Giving hope to the children

Inter Lake editorial

A sudden surge of children in need of help has put a strain on social services in the Flathead Valley.

In the first three months of 2009, 36 dependent neglect cases were filed in Flathead County District Court - triple the number of cases filed in the same period last year.

That's 36 children removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect, compared to a total of 53 for all of last year.

There may be no single cause for the rise in dependent neglect cases, but child welfare officials said they suspect a faltering economy is leading to an increase in substance abuse and domestic violence by parents.

To deal with the influx of children needing help, the county's child advocate program is calling for volunteers and planning an emergency training session for child advocates.

Court Appointed Special Advocates for Kids provides adult volunteers to speak for abused or neglected children and to help shepherd them through the legal system.

Community members are urged to step forward to help CASA - and in turn help the children.

To request an application packet or more information, call CASA for Kids at 755-7208. Applications are due by April 30.

A highway tragedy - they have been all too frequent in recent weeks - has robbed the world of a big dreamer in a little body.

Hanna Cini was just 6 years old when she died from injuries she received in a car crash on Montana 35 last week. But being 6 did not stop Hanna from making her mark on the world, and family and friends hope that her dream will live on long past her.

"Hanna's Dream" started literally as a dream, but she turned that dream of sending art supplies to less-fortunate children around the world into a reality and started her own charity when she was 5. Hanna's Dream sent a shipment of art supplies to children in Fiji last October, but now others will have to carry on the work to bring happiness to children around the world.

If you want to help, visit http://www.hannas-dream.com and look for the Donate button on the left-hand side of the main page.