Case Study: C Hild Abuse

Child abuse has an impact on the many crimes America faces. Child abuse is not always easy to distinguish at a quick glance and can go on for years without someone knowing. Many criminal justice practitioners are involved in these cases. Between psychologist that help the children recover ,and find out their stories to the police officers who arrests the offenders, Child abuse is a delicate situation and takes the upmost care.

Child abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.

Child abuse has been a big issue in the world for a long time. There has not always been child protective services like there is now. Children would be abused and neglected and nothing was being done because it was not being reported. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was the world’s first organization in the late 1800s which was dedicated totally to child protection (Myers, 2008).

Child abuse is epidemic in many countries as well as the United States. It is estimated that every thirteen seconds a child is abused in some manner: physically, sexually, emotionally or by neglect (Friedman). Each year, there are over 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse can be reduced with proper education of the parents and with greater public awareness.

Child Protective Services (CPS) is a complex system of assessments, investigations, and conclusions. CPS is the central agency in each communities child abuse and neglect service system. It is responsible for ensuring that preventative, investigative, and treatment services are available to children and families endangered by child abuse and neglect. As a result, CPS workers must perform a variety of functions when responding to situations of child maltreatment and play a variety of roles throughout their involvement with child protective clients. Reporting a suspective case of child maltreatment to the local CPS agency (or a family member’s own request for help with the problem) initiates

The most vulnerable individuals are found within the elderly and children population. Children can be impacted tremendously when experiencing situations that may affect their emotional, physical, and mental stage. Abuse can be seen in different forms such as sexual, emotional, physical abuse, and neglect. If any child is exposed to any of these abuse, it is the law to reach out to the proper authorities in order to protect the child’s life. Each state has its own mandated reporting laws and it is important to be able to recognized the protocol and what the law requires in each state.

My field placement will be at Child protective services in El Paso TX. My Target population for my field placement will be Children who have been maltreated, neglected and abused. Child abuse prevention has grown exponentially in El Paso over the past 31 years. In El Paso alone the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services investigated 4,979 reports of alleged child abuse in 2014 in El Paso County. They confirmed that 1,339 children were indeed victims of abuse; 379 confirmed cases of Physical abuse, 166 confirmed cases of sexual abuse, 56 cases of emotional abuse and 70 cases of medical neglect (Lee & Beulah Moor,2016) A troubling trend has emerged regarding the prevention of child maltreatment in the state of Texas. A tragic loophole contributing to continued abuse and in many cases child fatalities, continues to be exploited to the detriment of one of our most vulnerable populations. From 2009 to 2014, there were 800 child fatalities reported as abuse and neglect deaths by Child Protective Services in all of Texas (Ball, 2015). An analysis of these cases by an independent research group found gross errors by CPS and other agencies during ongoing abuse cases enabled the abuse or neglect to continue, inevitably leading to death. Although the percentage of child fatalities is just a tiny fraction of the exorbitant

Psychological maltreatment has two components: emotional/psychological abuse (verbal aggression, threats of harm or confinement) and emotional/psychological neglect (insufficient nurturing, insufficient love, unwillingness to offer appropriate care and/or permitting actions such as drug abuse or misconduct). Psychological maltreatment includes unwillingness to accept the young boy or girl’s value, keeping the child from their family and/or friends, verbally attacking, frightening or bullying the little one, ignoring and encouraging them to become a part of defiant and hurtful actions. In my career, I will use this knowledge to recognize when a child has been emotionally/psychologically abused and report it to the Oklahoma Child Abuse Hotline

Child abuse in the United States is a growing epidemic. Every year the number of reported cases, and missing children go up. This is caused mostly by lack of education about the different types of child abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Communities need to provide more resources to better educate the public about the types of abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Child abuse and neglect can be lessened by more resources, more education and to reach out to others.

Also, reporting the incident is required if the suspect is dead which should also be included so authorities can decide which action to take. Regardless of federal and state confidentiality laws, a professional is required to report any physical and/or sexual abuse or mental injury of a child. Although, the abuse must be committed by a parent or someone who has custody of the child or by someone who lives in the same household as the child. “Who are the individuals known to be major contributors to the abuse of a child? These individuals vary from parents, either collectively or individually, to other immediate and distant relatives and from trusted individuals to complete strangers. It is not always the case that child abusers act alone, as abuse may occur at the hands of multiple individuals at one time. Within the last decade, approximately 40% of child abuse victims were harmed by mothers acting alone, 18.3% by fathers acting alone, and 17.3% by both parents. Children that were abused by caregivers other than the parents made up 10.7%. These numbers clearly show that it is vital for educators to be trained and prepared to recognize when a child is being abused. For the majority of children, going to school can be a sanctuary and a place where their cries for help are not always vocal or obvious, creating a need for trained observation for

According to Pecora, Sanders, Wilson, English, Puckett & Rudlang-Perman (2014), “Every year in the USA, about 695,000 unique children are confirmed as victims of child maltreatment (US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau 2011) (p. 321). Such startling statistics suggest that child abuse is not just a public health issue; it is an epidemic. However, research reveals that prevention is possible through a collaborative effort made by parents, schools, the government, social services, and the

Residents at these two care homes have learning difficulties and physical disabilities. They were sent to the rooms against their will, as a form of punishment. The rooms were unfurnished with no heating and no toilet facilities. The rooms were known as the “quiet room” or the “garden room” residents were held in these bare rooms for hours or even overnight.

Recognizing the detrimental affects of maltreatment that children are exposed to in the United States can be rather alarming. Consistent data regarding the recognition of child physical abuse (CPA) and existing screening tools, however, are still lacking. Furthermore, recognizing adverse childhood experiences as a complex event may be a key aspect of devising comprehensive interventions to prevent their occurrence and limit their impact. The need to train child health care professionals on child maltreatment and mental health is widely acknowledged. Preventing child physical abuse is an essential step to reduce childhood suffering and improve adult mental health (Sugaya et al., 2012, p.390).

Child abuse and neglect is a serious problem with devastating consequences, both short and long term (CDC, 2014). As professionals and mandated reporters, it is imperative for registered nurses to be aware of child abuse and neglect as well as have an understanding of the signs and symptoms of child maltreatment. Using evidence-based practice regarding proven strategies that reduce child abuse will decrease the short and long term effects of child maltreatment. When approaching a topic as serious as child abuse, it is important for nurses to understand their role in reporting and preventing further child abuse. This paper will examine child abuse prevention strategies as they relate to nursing by further examining nurses’ knowledge and experiences in reporting child abuse.

Imagine being a young child who is naïve, who is innocent and as pure as they can get. Now imagine being that same child who is fearful, who is getting abused both physically and mentally and not being able to grasp why this happening. The subject of child abuse is serious as to that affects millions of children every year. Child abuse can happen directly from the parents, siblings, family friends, neighbors, etc. In this paper the reasons from where child abuse stems such as poverty, mental illness, addiction, and sexual abuse will be discussed along with the barriers that that child welfare employees face when it comes to helping children who are being abused.