Child Abuse and Neglect in the State of Ohio - Assignment Example

Child Abuse and Neglect in the State of Ohio Abstract With the increasing number of child abuse and neglect in the state of Ohio, the vice is quickly becoming a major concern with calls for the creation of measures meant to curb it, to be quickly formulated and implemented before it gets out of hand. This paper will focus on child abuse and issues revolving around it. Child Abuse and Neglect in the State of Ohio Introduction What is Child Abuse and Neglect? Neglect and child abuse is defined as the mental or physical injury, sexual abuse, maltreatment or neglect treatment of a child who happens to be below eighteen years of age by any person or persons who happen to be responsible for the child’s wellbeing under circumstances which clearly show that the child’s welfare or health are being threatened or harmed in any way whatsoever (Deb, 2006). Identification and Significance of Health Issue Child abuse is regarded as a national tragedy that is annually affecting more than three million children and causing the death of three children every day. Statistics indicate that, in the state of Ohio alone, the practice is quite prevalent and it is reported that about 20 children are reported as neglected or abused every hour and with the total number of reported neglected or abused children averaging at around 480 cases per day. It has been noted that most cases involving the neglect and abuse of children in the state are not reported (congressional Record, 1999). Types of Child Abuse Children are increasingly being maltreated, neglected or even abused in many different forms of ways in the different communities, countries or even social strata. The types and nature of child abuse and neglect can be subdivided into five basic broad categories, these categories are sexual abuse, physical abuse, abuse for commercial purpose, psychological/emotional abuse and neglect (Deb, 2006). In the state of Ohio, the term “child abuse” refers to exposing a child to victimization via sexual activity. This activity can be inform of enticing, compelling, hiring, permitting, employing allowing a child to act or even model or participate in any production, photograph, presentation, advertisement or any other presentation that the offender knows to be sexually oriented or obscene (Lau, Krase & Morse, 2009). A caregiver or parent committing an action that causes nonaccidental death or physical injury to a child is regarded as having physically abused the child. Physical abuse can be defined as any nonaccidental injury occurring to a child as a result of the actions of a caretaker. The abuse includes the frequent, punching, slapping, beating shaking, burning, biting and kicking of a child (Deb, 2006). When an elderly person or persons use a child for commercial benefits, then this type of abuse is referred as abuse for commercialization vice. Drug smugglers in some parts of Ohio are increasingly using children for drug peddling and some under aged children are being pushed into the flesh trade by some rackets (Deb, 2006). Psychological / Emotional Abuse to a child is defined as the habitual harassment of a child by verbal means in the form of making disparaging remarks, ridicule, threats and criticism. Emotional and psychological abuse also involves behavior that threatens to or even ends up intimidating a child. Some common forms of this abuse include name calling, threats, belittling and shaming (Deb, 2006). Child neglect can be termed as the abandonment of a child by his or her guardian, parent or custodian. The law clearly stipulates that a child shall be viewed as having been abandoned by the parent if the parent fails to maintain contact or visit the child for a period exceeding 90 days. This is regardless of whether the parents resume contact with that child after the 90 days period (Lau, Krase & Morse, 2009). Support for the Significance of Addressing Child Neglect and Abuse Child abuse affects families in Ohio in a number of adverse way, these includes, low self esteem on the part of the abused child, drug addiction, fear and anxiety on the part of the child, hostility, depression, anger, tendency toward substance abuse, inappropriate sexual behaviour, difficulty with close relationships and poor self esteem, some of the victims of child abuse end up suffering from shaken baby syndrome, they might also suffer from poor physical health for the rest of their lives or even suffer from an impairment of their brain development. (Rutter & Taylor, 2002). Rationale for the Selection of This Population and the Significance of this Heath Issue to this Population Most of the abused children end up abusing substances or becoming drug addicts. Back in 2007, unintentional drug overdose by drug addicts became the leading cause of death in the state of Ohio. Between the years 