The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth released its 2024 County Profiles in Child Well-Being report and the numbers present a sobering picture of child well-being in Cocke County. (The full report can be viewed online at www.tn.gov/tccy/data-and-research/ county-profiles.html.)
Once again Cocke County ranked No. 95 out of 95 counties in the number of children who are victims of abuse or neglect per 1,000 people. This total is unfortunately consistent with last year’s numbers indicating the county’s child abuse problem remains high.
The county ranked No. 94 in family and community, which involves youth crime rate, children who are chronically absent and victims of abuse or neglect.
The youth crime rate per 1,000 children is 30.9%, which is higher than last year’s 27.9%. bringing Cocke County in at No. 51. The numbers continue to paint a bleak picture as Cocke County ranks No. 87 for children who are chronically absent from school. It was ranked No. 79 last year.
The county ranked No. 89 in economic well-being, with 33.7% of children living in poverty to rank No. 92 for the second year in a row. Because of increased housing prices, the county ranked No. 81 in severe housing cost burden, which was worse than last year’s ranking of No. 64. The county’s child care cost burden now ranks No. 65, dropping eight spots from its No. 57 rank one year ago.
‘Indicators of being a distressed county’Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis acknowledged there are issues that need to be addressed. “These are indicators of being a distressed county for so long. Before we can aspire to see improved situations across the board, we must address the basic needs,” he said.
Mathis explained tackling one problem at a time, such as jobs, food, clothing and shelter, will help with the process.
He said unemployment is decreasing and there is progress. He said in September 2022 there were 7,100 people in the county receiving SNAP benefits and that number has decreased by 1,000.
“We are making improvements, but it does take time,” Mathis said. “When people can gain their independence, and have the opportunity to make a decent living and support their family, it will help with the process. Our goal is to help as many people as we can improve their situation,” he said.
In addition to seeking to promote employment opportunities, the county is working with the nonprofit roundtable to address social problems head-on, Mathis said. Jennifer Ellison of the Cocke County Partnership heads up the roundtable.
‘Need to focus on families and children’“I think these numbers should catch the attention of every single one of us,” said Isaiah 117 House Location Leader Brandi Dailey when discussing the child abuse and neglect rankings. “There are so many concerns for the future of Cocke County and if we want to shape our community for good we need to begin at the beginning, we need to focus on our families and the well-being of our children. Each of us has a responsibility in this to change the way our children are being treated, once and for all. From the top of our government and faith leaders and in our own homes, we should all be paying attention to this issue, we need to be having hard conversations, educating ourselves and parents and being moved to action.”
Isaiah 117 House provides physical and emotional support to children awaiting placement after being removed from a home.
A closer look at the numbersWhen looking at the numbers closely, there were 488 reported child abuse cases in the county, which is a rate of 6.4%. The state average is 4.2%. The county is No. 86 in that category. When it comes to being committed to state custody, 57 children per 1,000 children in the county were put in state custody last year, and that 6.9% was significantly higher than the state’s 2.5% average.
The report indicates 107 per 1,000 children (12.9%) remained in state custody. The state average is 5.1%.
Sheriff: Numbers don’t matchCocke County Sheriff C.J. Ball said the numbers don’t match the number of cases his department sees at the Cocke County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO). He explained these totals include any referral that has been called in, and those referrals are often “scree ned out” before the call reaches the CCSO. He pointed out that the numbers are significantly different, and the totals are not nearly as great when the numbers are added up for the cases that actually reach the CCSO.
“We have pulled our cases that we have assigned from the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) for 2023 and 2024,” Ball said. “In 2023, we investigated a total of 64 cases. Out of those cases, we currently have six awaiting prosecution, one arrested, three transferred from another county, and 55 cases were closed due to lack of evidence to support the allegation or in some cases the allegation was unfounded. In these specific cases, you must follow the rules of the law. You must have probable cause, and supporting evidence to prosecute any case. These cases are taken very seriously and presented to the district attorney to see what the case provides in order to prosecute a suspect in the case.
“In the current year 2024, we have 13 cases that have been assigned for investigation. Seven of those cases have been closed due to lack of evidence to support the allegation or in some cases the allegation was unfounded, one arrest of a suspect, one case was sent in from another county, and four of these cases are currently active.
“Each case that is sent into our agency is automatically sent to the Criminal Investigation Unit and assigned out promptly. We have a great working relationship with our DCS workers and the district attorney’s team. As we stated, we take these cases seriously and work lots of hours to determine the outcome of each case. The state of Tennessee has TCA laws passed that require reporting of any allegation to DCS by referral. This can come by law enforcement, school system, hospitals, family members, or anyone that has knowledge of an abuse that may have taken place.”
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