as outlined in Section 48.02.
The strict following of these state standards has led to some people becoming frustrated with the system, believing the local CPS agents let down these children.
Ader says she understands that frustration, but added, “I think it isn’t always known how scripted our process actually is. I can empathize with a reporter who sees a situation the way that they do, and they feel like there’s a valid reason to be concerned, but it doesn’t necessarily rise to the statutorial level of being able to intervene.”
One major challenge these CPS agents face is the fact that some children may know what is happening is wrong, but they are afraid of what would happen if they “tattle” on their parent, guardian, family member, or anyone else.
“We only know what we know when we know it,” Ader put it bluntly. “If something isn’t reported to us, we can’t do anything about that.”
Another aspect of the process that many may not know or realize is the effect it has on the agents who go out to these homes and take firsthand reports from children who have been physically, emotionally, or sexually abused.
“It was hard for me just having one case recently,” Foster admitted. “You think about some of the workers in our unit who are handling multiple cases like that, either at a time or for sure multiple cases within a period of months…Secondary traumatic stress is a real thing, and it takes a toll on people.”
Foster noted that the Department is offering training for their agents and office staff who type up the reports to ensure their mental health is being addressed.
This includes when cases don’t meet the legal statutory level to remove a child, and something terrible happens.
“The staff that we have do this job because they are incredibly committed and dedicated to the citizens of our county,” Ader said. “I really, truly believe, based on my years of experience, that they really do put their skills, their knowledge, their passion into doing the best job that they can…If at the end of the day, they can’t legally intervene in a situation and it has to be closed, and then something comes back in, of course, they are going to take that to heart. That’s human nature.”
That is where the Department leadership steps up to recap the entire case to show the agent that they did, in fact, do everything the right way and did everything they legally could.
Plus, every case must be reviewed by a supervisor before any action can be taken.
At the end of the day, Ader says she will stand behind her agents 100% of the time because she knows they are doing everything by the book and to the best of their ability.
“I know and have confidence that what the workers are doing is being guided by law,” she told SeehaferNews.com. “We have a corporation council which reviews our work. There are courts that are put in place. Let’s say we do take custody of a child and we go to court, if the court feels that we haven’t met the burden, they’ll return the children. So there’s a court system that’s in place to also have some accountability.”
For more information about reporting a child abuse case, visit the Child Protective Services Unit section of the Manitowoc County website.
