Child Abuse Case Study

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.

It is a reasonable argument that child welfare service entities are necessary as it is all too frequent that child abuse/neglect cases are heard all over the nation and is ultimately a world health issues.  Increasing social issues such as unstable families, poverty, crime, poor education, lack of access to health care and mental health services are some of the factors that contribute to this continuous epidemic that affects many people from various socio-economic classes. Many nations have taken steps to enhance and improve efforts in the fight against the mistreatment of children.

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

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.

Under and over reporting is of equal concern because both affect the number of child abuse victims who are in need of help. “Failure to report exposes children to serious injury or even death and over reporting diverts resources from understaffed agencies, thus limiting their ability their ability to protect children in real danger” (Loseke, 285). Another issue is when to decide whether signs of abuse are actual signs of child abuse or just everyday injuries child usually inflict on themselves. Furthermore, this can also impact the whether a person will report the incident or not. For example, two people can see the same incident and depending on their knowledge of child abuse they can, either report it or determine it is not abuse. “A study of non-reporting among teachers, blamed their lack of knowledge for detecting symptoms of child abuse and neglect” (Loseke, 292).

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.

Every day children around the world are being abused by their parents, trusted adult, caregiver and peers. Children are constantly suffering when there are things that everyone as a community can do help them. Psychologists, social workers and the victims to childhood abuse have studied and worked together to establish precautionary measures to execute child abuse all together.

The intended consequence of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is to provide federal financial assistance to all states. The funding is for the establishment of effective programs that support the prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution and treatment proceedings (Jeff, 2012). In other words, it is for the well-being and safeguarding of all children. However, there are unintended consequence too. For example, some children who suffer the effects of child abuse and neglect will still fall within the cracks of the system. According to the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, (2014, p. 351) policy-affiliated research continues to be severely underdeveloped such as, mandatory reporting, child abuse record keeping, issues relating to constitutional rights and the use of family foster care as an alternative to traditional foster care. Due to these cracks thousands of children are affected annually.

Child abuse in American today is amongst the most saddened topics of mankind. Many children are subjected to neglect and abuse on a daily basis. The sex and age of child makes no difference when it comes to child abuse.. Boys and girls are equally likely to suffer maltreatment. The problem is how often child abuse goes unreported. Millions of children across the world are abused in some way, whether it is verbal, emotional, physical or sexual. Child abuse has been happening all over the world to young children, however many children keep this a secret because of fear of what could happen. Child Abuse consists of any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and development. It can be

The current problem is the continued rise in child abuse and neglect today. Within the United States, the problem of child abuse and neglect is far much common than most people would like to admit. Sanchez (2012) stated that child maltreatment is a global epidemic and a major social problem in the United States resulting in at least 740, 000 visits to hospital emergency departments and more than $124 in child welfare, criminal justice, and health care. Norman, Byambaa, De, Butchart, Scott, and Vos (2012) also observed that child abuse and neglect is a global problem that is mostly perpetrated by parental guardians and parents. Sexual abuse is the infringement of a child’s

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.

Protecting children is a significant matter and the Department for Child Protection plays an important role in safeguarding these children. If an individual reports child harm of any extent, the Department has a legal obligation to investigate this and act in order to protect children from harm. Although, this usually requires working alongside other organisations. The community and families. Prevalence of maltreatment is difficult to determine as individuals usually do not disclose abuse and so the extent is difficult to assess accurately, field professions like Child Safety Officers have no assessment tools that guarantee certainty of abuse.

The issue of child abuse and neglect is serious, controversial, and is escalating in today’s society. Many people are not aware, but child abuse is rampant in our society. Many child abuse and neglect cases go unreported because a person may not know the signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect or perhaps the person or person may feel that this is an private issue and needs to be handle with in the home and no outsiders should be involved. Without the proper awareness of child abuse and neglect and the involvement of everyone this issue will continue to raise our eyebrows.