New Report Addresses Child Treatment and Mistreatment

TYLER — A new report shows that where a child lives can help predict how that child will be treated — or mistreated. Dr. David Lakey of UT Health Science Center at Tyler is chief medical officer for the UT system. He says the system’s work with other state agencies checked out a variety of factors based on zip codes. Lakey says, “We were able to develop a model that predicts the risks of that community — not the individual, but…the health of that community in keeping the child healthy or the chances of maltreatment in that community.” Lakey says the goal is to identify the kids and how best to help them.