Child Abuse Prevention Act

Child protection has around since 1875 when the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was established in New York City but it was not until the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 that thee was national legislation regarding child maltreatment. This policy was changed in December

On January 12, 1974, the federal government enacted its initial Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in response to the prevention of child abuse and neglect incidents. The Act expanded and refined as it undergone several amendments through time. In 2010 the latest CAPTA was re-authorized incorporating several aspects of child prevention and repose to abuse and neglect. According to this act in 2008 states identified an estimated 772,000 children as survivors of child abuse and neglect. CAPTA provides a grant to the State and local public and private agencies and community-based organizations to carry out various programs. The new CAPTA state grant eligibility requirement mandates healthcare providers making identification

Children are the intended beneficiaries of CAPTA. They are well represented by the act through defining child abuse as well as the reauthorizations and changes in the policy to prevent child abuse and neglect. As the policy advances, children will be better represented. This will provide many opportunities to help even more children into safety.

Explore what support is available to children at risk of abuse and critically examine its impact for safeguarding children.

Furthermore, evidence shows that “in 2008 approximately 1,740 children died from a result of some type of maltreatment which includes abuse and neglect” while “in 2008 45% of maltreatment deaths involve children younger than 1 year of age and 72% of child maltreatment deaths were younger than 4 years of age”. Even after the amended law was passed by the legislation, the statistical evidence has increased immensely. The reason for such increase is a result of people reporting child abuse and neglect (CAN) cases. According to Congress, the American society is “responsible for responding to any type of child abuse and neglect activity” (CAPTA, 2010).

Child maltreatment is characterized as “all intentional harm to, or avoidable endangerment of, anyone under 18 years of age” (Berger, 2014, pp. 236). Subtypes of child maltreatment includes child abuse (intentional harm inflicted on a child physically, emotionally, or sexually) and child neglect (failure to provide physical, educational or emotional needs) (Berger, 2014). Lower socioeconomic status (SES) and dysfunctional families can increases the risk for child maltreatment (Harpur, Polek, & van Harmelen, 2015). Additional circumstances that can increase the risk for child maltreatment is low maternal education, single-parenthood, non-biological caregivers, and parental substance abuse (Harpur et al, 2015). In 2012, in the United States,

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, better known as CAPTA yields federal financial support in hopes of aversion, evaluation, inspection and prosecution. CAPTA also takes hand in researching and investigating child abuse cases, funding what it takes to uncover these cases and most importantly what meets the minimum guidelines for child abuse, neglect and maltreatment. There are quite a few citizens that are firmly behind this law and appreciate it, those being concerned, well informed parents, loving and authoritative parents whereas there will always be those few citizens who don’t recognize the value in this law, those people being permissive, neglectful

The CAPTA attempts to ensure that those needs are met by parents for children. In addition, CAPTA assists states and private organizations in identifying, investigating, and preventing child abuse and neglect ensuring that accusations of child abuse and neglect are properly investigated to meet the wellbeing and safety needs of all children. The policy goals of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is “To strengthen the identification, reporting, and investigation of child maltreatment. To monitor research and publish information about child abuse and neglect” (Chapin, 2014, p. 373). The Department of Health & Human Services identifies the purpose of the Child Abuse and Prevention and Treatment Act is, “To support community-based efforts to develop, operate, expand, enhance, and coordinate initiatives, programs, and activities to prevent child abuse and neglect and to support the coordination of resources and activities, to better strengthen and support families to reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect; and to foster an understanding, appreciation, and knowledge of diverse populations in order to be effective in preventing and treating child abuse and neglect” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Overall the child welfare system is specifically addressing the

Millions of children are abused, affected by maltreatment, and neglected all over the world every day. However, a lot of these cases are not reported to the proper authorities. Kim, Mennen, and Trickett (2016) state that, “all the forms of abuse and neglect frequently result in adverse effects on children and adolescents over many domains including physical, psychological, behavioral and social functioning.” In some circumstances, the definition of abuse can be questionable. A lot of parents do not have all the necessities and resources needed to take care of their families. This creates situations in which children are taken from their parents and are placed under the control of the state. These kids are sent to foster or group

On January 12, 1974, the federal government enacted its initial Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in response to the prevention of child abuse and neglect incidents. The Act expanded and refined as it undergone several amendments through time. In 2010 the latest CAPTA was re-authorized incorporating several aspects of child prevention and repose to abuse and neglect. According to this act in 2008 states identified an estimated 772,000 children as survivors of child abuse and neglect. CAPTA provides a grant to the State and local public and private agencies and community-based organizations to carry out various programs. The new CAPTA state grant eligibility requirement mandates healthcare providers making identification and appropriate referral of newborns affected by prenatal drug exposure to CPS. This category encompassed infants diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The FASD exposure is five and sixteen times more likely to occur among African American

The alternative policies to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and Chapter 261of the Texas Family Code, these laws investigate and prosecute cases of child abuse and neglect. The Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) purpose is to protect children from child abuse and neglect by implementing mandate reporting. Individuals who witness or have knowledge of child abuse and neglect are mandated to file a report while in their professional capacity or within the scope of employment. However, the law does not require an individual to file a report if they are in their private capacity (Tran-Lien, 2017). The Family Code Chapter 261 also requires professionals and individuals

Child maltreatment still proves to be a problem harboring children today, and this does not leave out children with disabilities. It is one of the main causes of childhood fatalities (Hibbard & Desch, 2007). Millions of children are affected every year due to child maltreatment. During the year 2015, child protective services registered 4 million referrals that involved about 7.2 million children and it was determined that 683,000 of them were, suffering due to child maltreatment which can occur in many methods and children often suffer from two or more of them. They can include sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse and physical abuse. In addition, 72.9% of abuse was because of neglect (U.S.,

It is important to examine where the laws come from and why they are in place. Generally, the laws are defined as a parent or guardian’s inability to protect his/her children from witnessing domestic violence or being abused by another person (Goodmark, 2004). When a child is exposed to domestic violence that can be considered a form of child neglect, even if the child is not harmed. This includes seeing, hearing, or simply witnessing the aftereffects of violence, such as an injured victim (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012). While this is a large part of the laws, they are mainly in place to protect children from experiencing firsthand abuse. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was enacted in 1974 and designed to give a clear definition of child abuse, which failure to protect laws use as a basis to determine if a woman should be charged with abuse or neglect. CAPTA defines abuse as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm” (“The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act,” 2003). Failure to protect laws use the aspect of CAPTA that considers “failure to act” a part of child abuse. Because women fail to act in protecting their children or stopping the abuser, they can be charged.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974 provides federal funding to states in support of prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution, and treatment activities of child maltreatment (Child Welfare Information Gateway [CWIG], 2011). It also provides grants to public agencies, nonprofit organizations, Indian Tribes, and Tribal organizations for demonstration programs and projects. The program is restricted to children, under the age of 18 in the United States. Before this policy there was a high number of child abuse and neglect cases and no standardized care for how child welfare services should address these issues. The policy’s goal is to mandate minimum standards and to improve the state’s response to physical abuse,

Every child will certainly have many life experiences before they are mature. A child is very susceptible when developing, at every corner there are dangerous things from the environment surrounding them which might seriously impact their entire life. As definition in the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act: Child abuse is any action from adult to a child that could be harmful to the child’s body or mental state (kidsmatter). In 2012, they were a reported 3.6 million investigations by Child Protective Services agency’s involving more than 6 million kids. In the U.S, an estimated 899,000 children (24.97%) were recognized to be targets of child abuse (childhelp).