Safe-House: Creating Safe, Beneficial Environments for Children
Background:
Child abuse is a subjective term which can carry multiple meanings and definitions. However, for the purpose of this paper, child abuse will be composed of the following definition. “Child abuse consists of any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and development. Child abuse includes any damage done to a child which cannot be reasonably explained and which is often represented by an injury or series of injuries appearing to be non-accidental in nature.” The most well-known forms of child abuse include the following: physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and emotional abuse (Childhelp, 2014). Among developed countries, the United States is one of the most notorious countries known for the quantity of child abuse that occurs. To illustrate the severity of this issue, an incidence of child abuse is reported every ten seconds. Furthermore, more than four children die every day from child abuse (Childhelp, 2014). It is apparent that child abuse has become a serious epidemic requiring national attention and treatment. To address this, I have created a program entitled Safe-House: Creating Safe, Beneficial Environments for Children. Throughout the paper, the program will be referred to as Safe-House for abbreviation purposes.
Program Description:
Safe-House is a multi-level prevention program which possesses numerous goals in hopes of reducing the amount of child abuse that occurs in America. It is a government and privately funded institute. The program has many general goals as well as specific goals for each stage of prevention. The headquarters of Safe-House is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Howev...
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...troubling society such as homelessness. In conclusion, this would eliminate the billions of dollars child abuse costs Americans every year.
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Child neglect and abuse is an unfortunate reality for many children today. It can have significant developmental impacts on children until they are an adult. Unfortunately it is not noticed until the damage is already done. Parents are the ones that are supposed to take care of their child. The consequences of a child getting mistreated young may endure long after the neglect occurs. People having children and not ready to be parents. Scaring the child for life because they decided that is was fun to beat on their child and abuse them mentally, and some even sexually. The effects can appear in all aspects of life, rather it is psychological or behavioral. There are three main effects of neglect and abuse that can range from minor physical injuries, not getting along with others, or can become aggressive and affect them later on in life.
It also helps by identifying new ways for prevention and treatment through service delivery, advocacy and public agencies. Child abuse prevention efforts have grown exponentially over the past 30 years. Some of this expansion reflects new public policies and expanded formal services such as parent education classes, support groups, home visitation programs, and safety education for
Child welfare system was originated with the goals that social workers would try and alleviate poverty and its impact; however as the years have passed, the child welfare system turned into a child protection system directed toward investigating abuse and neglect, and removing children from families and placing them in foster care, and is no longer prepared to assist in resolving the problems of child poverty (Lindsey, 2004). Child welfare system has been developed around the residual approach which demands that aid should be given only after the family is in crisis or other support groups have failed to meet a child’s minimal needs. However, over the years, there have been different focuses for the child welfare system, whether it involved
Child abuse in general is quite complex and at the same time one of the most challenging social issue facing people all around the USA. Child abuse cases have been recorded in all the states of the USA. The cases occur in all areas be it cities, small towns, suburbs, and even in rural areas. The vice also happens in all types of families regardless of the ethnic origin of the family or the even family income (UNICEF, 2015). It is thus important that effort is put into reducing cases of child abuse.
To date in HN370: Child Welfare and Family, we have discussed family dynamics and culture. We have dug deeper into the social problem of poverty by defining it and discussing characteristics of poor children, why children live in poverty, the consequences of growing up in poverty and the correlation between homelessness and being poor. We have delved into substance abuse, paying special attention to both addicted parents and children. We have examined the affects of violence in the home, by peers and in schools, as well as the epidemic of bullying.
Child abuse is an issue in every state, every country, worldwide. There is no place that is immune to child abuse. This being stated they need better policies in place regarding the education on child abuse. Many people have many different opinions on how to lessen the amount of child abuse that goes on in this country, however many of them focus on stricter punishment for the abuser’s (Hmurovich, 2009). However, they know that stricter punishment will not lessen the amount of child abuse; it would truly have little to no impact on...
