Maltreatment Of Children With Disabilities

In the United States child maltreatment is a common universal problem that can effect children of all ages (Fang, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2012). Additionally, it is responsible for the main cause of mortalities among children who are the age of five years and younger with majority of the injuries inflicted by an adult caregiver (Schnitzer & Ewigman, 2005). Prior to the twentieth century, there were a number of non-governmental organizations committed to providing support to child abuse victims. However, due to the lack of resources by the organizations and state regulations, numerous children did not receive support and remained defenseless, hence “modern prosecutions for child abuse were virtually nonexistent” (Nelson, 2012, p. 191). Meanwhile, this put a lot of pressure on the federal government to get involved and help ensure that children who were victims of abuse would receive the proper aid and treatment. As a result, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) is recognized as the first nationally passed bill regarding maltreatment and neglect of children. The purpose of CAPTA is to provide knowledge of child abuse awareness and administer state funding to programs available on a federal level. The objective of this paper is to discuss the impact of maltreatment on children, how maltreatment is a public health

Children can be victims of different types of maltreatment such as neglect, medical abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse (Maschi, Bradley, & Ward, 2009). “On average, nationally, there is a report of child maltreatment every 5 seconds, and child maltreatment is substantiated every

Within the United States, child maltreatment is becoming more and more commonly reported as there is over 3 million reports each year. Due to the constant increase of child maltreatment reports, society has become more aware of the issue, which has led to awareness campaigns. (Payne, 87). Even with societies’ knowledge of such abuse there are still serval child maltreatment cases that are not reported. The children that are victims of maltreatment pertains any sort of harm to the child whether it is by injury, neglect, physical, emotional, or even sexual abuse by someone who holds a major role in the child’s life, a parent or guardian figure (“What is Child Abuse”).

Child Maltreatment continues to be a pressing issue throughout the United States. Over the years many children are victims of some type of maltreatment which in some cases can lead to fatalities. Maltreatment can have a negative impact on children and can leave numerous physical and psychological scars affecting the child’s adjustment not only at the time of abuse, but also into their young

The maltreatment of children with disabilities is a devastating public health issue that needs to be addressed in a deeper context. The current data on the incidence and prevalence of maltreatment in this population is greatly limited due to fluctuating definitions of disability and the lack of uniform methods of classifying maltreatment, so prevalence is likely greatly underestimated. When abused, children with disabilities have a higher likelihood of being seriously injured or the abuse could lead to a fatality. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services(HHS), in 2015, 1,670 children died from maltreatment (U.S., 2017). Including children with disabilities, the younger a child the more vulnerable they are to death as the result of child maltreatment. Having said that, seventy-five percent of all child abuse fatalities were younger than 3 years old. In 2015, according HHS, children who were less than 1 year old died from abuse at a rate of 20.91 per 100,000 children in the population of children younger than 1 year old (U.S., 2017).

Child maltreatment is not a new social problem for the United States however, child maltreatment remains to be a substantial social problem that continues to draw the attention of legislators at the federal and state level, the child welfare system, and society as a whole. Child maltreatment includes the unthinkable act of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse inflicted on a child by a parent or caregiver which results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a minor child. In addition to abuse, child maltreatment includes neglect of a child by a parent or caregiver. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) guides the response and treatment to the increasingly recognized issue of child abuse and neglect experienced by children

Child maltreatment has been a serious public health problem not just in the United States but globally. Maltreatment is defined as neglect which means failure to provide for a child’s basic physical, educational, or psychological needs. Physical abuse such as causing physical harm, sexual abuse, abuse that includes fondling a child’s genitals or breasts, and psychological abuse, such as verbal put-downs and other behavior that terrorizes, threatens, rejects or isolates the child. “According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), in 2007 approximately 794,000 children (10.6 per 1,000 children of all ages) were identified as victims of child abuse or neglect. Approximately one-half (46.1%) of all victims were non-Hispanic white, 21.7% were African American, and 20.8% were Hispanic. One-third (31.9%) were under the age of 4 years.” (Gross, 2010)

