The Role of the Teacher in Reporting Cases of Child Abuse and Neglect

Physical abuse is “the mistreatment of a child that causes physical injury, impairment, or endangerment.” (Layman 15) It accounts for about 25 percent of abuse cases. (Moses) Children who have been abused usually show certain signs. They tend to be apathetic and withdrawn, but at the same time, constantly scanning their environment for danger. (Oates 43) Physical abuse can leave all kinds of injuries.

Child abuse is epidemic in many countries as well as the United States. It is estimated that every thirteen seconds a child is abused in some manner: physically, sexually, emotionally or by neglect (Friedman). Each year, there are over 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse can be reduced with proper education of the parents and with greater public awareness.

What is child abuse? From the word “abuse” we can understand that it is some sort of a maltreatment of a child, causing harm and damage both to his physical and psychological well-being. At the Federal level, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) describes child abuse and neglect 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.” Child abuse is a very substantial and widely spread problem in U.S. affecting children of any age, gender, race, background or income, with more than 1.8 million investigations done every year and on average, killing more than 5 children every day. The main issue of child abuse is that the abuser is usually someone a child loves or depends on (a parent, sibling, coach, neighbor, etc.), who violates child’s trust putting personal interests first, therefore official numbers of how many children suffer maltreatment might be not accurate enough as remarkable amount of these cases go unreported. Each case of child abuse is unique, with a lot of individual factors involved, nevertheless, we can distinguish some of the common causes, such as poverty, lack of education, depression, mental or physical health

The indicators of physical abuse can include unexplained bruising, marks or injuries on any part of the body, multiple bruises, broken bones or even multiple burn marks. There can also be a change in behaviour while a child is being physically abused, such as; fear of parents being approached for an explanation, aggressive behaviour, flinching when approached or touched, depression, withdrawn behaviour or even running away from home.

It can be very difficult to recognise signs of abuse in a child or young person. They are some signs, which could alert staff to the fact that the child or young person might be being abused at home, for example constant bruising, or having unusual injuries for the child or young person. This may have an affect on their

The non-observance of these professional codes may perhaps result in the dismissal of the educator’s or revocation of his certificate. Consequently, as educational leaders in the communities, instructors are often in an ideal position to initiate this type of teamwork a get every other party involved in dealing with child abuse and neglect that must be, in fact, a community effort. Every State legally mandates that educators report suspected child abuse and neglect and according to the Florida Code of Ethic of the Education Profession, the educator must promptly report known or suspected child abuse or carelessness to the state Department of Children and

Every day children around the world are being abused by their parents, trusted adult, caregiver and peers. Children are constantly suffering when there are things that everyone as a community can do help them. Psychologists, social workers and the victims to childhood abuse have studied and worked together to establish precautionary measures to execute child abuse all together.

New York state office of children and family services provides a 2 hour training that is narrative on interacting cases of child abuse and neglect. This is an online course. A certificate will be received upon completion. In this training it teaches us ways to detect if the child is a victim of child abuse. If the child is being abused, educators who become mandated reporter must report any abuse. This is a very sensitive topic. We as educators never want to see our children hurt. As educators our number one goal is keeping the children safe from harm and danger. Being a Mandate reporter can protect our students from being abused. In early childhood it is likely that children are abused because people tend to think the child is too young to talk.

According to The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, child abuse 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,” (www.childwelfare.gov). This could be interpreted as physical, sexual or emotional abuse in childhood for those 18 years of age and younger. Child abuse can cause many risk factors and health issues for those affected which can life in later years.

Child abuse in American today is amongst the most saddened topics of mankind. Many children are subjected to neglect and abuse on a daily basis. The sex and age of child makes no difference when it comes to child abuse.. Boys and girls are equally likely to suffer maltreatment. The problem is how often child abuse goes unreported. Millions of children across the world are abused in some way, whether it is verbal, emotional, physical or sexual. Child abuse has been happening all over the world to young children, however many children keep this a secret because of fear of what could happen. Child Abuse consists of any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and development. It can be

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.

According to Pecora, Sanders, Wilson, English, Puckett & Rudlang-Perman (2014), “Every year in the USA, about 695,000 unique children are confirmed as victims of child maltreatment (US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau 2011) (p. 321). Such startling statistics suggest that child abuse is not just a public health issue; it is an epidemic. However, research reveals that prevention is possible through a collaborative effort made by parents, schools, the government, social services, and the

Child abuse and neglect have immediate and long-term consequences. In addition to negatively impacting the child, child abuse and neglect impacts the family, the school community, and even future generations. The ability to survive and be successful in the face of child abuse and neglect depends on a variety of factors, including the extent and type of abuse or neglect, whether it was continual or infrequent, the age of the child when abuse was initiated, the child’s relationship to the abuser, and how the abuse or neglect was responded to. Outcomes are also dependent on the child’s personality traits, inner strength, and the support the child receives from those around them. It is important to acknowledge that some children will not develop behavioral problems, so it cannot be assumed that a

Child abuse consists of any act or failure to act that endangers a child’s physical or emotional health and development. A person caring for a child is abusive if he or she fails to nurture the child, physically injures the child, or relates sexually to the child (Robins). Child abuse is broken down into four major categories: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Aside from the abuse itself, the cost of the tragic events costs the United States billions of dollars each year. Every day, approximately 4 children in the United States die resulting from child abuse and the majority are under 5-years-old (Fromm). There are many organizations that promote preventative measures in reducing child abuse. If nothing is done,

It breaks my heart to know that child abuse has a history and throughout history children have been subjected to extensive physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. However, doing most of the history of child abuse was accepted and in some cases it was encouraged. As time progressed child abuse has grown to receive more attention and is being recognized as a severe epidemic that has to be stopped. I believe that the views of child abuse has changed over the years for it has left the home from being a private issue to a public issue where different agencies are involved in order to resolve the child abuse and neglect issue. Agencies that take part in investigating and preventing child abuse in today’s time are the Family and Protective Services, SCAN, and several more agencies that are committed to stopping child abuse and