Child sexual abuse cases and unruly juveniles are among the challenging social problems that occasionally creep into local school systems.

In an effort to keep schools safe and drug-free, the Cherokee County School District held a community outreach program Tuesday morning at the district office. The meeting was designed to connect school principals and guidance counselors with community agencies that can help children.

"This was a good opportunity to provide school administrators with resources they can use in the community. We spend more and more time working with children on different issues," said Kathy Phillips, district coordinator of Safety and Drug Free programs. "Our advisory group saw a need for a meeting between schools and community agencies so information could be shared about services that can help children."

Speakers included Chrissy Little from the Cherokee County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission; Brenda Clary of the Department of Juvenile Justice; Wes Foster from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office; Jessica Melton from the Cherokee County Childrens' Home; Brooke Guthrie of Cherokee Mental Health; and Bill Herrick, executive director of the Children's Advocacy Center of Spartanburg.

The Department of Juvenile Justice offers a six week Parenting Anonymous course to assist parents who are having difficulty dealing with children. The local Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission offers a class to help middle school students stop smoking.

The Children's Advocacy Center was established by community child abuse agencies to help prosecute and prevent child abuse. The center serves Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties.

Statistics indicate 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys is sexually abused before the age of 18, according to a recent study by the Boston University School of Medicine.

Services provided by the Children's Advocacy Center include medical exams, case consultations, and therapy sessions. Since the center opened in 1996, medical staff and therapists have helped nearly 4,000 girls and boys who have been sexually or physically abused.

The school district plans to work with the Children's Advocacy Center and Cherokee Mental Health to adopt new procedures for reporting incidents, Phillips said.