Child Abuse: A Generational Plague Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mou...

Child Abuse: A Generational Plague Matthew 5:4 Blessed are they that mou... Children are
suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. Every year more
than 3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving
more than 6 million children. Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level,
across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of
education.

The United States
has among the worst records among industrialized nations –

- SEVEN children DIE
every day as a result of child abuse and neglect

- A report of child
abuse is made every 10 seconds

- Between 50-60% of
maltreatment fatalities are not recorded as such.

- Approximately 80%
of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4.

- 95% of juvenile
sexual abuse victims, know their perpetrator.

The estimated annual
cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States

in 2008 is $124
billion.

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY
FOUR BILLION DOLLARS!!!

Child
maltreatment includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age
of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role (e.g.,
clergy, coach, and teacher). There are 4 common types of abuse:

• Physical
  Abuse
• Sexual
  Abuse
• Emotional
  Abuse
• Neglect

Child
Maltreatment: Definitions

Any
act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver
(e.g., clergy, coach, teacher) that results in harm, potential for harm, or
threat of harm to a child.

Acts of Commission (Child
Abuse)

Words
or overt actions that cause harm, potential harm, or threat of harm to a child.
Acts of commission are deliberate and intentional; however, harm to a child may
or may not be the intended consequence. Intentionality only applies to the
caregivers' acts-not the consequences of those acts. For example, a caregiver
may intend to hit a child as punishment (i.e., hitting the child is not
accidental or unintentional) but not intend to cause the child to have a
concussion. The following types of maltreatment involve acts of commission:

• Physical
  abuse
• Sexual
  abuse
• Psychological
  abuse

Acts of Omission (Child
Neglect)

The
failure to provide for a child's basic physical, emotional, or educational
needs or to protect a child from harm or potential harm. Like acts of
commission, harm to a child may or may not be the intended consequence. The
following types of maltreatment involve acts of omission:

• Failure to
  provide
• Physical
  neglect
• Emotional
  neglect
• Medical/dental
  neglect
• Educational
  neglect

• Failure to
  supervise
• Inadequate
  supervision
• Exposure
  to violent environments

Leeb
RT, Paulozzi L, Melanson C, Simon T, Arias I. Child Maltreatment Surveillance:
Uniform Definitions for Public Health and Recommended Data Elements, Version
1.0. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center
for Injury Prevention and Control; 2008.

Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pub/CMP-Surveillance.html

Why is a Consistent
Definition Important?

A
consistent definition is needed to monitor the incidence of child maltreatment
and examine trends over time. In addition, it helps determine the magnitude of
child maltreatment and compare the problem across jurisdictions.

The Problem of Child Maltreatment

Child maltreatment is a
considerable social and public health problem in the United States. In 2004,
data collected from Child Protective Services (CPS) determined approximately
900,000 children in the United States were victims of child maltreatment and
about 1,500 children died because of abuse or neglect (US DHHS, 2006).
Unfortunately, these numbers likely underestimate the number of children
affected by maltreatment due to underreporting and focus on a single data source.

No public health
based definitions for child maltreatment exist, public health officials
continue to use terms related to child maltreatment in different ways and use
different terms to describe the same acts. Not surprising, these
inconsistencies have contributed to varied conclusions about the incidence and
prevalence of child abuse and neglect.

Research into the
consequences of child maltreatment has identified various acute and severe
negative outcomes such as death, injury, and traumatic brain injury. Research
has also uncovered many deleterious long-term developmental outcomes: academic
problems, anxiety, conduct disorder, childhood aggression, delinquency,
depression, increased risk for suicide, high-risk sexual behavior,
interpersonal problems, poor physical health, posttraumatic stress disorder,
risky health behaviors, substance abuse, and youth violence (e.g., Bolger,
Patterson, and Kupersmidt 1998; Cerezo and Frias 1994; Felitti et al. 1998;
Kang et al. 1999; Mannarino and Cohen 1996). Along with the legal and medical
consequences, these substantial short- and long-term squeal make prevention,
early identification, and intervention a necessity.

The Need for Consistent Definitions
and Data Elements

Calculation of child
victimization rates for maltreatment depends on how the definition of
maltreatment is operationalized. To date, the multiple sectors addressing this
issue (CPS, legal and medical communities, public health officials,
researchers, practitioners, and advocates) often use their own definitions,
thus limiting communication across disciplines and hampering efforts to identify,
assess, track, treat, and prevent child abuse and neglect effectively. In
addition, victimization rates are often based on reports from a single source,
for example, vital statistics or CPS (e.g., National Child Abuse and Neglect
Data System [NCANDS]). The most recent NCANDS estimate is 11.9 per 1,000
children, or 872,000 victims per year in 2004 (US DHHS, 2006). However, the
Third National Incidence Study, with its more inclusive ascertainment methods
(e.g., multiple sources), suggests CPS may investigate fewer than half the
actual number of maltreatment cases (Sedlak and Broadhurst 1996). Estimates for
child fatalities due to maltreatment vary to an even greater extent depending
on the methodologies, definitions, and sources used (Crume et al. 2002; Herman-Giddens
et al. 1999; McClain, Sacks, Frohlke, and Ewigman 1993). On the one hand, death
certificate data from 2002 suggest rates as low as 0.28 per 100,000 children 0
to 17 years of age (N = 204) (CDC Wonder website: http://wonder.cdc.gov/). On
the other hand, the NCANDS Child Maltreatment 2004 report estimates 2.0 per
100,000 children 0 to 17 years of age (N ~ 1,500). Fatality rates vary
inversely by age as well, with the rate for infants varying by source from 2.4
per 100,000 for vital statistics to 17.5 per 100,000 for CPS sources. This lack
of consistent information about the number of children affected by maltreatment
limits the ability of the public health community to respond to the problem in
several ways. First, it limits ability to gauge the magnitude of child
maltreatment in relation to other public health problems. Second, it limits
ability to identify those groups at highest risk who might benefit from focused
intervention or increased services. Finally, it limits ability to monitor
changes in the incidence and prevalence of child maltreatment over time. In
turn, this limits the ability to monitor the effectiveness of child
maltreatment prevention and intervention activities (Saltzman et al. 1999).

Deuteronomy 19:15 - One
witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity,

or for any sin, in any sin
that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses,

or at the mouth of three
witnesses, shall the matter be established.

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He who walks with integrity walks securely.

But he who perverts his ways will become known! - Proverbs 10:9