1999 to 2009, in the state of Ohio, the death rate resulting from unintentional drug poisoning increased by 335 percent, with an average of four people dying every day as a direct result of taking drug overdoses (Ohio Department of Health). The cost of alcohol and drug abuse treatment in the United States is being estimated at $276.4 billion, (which is equivalent to about 3.7% of total gross domestic product), the addressing of this issue is vital since it will help in the saving of revenue in the state of Ohio (Ruiz, Strain & Lowinson, 2011). Child Abuse and Neglect Evidence, Assets and Challenges with Regards to Ohio. With a ranking of 17.4 child abuse victims per every 1000 children, against the national average of 12.3 victims per every 1000 children, Ohio is ranked 9th nationally in terms of its rate of child abuse and neglect. In the country of Delaware alone, in the year 2006, there were about 337 incidences of child abuse and neglect reported. One of the major Assets that the population in Ohio has on its part is the enactment of laws and legislation that aim to protect children and prevent any form of child abuse or maltreatment in the state of Ohio. (Levesque, 2008). One of the major challenges facing the Ohio Community is that most of the child abuse cases occurring in the county are never reported. This can be blamed on the fact that most of the abuses occur in homes and children are normally never aware of their civil rights. It usually falls on the family neighbors, teachers, school nurses and local clergymen to notice cases of child abuse, and report them to the relevant authorities (National Research Council, 1993). Another major challenge is that it is also usually difficult to identify cases of child abuse and classify them as such. This is because the signs of child abuse are not apparent and are normally mistaken to be as a result of other issues (Bursztyn, 2007). Approach of Addressing Child Abuse and Neglect and its Rationale Child abuse and neglect should be approached and addressed by all members of the Ohio community. Two possible approaches can be undertaken to address the issue, these approaches are community empowerment and policy development. Under community empowerment, the formation of child welfare organizations, formed to protect and defend the rights of innocent children such as the Ohio Children’s Foundation and the Health Path Foundation of Ohio, is a major boost in the war against the abuse and neglect of children. This is because; these foundations help in the promotion of child abuse and neglect awareness in the Ohio Community. They also serve to help affected children in the community by helping prosecute the child abuse and neglect perpetrators and if necessary, obtain foster home placement for the affected children (Costin, Krager & Stoesz, 1996). Because of the nature of their jobs, school nurses play a vital part in the early identification of child abuse and neglect. Under policy development, policies can be setup to aid in the creation of programs that can be started with the aim of training both school nurses and teachers, on possible measures that they can able to take to help identify possible cases involving the neglect and abuse of children in their respective schools. They can also be trained on how to provide counseling services to the affected children and in the reporting of possible child abuse case to the relevant authorities for further investigation and prosecution if necessary (Moules, Ramsay & Hendrick, 1998). References: Bursztyn, M. (2007). The Praeger handbook of special education, Westport (Conn.): Praeger, cop. Congressional Record, V. 145, Pt. 6, April 28, 1999 to May 10, 1999. Costin, B., Karger, J. & Stoesz, D. (1996) The politics of child abuse in America, New York : Oxford University Press. Deb, S. (2006) Children in agony: a source book. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co. Lau, J., Krase, K and Morse, R. (2009). Mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect: a practical guide for social workers. New York: Springer Pub. Levesque, J. (2008). Child maltreatment and the law: returning to first principles. New York [etc.]: Springer, cop. National Research Council (U.S.), (1993). Panel on Research on Child Abuse and Neglect. Understanding child abuse and neglect. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Ohio Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, Analysis by Injury Prevention Program. Ruiz, P., Strain, C. & Lowinson, H. (2011) Lowinson and Ruiz's substance abuse: a comprehensive textbook. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health. Rutter, M & Taylor, E. (2002). Child and adolescent psychiatry. Malden, Mass.; Oxford: Blackwell Science. Tina, M, Ramsay RGN. Joan & Hendrick, J. (1998). The textbook of children's nursing, Cheltenham, U.K.: Stanley Thornes. Read More