The Importance Of Child Abandonment In America

Raising children is one of the most important responsibilities in any society. Today, working parents have many options, but what about those children who have neither a mother nor father? What about those children who come from broken and abusive homes? In such cases there are often few choices. Parentless children may be placed in orphanages or in foster homes. Ideally, foster care offers children more personalized attention than would normally be available at a public or private situation. However, orphanage care is notoriously uneven. While some children are indeed in loving homes, others find themselves neglected or

In the United States 21% of all children are living below the federal poverty line. 2.9 million cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every year in the United States. 428,000 children are in the foster care system, and 107,918 foster children are waiting to be adopted. The foster care system is temporary out of home care for neglected, abused and impoverish children under 18. While the foster care system has all positive ideas, they fall short in providing certain needs for these children. Kids not only in America but all over the world that are living in poverty, are abused, neglected, and have an unstable home life. Nobody wants to live a life like that, especially not a child. They don’t know how to support themselves on their own, they need a family and a guardian that will take care of them, support, and love them.

In this report for Serious Topics Radio Station i will discuss the reasons why a child gets taken away from their parents/ guardian and need to be looked after. I will also talk about the short and long-term solutions. Children are generally best cared for within their own families. However, there are times when children aren't able to live with their families. If a child isn’t able to live with their parents, they may be taken to care.

In this research they took out a longitudinal study. They studied 65 children which were placed in an institution when less than four months, which had all experienced early privation. By 4 years old, 24 children had been adopted, 15 returned to their natural homes and the rest remained in the institution. It was found that the adopted children had closer attachments to their parents and had good family relationships and this was not the case for the ‘restored’ children.

Many people think it is wrong to just leave your child at a hospital and forget about it, but there are worse fates for children whose parents did not know about the Safe Haven Laws. The risk of homicide on the first day of life is 10 times greater than the rate during any other time of life (Herman-Giddens 1425). In a population-based study called Newborns Killed or Left to Die by a Parent, five authors describe cases of infant death and abandonment in North Carolina, “Over a 16 year period in North Carolina, we report 34 newborns known to be killed or discarded in the first day of life by (or likely) the parents, an annual rate of 2.1 per 100,000 newborns” (Herman-Giddens 1428). Sadly, only a few deaths were unintentional, “The majority of these cases (91.2%) were ruled as homicides, while three were found to be unintentional due to natural causes” (Herman-Giddens 1428). Mothers were usually the ones that abandon or kill the newborn, “mothers were the perpetrators in all cases where the perpetrator was positively identified” (Herman-Giddens 1428).

Mason is a twenty one (21) month old baby who was found dead in his home with his body scared, bruised, clad in nothing but a vomit and faeces stained singlet. Two days before his death, Mason was visited by Child Safety Officers and was not in the home with the mother during this visit. He is said to have been a few streets away, where he had been left with the mother’s boyfriend. He became known to Child Safety a few months prior to this when a report was made as a result of neglect concerns.

‘When a child dies, and abuse or neglect is known or suspected to be a factor in the death…. Organisations should consider whether there are any lessons to be learnt about the ways in which they work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’ (DfES 2006: 8.2 p169)

Neglect and abuse towards children still occurs in society today as it did in pre-industrial times. Adult control over children can take the extreme form of physical neglect, or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. Some may say due to figures from charities such as Child Line rising there is a ‘dark side’ to family life, where children are victims. This shows in some cases the status of children hasn’t changed over time.

Millions of children are living without parents around the world and they need help. Over 153 million youths around the world are without one or both parents, and 7 million of them are in institutional care (qtd. in “Children’s Statistics”). Worldwide, minors are suffering from living without a family and a stable relief system. International adoption, although often in the limelight, is on a slight decline and domestic adoption is increasing. Despite the fact that the percentage of people considering any form of adoption has decreased from 2007 to 2013, the percentage of foster care adoptions has experienced more growth than international and private adoptions (“BAAF Adoption

