As we approach the end of 2023 and the beginning of a new year, The Dolphin House staff wishes you Happy Holidays. We are ever grateful for the various levels of support we receive from the communities we serve, such as donations of blankets, stuffed dolphins, financial contributions, Christmas presents, clothing and more.
We’d also like to take this time to report to our communities about the services we provided and the statistics of our caseload. In 2023, The Dolphin House provided 251 Forensic Interviews, 5 Medical Exams, and 970 Victim Advocacy Sessions. While The Dolphin House steadfastly continues to primarily serve child victims of sexual abuse, the trends we see in the various types of child abuse is innately different from year to year. For example, while comparing allegations of abuse from 2022 to 2023, we saw an increase of 18% in physical abuse allegations and an increase of 52% in witness to violence claims. The largest increase in allegations is regarding drug endangered children, where we saw a staggering increase of 137%. It is important to keep in mind the concept of poly-victimization, in which children who experience one form of abuse are statistically more likely to experience another as well. More statistics are available through the infographic embedded in this blog post.
The Dolphin House staff looks forward to another year serving its mission in providing hope and healing to victims of child abuse within the 7th Judicial District of Colorado.
Happy Holidays!