Child Abuse and Neglect - Essay Example

Child care Name Institution Instructor Course Date of Submission Introduction Americans are increasingly distressed by the numerous challenges that face the existing systems of child welfare services. First, they are concerned about the increasing number of neglected children reported in the mass media almost on daily basis. It also evident that many child welfare services agencies are constantly failing to protect American children who greatly need support. Moreover, it is evident that disapproval reactions of minor family challenges have traumatized many families. Currently, there are no policies to ensure that appropriate levels of interventions are channeled to the right child in its suitable time. Gunnar (2008), defines child welfare as a continuum of services envisioned to ensure that all children are safe from any act of violence and that their families receive the necessary support to enable them provide good care to the children. Each state in America has a public child welfare organization responsible for receiving, tackling and investigating reports on child abuse. The agencies are also concerned with assessing child needs, neglect and family. However, These agencies do not work as single entities, they often collaborate with other private child welfare organizations, public agencies, as well as the community organizations to ensure that all families receive the necessary services such as in-home family preservation, services, substance abuse treatment, parenting classes, and supportive child care(Connell-Carrick,2010). Other activities include; Coordinating services that help prevent child abuse and neglect. Offer services to families that need support in caring and protecting their children. Arrange for children to find foster families when safety is not guaranteed at home. Work with the society at large to ensure that all needy children attain permanent family connections, family reunion, or adoption. On the hand, child protection is referred to as a keeping all children in the society safe from acts of child abuse and neglect. This forms a fundamental goal for every child protective services (CPS). The Child protective services are often concerned with assessing reports of child abuse or neglect. Once they determine that the child in question is actually at risk of neglect or is being abused, they report the case to child protection agencies which in turn provides the necessary help. CWLA Standard for Services for Abused or Neglected Children and Family defines Physical abuse as physical deeds by parents or caregivers that often result or could result to physical harm on the child. Whereas, child neglect is referred to as failure by parents or caregivers to offer the child the essential medical care, shelter, food, clothing, education, and hygiene. On the other hand, sexual abuse is the act of a parent or caregiver indulging in a asexual contact, with a child through coercive means, force or convincing means. This is not limited to intimate sexual contact. It may also involve exploitation of a child through prostitution or pornography. Lastly, emotional mistreatment is the act of a parent or caregiver rejecting, berating isolating or terrorizing a child that could result to a child developing to serious physical impairment, social and mental incapability (Jelsma et al., 2011). To start with, countless abused and neglected children kick off their lives with numerous health challenges. For instance, some babies are born with chronic illnesses and low birth weights as result of ignorance from the mothers. Other children are often prenatally exposed to sexual transmitted illness, alcohol and drug abuse. The impact of child abuse can be devastating to a child’s health, emotional, cognitive, social development as well as future body impairment. Children with past abuse experiences tend to be perform poorly in both general life as well as school. These children are also more likely indulge themselves in committing crimes as they struggle with emotional instabilities. Drug abuse and alcoholism is also a common practice among these children. Studies show that women with past physical or sexual abuse give birth to children with hyperbolic levels of stress hormones. Moreover, the persistent change of these hormones in the body may lead to an increased risk of developing psychopathological conditions. Negative impact of child abuse and neglect could be reversed with timely identification of the problem and suitable intervention is necessary. According to statistics four out five people in America struggle with unemployment, near-poverty or rely on a welfare for support. This is a clear sign that our economic security is greatly deteriorating. Survey data carried out by Associated Press points out that due the increasing globalization, the widening gap between the poor and the rich is increasingly become larger, while getting a good paying job in a manufacturing industry is also becoming impossible. President Barrack Obama has urged Americans to put more focus on redeveloping ladders of opportunity that will help reverse the profound income inequality in the American state. On other hand, marriages are declining across all races. This has left many single parents families struggling with poverty. Nationwide, 15percent of the population remains poor due to high rates of unemployment following the economic recessions. This crisis has also greatly affected the American child (Hoffman, 2013). Today, the total number of children living in poverty is estimated to be 500,000 to 13.3million, 