The other side may argue that children require love and care which abandonment takes away; However, abandoned children receive that love and care from others who step up in their parents’ place. This happens because the Atlantic finds that “the best and only sure remedy has been the willingness of responsible, loving foster parents to open their arms and homes to [abandoned] children” (Atlantic). These foster parents provide the love and necessities for children as they effectively become the children’s parents. Not only do these foster parents help stop the effects of abandonment, but these parents also care for the children as their own, giving those children the same, or better, childhood any child would get. Abandonment never leaves children with nowhere to go, as people, as well as society, volunteer to care for those children. This care allows children to develop into adults with no negative effects of abandonment, allowing them to live fulfilling lives in the long term. Furthermore, foster care helps children make bonds with others because foster children must interact with other adults and children during their childhood. Because of this Nelson argues that “the children placed in foster care displayed dramatic improvements in making emotional attachments” (Source E). In foster care, abandoned children form connections with their parents and other children. As children learn to interact with others, they form the bonds that allow for both a prosperous childhood and adulthood. From these bonds, the children learn vital social skill and make relationships that can last for their entire lives. With these connections, abandoned children grow into outstanding adults who live their lives to the fullest. Thus, foster care allows abandoned

By the year 1967, all U.S. states had child abuse reporting laws. “Child abuse reporting laws and enhanced awareness of child abuse produced an increase in intervention” (Myers, 2013). As reporting laws came into affect, more and more cases of child abuse and neglect were shown. By the mid 1970s, over 60,000 child abuse cases were reported and the extremely high rate of children in foster care alarmed government officials. In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act (AACWA) was passed. This act required every state to make reasonable efforts in keeping children with their families, and when removing the child was not avoidable, the child was required to have a plan to be placed back in the home or have their parents’ rights revoked. For the children whom returning home was not an option, Congress offered financial incentives for adoption. This effort to preserve the families was a main objective of AACWA. An influential investigation pertaining to this was done by Henry S. Mass and Richard E. Engler, as explained by Sribnick (2011). They concluded that many children were living a majority of their childhood years in foster care and institutions. Their findings showed that if a child stayed in foster care for more than a year and a half, it was not likely that he or she would ever be reunited with his or her family or be adopted. In response to this, the Child Welfare League of America lobbied for child welfare workers to consider

In the nineteenth century, although society became a bit harsher on those who abused or neglected children and child welfare organizations mushroomed, child abuse and neglect were still not considered crimes (Hirschy, & Wilkinson, 2012). However, all through the twentieth century, the social perceptions of child abuse and neglect have shifted a great deal from something that was totally unacceptable to a demeanor that can no longer be allowed both in legal and social circles. But the criminalization of child abuse and neglect was only one step towards overall child wellbeing. There is still much more to be done to ensure that child maltreatment has been eradicated.

Child maltreatment is a widespread issue that affects thousands of children every year. There are four common types of child maltreatment; sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. All of these types of abuse are very serious and can have many consequences for the children and families. The most common consequence of severe child maltreatment is the removal of that child from their home (Benbenishty, Segev, Surkis, and Elias, 2002). Most social workers trying to determine the likelihood of removal evaluate the type and severity of abuse, as well as the child’s relationship with their parents (Benbenishty et al., 2002). When children are removed from their homes there are many options of alternative housing. The

This paper explores the numerous effects neglect has on a child's development. If a child lacks the necessary attachment and stimulation during the critical first years, they will have profound developmental issues throughout life. Possibly the most important aspects that are affected by neglect are the brain and a child's social development. Looking into the case of the Romanian orphans, readers will be able to see the harsh consequences. Severe neglect is child abuse that often goes unnoticed and is hard to reverse. By understanding the implications of neglect, we can intervene earlier in order to prevent severe cases from becoming irrevocable.

With child abuse and neglect being so prevalent globally, it is important to recognize why these types of maltreatment occur and is a relevant topic for all to explore. Many are interested in how child abuse and neglect affect the individuals who are victims as well as the use and efficacy of treatment procedures. Child abuse has serious physical and psycho-social consequences which adversely affect the health and overall well-being of a child. There are long-term consequences of experiencing these forms of maltreatment. Awareness and understanding needs to be brought to this devastatingly common crisis and the advancement of child abuse and neglect prevention needs to be encouraged.