For 30 years, advocates, program administrators, and politicians have joined to encourage even more reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. Their efforts have been successful, with about three million cases of suspected child abuse having been reported in 1993. Large numbers of endangered children still go unreported, but a serious problem had developed: Upon investigation, as many as 65 percent or the reports now being made are determined to be "unsubstantiated", raising serious civil liberties concerns and placing a huge burden on investigative staffs.
Since the case of Mary Ellen Wilson in 1874, child abuse has seen it’s share of light in published news. It is disheartening to read countless stories of future generations being harmed to the extent of psychological damage or even death. Child abuse as a whole has been addressed multiple times in various news blogs, however, nothing has been done to work towards abolishing it at a larger level. The future of America is in jeopardy based on the level of abuse that children endure. Childhelp states that approximately 5 children die every day at the hands of child abuse. America struggles to find equality, and by bystanding the stripping of its youth, continual prolonging is inevitable. Raising this nation’s children in means of nurturing and care is the first step to uplifting America as a whole. In 2012 alone, 1593 of America’s children died at the hands of child abuse, 70.3% of which were younger than the age of three (Safe Horizon). In order to prevent further child abuse, the American government should address stricter child protection laws, psychological stability, and an increase the recognition of those that have released their stories.
More than 2.5 million cases of child abuse and neglect are reported each year in the United States (Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics). Almost five children die as a result of abuse and more than three out of four are under four years old (Child Abuse: Statistics & Facts). Child abuse is very common amongst families (Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics). One-third of these involve physical abuse and one half involves neglect. Studies show that one in four girls and one in eight to nine boys will be sexually abused before they are 18 years old (Child Abuse: Statistics & Facts).
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Hammond, Carl, Wayne Promisel, Jack Shepherd, and Bill Walsh. Law Enforcement Response to Child Abuse. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1997. Print.
“Each year, Child Protective Services receives reports of child abuse and neglect involving six million children, and many go unreported” (New Directions). The article New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research, explores the need for research of the long-term affects of child abuse and neglect, not only on the victims, but also on their families, future relationships, and other people out in the community. Current research has brought to life the long-term developmental and biological challenges that abuse victims deal with long after an event occurs. A problem that current researchers face when striving to learn more about the long-term affects of child abuse is a lack of funds. Money drives a lot of things in this world, and research is one of those things. The current funds for this type of research has been spread very thin over numerous organizations that deal with child abuse. In this article, New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research, new ideas for spreading these funds have been talked about and plans have been devised.
Child maltreatment is a widespread issue that affects thousands of children every year. There are four common types of child maltreatment: sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. All of these types of abuse are very serious and can have many consequences for the children and families. The most common consequence of severe child maltreatment is the removal of that child from their home (Benbenishty, Segev, Surkis, and Elias, 2002). Most social workers trying to determine the likelihood of removal evaluate the type and severity of abuse, as well as the child’s relationship with their parents (Benbenishty et al., 2002).
Many children in the US have to endure child abuse. Most people do not understand the consequences the abused children have to live with for the rest of their lives. Because child abuse is a long-term problem, it impacts not only the child and family, but also the society as a whole. Children who are abused usually end up with self-esteem problems and lose their self-confidence. Therefore, they end up getting addicted to drugs or alcohol, which can create problems for their whole community. As adults, children who have experienced child abuse suffer long-term consequences physically and mentally, which can cause them to have more chances of abusing their own children; therefore there should be more ways to help children and adults cope with their devastating childhoods so that their children wont have to go through the same thing growing up (Mersch).
Studies have documented the connection between abuse and a range of physical, emotional mental and behavioral problems. Child abuse comes with tragic consequences and the society also pays a high monetary cost. The cost for child abuse includes both direct costs (those associated with the immediate needs of the abused child) and indirect costs (those associated with the long term and secondary effects). Importantly, since some forms of child abuse goes unrecognized, and it is difficult to determine how much abuse has taken place and, it is therefore not possible to determine the actual cost of child abuse. (Briere, 1992).