5.8million of these are undergoing extreme poverty. It is a national disgrace that the most powerful and richest country is now facing the worst child welfare crises. Our poor children outnumber the total population of all ages living in Illinois. The total of uninsured children outnumbers the total population of the state of Switzerland. The children are our country’s future; therefore investing in them is equally to investing in the nation. They form a key aspect to the economic recovery as well as competitiveness in the international economy. Therefore the government should invest more in children’s welfare and help tackle some major challenges facing the America child. We as the society should team up with the government and grab this opportunity to ensure that no is child drops out of school, born in poverty, abused or neglected. Reports from the Government Accountability Office(GAO) points out that as a result of competing priorities in our society , some states have been forced to divert substantial portions of funds from agencies such as the Social Services Block Grant , the Medicaid as well as the Temporary assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to other purposes other than Child welfare. Moreover, this has also been contributed by our inconsistent application of rule in the federal social welfare systems. GAO has also cited that, numerous child welfare services are often faced with insurmountable setbacks in securing services including substance abuse treatment and housing (Mccarley & Weston, 2012). Recently, survey done by the US Department of Health and Health Services indicates that 85 percent of American children aged between 10 and below and had not received child welfare services in more than a year are at a great risk of developing emotional , behavioral as well as substance abuse difficulties Additionally, Child welfare agencies have reported experiencing service gaps making it more difficult to reunite families and maintaining general child welfare services in regard to children’s wellbeing. Teen parents and inexperienced mothers with poor understanding of the fundamental aspects of child development have also contributed to high child neglect and abuse. Supervisors of child welfare also play a key role in the guaranteeing the ‘‘best practices’’ for children Welfare, however, this has become a great challenge with the decreasing funds. There is need for our government to invest more in the weakening children welfare agencies. If we can bail out our children we can save our exquisite human capital at our collective peril. As a nation we should do better than this. Through effective policies and enough funds, we can salvage our children from the great illiteracy, preventable poverty, poor health, hopelessness and despair. We can and must restructure these horrifying incomes (Wadsworth & Records, 2013). America already knows what it takes to bring up healthy, safe children. We need a concerted state effort to enable families’ access resources and the needed help that will encounter challenges before they result in any devastating impact. Public commitment and relentless involvement in the prevention of child neglect should be our mandate.in addition, more is also demanded from families who are already faced with these problems, they should seek for help without fear. More programs and interventions should also be put in place to intensify on solving the challenges. These amendments can be replicated nationwide through informing Americans about the necessities that enable children grow in a healthy, safe and thriving environment. We should therefore work together as nation, to effect significant changes in behavior, assertiveness, and ways in which our current services are executed to empower families while guarding our children from abuse and neglect. This effort calls for new ways of thinking, identification and structuring of resources as well as along lasting commitment to change to commitment. We as the American people have the experience, the skills, and the networks to make this dream viable. Conclusion State officials tell us they are ill-equipped to handle the range of concerns abused and neglected children and their families’ experience. Their limited resources go to the most serious cases. Parenting ability is a key concern in our society today. Moreover, the limited resources have blown this out of proportion. The growing setbacks are increasingly exceeding the limited mandate and resources provided by the government agencies. Therefore, the government should prioritize its child safety concerns to enable tackle the most critical ones first. Inclusive community education and planning can play a key role in these efforts. References Connell-Carrick, K. (2010). Child Abuse and Neglect. 165-191. Gunnar, M. R. (2008). Social Regulation of Stress in Early Child Development. 106-125. Hoffman, D. M. (2013). Power Struggles: The Paradoxes of Emotion and Control among Child-Centered Mothers in the Privileged United States. Ethos. 41, 75-97. Jelsma, Jennifer, Davids, Nailah, & ferguson, Gillian. (2011). The motor development of orphaned children with and without HIV: Pilot exploration of foster care and residential placement. BioMed Central Ltd. BioMed Central Ltd. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/11/11. Mccarley, J. D., & Weston, C. G. (2012). Foster Care and Adoption. 508-517 Wadsworth, P., & Records, K. (2013). A Review of the Health Effects of Sexual Assault on African American Women and Adolescents. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing. 42, 249-273. Read More