Child Abuse and Neglect Campaigns
The future of our nation rests in our children. They need to be provided with all support and encouragement, superior upkeep, quality education, and elite opportunities to allow children to reach their full potential. The purpose of this paper is to underline an essential social matter of child abuse and neglect, describe the campaigns in support of this matter, and to offer possible approaches to assist families in creating safe and nurturing environment for children.
Child Abuse and Neglect
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines child abuse and neglect as “any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child” (n.d.). This includes physical, emotional, sexual abuse and negligence. It is a serious public concern that affects children lifelong. Not a day goes by without a report in any newspaper concerning child abuse or neglect. According to Child Protective Services, 702,000 victims of child abuse and neglect were reported in 2014 alone (CDC, n.d.). According to a recent CDC study, approximately $124 billion in a lifespan are spent with just one year of confirmed cases of child maltreatment (CDC, n.d.). Instead, government should capitalize in assuring secure and fostering environment for children and their families, supporting them economically to prevent strain, and raise awareness to enhance parenting skills and to promote nourishing child development.
Prevent Child Abuse America
Prevent Child Abuse America is a national campaign that strives for healthy growth and development of children and to prevent abuse and neglect founded in 1972. A 50 state chapter network promotes developmental programs and services to prevent all types of abuse and neglect including child sexual abuse prevention, peer abuse, and shaken baby syndrome prevention (Prevent Child Abuse America, n.d.). One of the ways we, as responsible citizens, can participate in this campaign is by learning more about prevention, supporting child and family friendly policies and services, and volunteering at the local, state, and national levels.
Pinwheels for Prevention is a part of this campaign, launched in 2008, where you can purchase pinwheels and display support for child abuse prevention. “Pinwheel connotes whimsy and childlike notions. In essence, it has come to serve as the physical embodiment, or reminder, of the great childhoods we want for all children” (Prevent Child Abuse America, n.d.). A personal message with donors’ information is then added to the map of the United States on the website for recognition of supporters. Enthusiasts can also hold pinwheel activities within their school or community to raise charity funds and awareness for child abuse prevention.
Believing that healthy and nurturing relationships between children and caregivers allows sturdy footing for children’s overall progression, the Prevent Child Abuse America campaign developed another family-support and home visit program named Healthy Families America. Currently HFA has a presence in 38 states and serves nearly 100,000 families annually with services that are proven to improve family self-sufficiency, improve early learning in children, and reduce child maltreatment. After reviewing thorough home visiting literature, the United States Department of Health and Human Services designated HFA as a proven home visiting model in 2011(Prevent Child Abuse America, n.d.).
The Blue Ribbon Campaign
In 1989 after experiencing the death of her grandson, Bonnie Finney of Norfolk, VA, initiated a drive against child abuse. A symbolic blue ribbon secured on her van depicted as “a signal to her community of her personal commitment to involve everyone in the battle to stop child abuse” (Child Advocacy Services, n.d.). It is a positive reminder to caregivers of the need to do best when it comes to their families and children. By wearing blue ribbon or donating for it, spreading the words regarding the campaign, becoming volunteers, and reporting child abuse incidents to local and state leaders, responsible citizens can help prevent child abuse. The campaign also encourages families to spend time together, respect one another, and create family traditions to make all members feel connected. It encourages parents to show affection towards their children, to actively listen to them, and to spend quality time together. It also guides children to be kind to people and treat them the way they want to be treated, think through acts, and help less fortunate people.
A New Policy to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect
Our children are building blocks of the future of the United States, and we must impede the rise in child abuse and neglect. An ideal way to succeed at this would be primary prevention by raising public awareness activities. We must alert caregivers and make them realize that their actions are considered child abuse, and they need to change their behaviors. . “Education is linked with health” (Kovner & Knickman, 2015, p.87). Educational programs for caregivers should allow them to recognize the signs and behaviors of abuse. Children also should be taught to recognize that they are being abused and how to avoid being victims and to report the abuse. Our government can also impact child abuse prevention by assisting caregivers by alleviating their financial stress through child support services and other programs, promoting education to children, and improving access to health care services. Paid maternal and paternal leaves can also allow caregivers to bond with their children and thus assist in reducing abuse later in lives (Hendrikson & Blackman, 2015).
Objectives for the Policy and Implementation of the Policy
Caregivers showing early signs and behaviors of child abuse should get access to government provided crisis care and family resource centers to improve their behaviors. Maternal leave should be paid for up to a year in the United States, just as how Canada has to offer to the citizens. CHIP allows children up to 19 years of age with family income too high for Medicaid to have insurance; however, when families move from welfare dependence to work, some of them still continue to need help in obtaining insurance (Kovner & Knickman, 2015, p.39). Our government should offer transition insurance that way these struggling families can feel supported when trying to improve their financial stability.
Conclusion
Child abuse and neglect are demons of our society we need to defeat. Promoting parenting skills in creating nurturing environment for children, providing government support in creating welfare programs and campaigns, and educating our children to avoid becoming victims and report abuse will allow us to defeat this abuse. Campaigns like The Blue Ribbon, Pinwheels for Prevention, and Healthy Families America need to be widely supported by our societies and communities in order to succeed.