Effects vary depending on the types of the maltreatment, characteristics of the child, and his or her environment. The consequences may be mild or severe; may come and go during their lifetime or last their lifetime; and affect them physically, psychologically, behaviorally, or in some combination of all three. Due to related costs to the public such as for health-care and educational systems, maltreatment impacts not just the child and family, but the public as well. Therefore, it is vital for the public to provide a scaffolding of preventative strategies and services before maltreatment occurs and to be prepared to offer remediation and treatment when

Child Abuse and Neglect continue to be a serious pediatric and social threat to the nation’s children. Child maltreatment is more than bruises and broken bones. While physical abuse may be the most noticeable, other types of abuse, such as emotional and sexual abuses, leave deep, lasting scars. Child Maltreatment includes significant negative experiences with long-lasting effects. These childhood experiences cause detrimental, long lasting effects during cognitive, behavioral, and emotional development and often well into adulthood. This paper will look at the various types of child maltreatment and the causes attributed to them, as well as the long term effects of child abuse and what can be done to prevent these abuses.

The current prevalence and incidence of maltreatment in this population is underreported and this is because different people and sources have different views and opinions on the definition of disability, and in addition, there is no uniform methods for maltreatment classification in this population. So therefore, the prevalence is greatly underestimated. When a child with a disability is abused, there is a high chance that they will be seriously injured or the abuse will lead to death.  The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), in 2015, recorded that 1,670 children died due to maltreatment (U.S., 2017) and this included children suffering from disabilities. HHS is also reported that seventy-five percent of child abuse deaths were from children less than three. In 2015, children below the age of one died due to abuse at a rate of 20.91 percent out of 100,000 children (U.S., 2017).

Child maltreatment is implicated as a risk factor in many disorders, ranging from externalizing such as conduct disorder to internalizing such as anxiety or depression. In the text, they propose a question as to the timing of abuse. Does the abuse come as a reaction of the parents because the child is difficult to manage? Or does difficult behavior such result from the abuse? Research has shown that children that may be harder to manage such as disabilities are at higher risk for abuse (Textbook). But based on the widespread problem of child maltreatment that is not isolated solely to children with disabilities, it seems that the answer would be both. A parent with insufficient internal resources such as a lack of emotional regulation, may stem from their own early experiences or abuse or neglect, causes them to potentially maltreat their child in a similar way that they were.

Childhood maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect) is prevalent concern. In 2012, the Children’s Bureau reported 3.2 million unique count cases of childhood abuse that were screened. Of those cases nearly 20% where found to be substantiated, indicated or alternative response, which is an estimate of about 686,000 children (unique cases) were victims of abuse and neglect nation in one year. Additionally, nearly 40% of those children did not receive any services. These numbers, again are those cases that have been reported and founded, we know that underreporting of maltreatment, is too a concern (Finkelhor & Dziuba-Leatherman, 1994).

Ill-treatment of children with disabilities is a disturbing problem that needs to be addressed more deeply, as it is a major issue of concern. The current incidence of maltreatment in this population is underreported,

Majority of the theories of maltreatment of children believe that the main issues and rooting causes can be organized into four principle steps: (1) The child (2) the family (3) the society (4) the community (Child welfare Information Gateway, 2004). Even though these children are by no means blameworthy for the abuse forced upon, some of the characteristics a child may carry has been said to increase the chances of possible injustice (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2004).

The article titled, “Russia: Children with Disabilities Face Violence, Neglect” (8. Jan. 2014) from the Human Rights Watch website asserts that the rights of disabled children are suppressed as they are often admitted to the terrible living conditions of an orphanage or institution, despite Russia’s recent governmental effort to address such rights. The Human Rights Watch article proves this claim by describing the abuse, malnutrition, and bad living conditions that they witnessed and documented first hand when visiting Russian orphanages and institutions, even after Russia implemented the National Action Strategy