The Child Abuse Prevention And Treatment Act

“ The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) … defines child abuse and neglect as, at minimum: "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."” (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and Administration for Children & Families, "Definitions of Child Abuse

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

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

Every Child Matters 2003 and Children Act 2004 updated in 2010 to Help Children Achieve More

Child abuse is when a parent or caregiver, through action or failure to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. According to The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, as amended by the CAPTA Reauthorization Act of 2010, at a minimum, child abuse and neglect is defined 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 (Children 's Bureau, 2010)." The law recognizes a child as being any person who is under the age of 18. The law is broken into 2 sections, and each section treats the idea of child maltreatment in different ways. Criminally, those who abuse children are able to be arrested and prosecuted in court. Civil statutes say that people who suspect a child of being abused are mandated to identify and report it.

Georgia experienced 17,148 children in the foster care system during the year of 2015 (Adopt US Kids , 2016). Children engaged in the foster care system are far more susceptible to a disruption in their biopsychosocial development. One of the leading indicators for older age youth successfully transitioning out of foster care is graduating high school. Foster youth success in school can be impacted by their foster care placement. This paper will explore the intended impact and actual impact of the qualifications for becoming a foster parent. Also, it is my intent to discuss how the Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act of 2011 can enhance the foster care service delivery model. Identifying the gaps in foster care licensing policy is a preventative step in reducing youth risk factors for education neglect resulting in high school dropout. Research has shown that youth in the foster care system at an alarming rate are transferring from foster care to the penal system. It is my intention to advocate for safe foster care placements that supports the education needs of the youth.

According to our textbook, Public Law 93-247 which is the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), came into effect on January 31, 1974. This law is regards to childhood maltreatment. The law implemented the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Central agencies needed to be created in each individual state. The central agencies had to have legal authority to investigate and be able to prosecute cases that involved abuse and neglect. The States also had to develop their own definitions, policies, procedures, and laws dealing with child abuse and neglect. With the amendment of 2003, states needed to include foster care, adoption, abandoned infants and family violence protection into their services.

The Ontario Child and Family Services Act (CFSA) highlights a number of amendments that promote the protection and well-being of children in care. Through examining Amina’s story, we have identified which of her rights were violated, and explained why each situation was an infringement of the law, by quoting the relevant sections from the CFSA, Part V, Children’s Rights in Care. In addition, we have also explained what we, as Child and Youth Workers (CYWs) would do differently to ensure that Amina’s rights are respected.

The crime is not in what they did do, but rather what they failed to do. Although they had no hand in the abuse, these women are being tried and convicted for failing to notify the police of the abuse that was occurring. Over twenty five states have specific failure-to-protect laws and nineteen others have more general laws by which a parent can be tried for negligence of a child. For one to be liable for failure to protect, the defendant must have a legal duty to protect the child, the defendant must have notice of abuse, the child was exposed to the abuse, and the defendant failed to prevent said abuse (United States vs Webb). These laws in their conception were gender neutral however in their application, are far from it. Research has shown that women are tried far more than men for failing to protect their children and in many cases, the women themselves are being abused (Apell 1997). While women are tried more, they solely perpetuate about 38% of the child abuse in the country (NIS 4). Although those that commit child abuse, are criminals, there is a problem in criminalizing parents that along with their children were victims of

Child abuse is a very sensitive issue that needs to by carefully handled. Child abuse is defined as a no accidental injury or pattern of injures to a child for which there is no reasonable explanation.

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.

At the societal level, the established laws and policies in relations to domestic violence may in fact fail to protect the victim and consequently re-victimize her. For example, domestic violence victims are increasingly being charged for “failure to protect” even when the partner is abusing the child and the mother (Beeman, Hagemeister, & Edelson, 1999). In addition, some states have considered legislation that makes a child’s witnessing of domestic violence a form of criminal abuse

In 1984, as they helped to pass The Missing Children’s Act of 1982 and The Missing Children’s Assistance Act of 1984. In 1983, The Adam Walsh story was made into an NBC television movie called, Adam. In 2006, former President George W. Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (“Walsh Act”) “The Walsh Act is a recent addition to an array of federal programs designed to combat sexual violence and child exploitation in America. Its stated purposes are to "protect children from sexual exploitation and violent crime, to prevent child abuse and child pornography, to promote Internet safety, and to honor the memory of Adam Walsh and other child crime victims.” (President Signs Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. (n.d.). PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e426372008-004)

Violence breeds violence. The number of reported child abuse cases in the United States hit its peak in 2003 and has since gone down. The numbers are getting lower and the policies set in place to shelter kids have gotten better. However, prior to the past two decades there have been only vague policies to protect children in the United States. Since 1990 much has been done to reform policies to safeguard kids. In this paper I will discuss the history of child abuse policies, the progress that has been made to child abuse policies, and how the policies meet the criteria of the family impact checklist.

Under Section 120 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 states that: “Children living in households where domestic violence is happening are now identified as "at risk" under the Adoption and Children Act 2002. From 31 January 2005, Section 120 of this act extended the legal definition of harming children to include harm suffered by seeing or hearing ill treatment of others.