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Deputies call, and churches step up

 About a dozen local churches have agreed to help when child protection investigators encounter families who just need a little support.

By ASHLEE CLARK
Published June 27, 2006

Sometimes the families are too overwhelmed to ask for help.

Sometimes they don't know where to go.

And sometimes they're too proud.

Whatever the reason, the Pinellas County sheriff's child protection investigators don't always find child abuse, neglect or abandonment when they respond to a call.

Occasionally, they meet families that are trying to care for their children but are having a hard time because of things beyond their control.

Now the Sheriff's Office has partnered with more than a dozen local churches to help provide resources for those families.

In the "Churches in Partnership" program, child protection investigators will alert participating churches about families who need help. The churches can then provide assistance that can range from buying food to making a one-time bill payment.

"The goal of this is for the community to help the community," sheriff's Sgt. Jim Bordner said.

The Sheriff's Office sent letters on June 13 to more than 300 congregations of various religions, inviting them to participate. So far, 13 churches have stepped forward to help, Bordner said. Each church will be assigned to an investigator.

The Child Protection Investigation Division receives about 10,000 reports a year of possible child abuse, neglect or abandonment, Bordner said. Of those calls, about 200 involve families who need outside resources.

Anne Slocumb, the director of lay ministry at First United Methodist Church of St. Petersburg, said her church decided to participate because it allows the church to reach families who might have remained unknown.

"We think this is a way of reaching into the community in a way we wouldn't normally have," she said.

--Ashlee Clark can be reached at aclark@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4158.

A NEW MINISTRY

For information about the Pinellas County sheriff's "Churches in Partnership" program, contact Nancy Sackett, administrator of the Child Protection Investigation Division, at 727 582-3823, or Lt. Greg Handsel at (727) 582-3817.

[Last modified June 26, 2006, 23:21:23]