Abuse
Neglect
DFCS cases
By: Shavasia Jackson, Rachael Streeter, Wynisha Reed
What is:
Abuse: treat a person or animal with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly.
Neglect: the state or fact of being uncared for.
DFCS: Division of Family and Children Services.
Signs, Symptoms, Prevalence rate!
• Signs of abuse may consist of jealousy, controlling behavior, quick isolation, blames others for problems, blames others for feelings, hypersensitivity, cruelty to animals or children, “playful” use of force in sex, verbal abuse, rigid sex roles, dual personality, past battering, threats of violence, breaking or striking objects, any force during an argument.
• Symptoms of neglect consist of malnutrition, poor hygiene,
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19,466 children come through the foster care system during Georgia fiscal year 2016.
• For more information please visit CASA website: https://www.gacasa.org/statistics.php
Risk and Protective Factors
There is a combination of risk that contribute to Child Abused and Neglect. There are individual, relational, community, and societal factors, all of which are considered to be a risk for child abuse and neglect. Although children are not to blame for the harm inflicted upon them, there are certain characteristics researchers have found that increase their risk of being abused. Individual Risk Factors:
• Children younger than 4 years of age
• Special needs that may increase caregiver burden (e.g., disabilities, mental retardation, mental health issues, and chronic physical
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Raise the issue: Call or write your elected officials to educate them about issues in your community and the need for child abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment programs.
Reach out to children and parents: Supporting kids and parents in your own family and in the extended community helps reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect.
Remember the risk factors: Child abuse and neglect occur in all segments of our society, but the risk factors are greater in families where parents abuse alcohol or drugs, are isolated from their families or communities, have difficulty controlling their anger or stress, appear uninterested in the care of their children, and have mounting personal problems.
Recognize the warning signs: Some of the warning signs include: children who are overly aggressive, children who are often hungry, children who have mysterious or unexplainable bruises, children who are unsupervised or left home alone frequently, children who aren’t adequately dressed for the weather, children who have low self-esteem, children who show interest in sex that’s not appropriate for his or her
Some signs of an abusive relationship are being physically hurt or restrained by a partner, a partner
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.
What are the patterns and characteristics you would look for while screening a potential abused or neglected child?
Some wider factors suggesting a risk of maltreatment could be the use of drugs around the child, which could lead to neglect and abuse. Another indicator of maltreatment
Sadly, there are millions or children from around the world who encounter some form abuse. The abuse Dave encounter was physical, emotional abuse, and neglect from his mother. It is currently believed that factors that may increase the likelihood of developing antisocial behavior are child abuse and having an alcoholic parent. These factors are considered to be independent of each other, but may also be interactive in their effect on behavioral development (Pollock).
Signs of abuse include, but are not limited to, controlling nature, resistant to chance, dismissive, and manipulative behavior. Melinda Smith and Jeanne Segal state that the most telling sign of abuse in the relationship is fearing the other partner (Smith and Segal, 2006). If a woman is afraid of her partner then she may be in an abusive relationship. Men that are abusing women will tear her down and make her feel like she is worth nothing and that she does not deserve any better than an abusive man. An abuser will take away control from her and make her feel worthless. Segal and Smith also state that “abusive behavior and violence is a deliberate choice made by the abuser in order to control you” (Smith and Segal, 2006). An abuser wants to make their victim afraid and they will do certain things to make sure that the victim does not leave. It is also noted that just because there are not any physical signs of abuse, such
Much can be done to reduce child abuse and neglect by strengthening child advocacy and the child protection centers and provide them with the assistance they need to effectively prevent abuse first. Although child abuse and neglect is stems from many reasons and can affect the lives of a child (ren) but with prevention such as home visitation and support groups, by helping parents acquire parenting skills and develop and the ability to comprehend measures that are not violent.
I believe that economic, lack of education, psychological issues, and drug abuse have all been, at one time or another, contributing factors in cases of child abuse and neglect. Statistics also support this.
Depression and anxiety, for example, may make a person more likely to smoke, abuse alcohol or drugs, or overeat. High-risk behaviors, in turn, can lead to long-term physical health problems, such as sexually transmitted diseases, cancer, and obesity. Not all children who have been abused or neglected will experience long-term consequences, but they may have an increased susceptibility. The immediate physical effects of abuse or neglect can be relatively minor (bruises or cuts) or severe (broken bones, hemorrhage, or even death). In some cases, the physical effects are temporary; however, the pain and suffering they cause a child should not be discounted. Child abuse and neglect can have a multitude of long-term effects on physical health. NSCAW researchers found that, at some point during the 3 years following a maltreatment investigation, 28 percent of children had a chronic health condition (Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation [ACF/OPRE], 2007). Below are some outcomes other researchers have identified: Impaired brain development. Child abuse and neglect have been shown to cause important regions of the brain to fail to form or grow properly, resulting in impaired development. These alterations in brain maturation have long-term consequences for cognitive, language, and academic abilities and are connected with mental health disorders (Tarullo,
factors in a majority of cases of emotional abuse and neglect. In fact, neglect is the
Neglect trauma is a rising problem, as other forms of trauma, particularly abuse trauma, have decreased of the last couple of years, neglect trauma is rising. In 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Human Services, of all the maltreatment cases “71.1% of those were neglect” (Kazemaian, 2011). Many researchers, (Mersky and Reynolds’, Dierkhising, Kerig, Buffington, Ford, Ryan, and Maxfield) have studied the topic of neglect trauma and juvenile delinquency extensively, and have all
Make sure children in all states have an efficient children’s trust or prevention fund to prevent child abuse and neglect before it occurs.
Providing proper help for child abuse victims it can be considered a very expensive situation to deal with, I thinks raising charities to help victims of child abuse providing them with more health, care, resources and offering them proper academic education are some of the possible solutions that I was able to came out with and I think it will make a difference in the life of the victims of child abuse and neglect. Experts who deal with this kind of social problems should also be able to help victims of child abuse and neglect to pursue a higher education instead of letting them struggle on their own. As I mentioned before some perpetrators get prosecuted for harming poor defenseless children, I believe laws and regulations should be applied hard on them so people watch and learn that abusing a child is not just a mild offense instead they will be facing hard consequences. Therefore, analyzing the link between child abuse and criminal behavior as adults can lead to an extensive amount of outcomes and possible solutions. But finding a possible way how to effectively offer help to these
People may not be aware, but any one of their peers, friends, or neighbors may be victims of child abuse. Every day, someone experiences physical, emotional, neglect, and/or sexual abuse. Abuse can lead to death or injury for the rest of a victim's life, from either the perpetrator or themselves. In order to prevent child abuse society must: recognize the types of abuse, understand common causes of abuse, know the characteristics of abusers, and realize the effects abuse has, not just on the child, but on families and communities across the world.
These are activities that are targeted at members of the community and general population with the aim to raise awareness about the problems of child abuse. It involves an approach that targets helping families and children before child abuse occurs and not intervening after the harm has been done. This is very essential as every child deserves to grow up and be nurtured in an environment that is safe and stable which helps in the child’s total development such as the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components. These strategies can be via a myriad of programs such as educational programs via public awareness programs, public service announcements, parent education groups, child educational programs, family support and strengthening programs.