Child Abuse & Neglect Symposium

1. Child Abuse & Neglect Symposium

2. Purpose of the Seminar • To Review the Role of Legally Mandated Reporters • To Review the Moral and Ethical Obligation of Social Workers to Report

3. This is hard to talk about! The content is difficult to hear Most people would prefer not to deal with physical, emotional, and sexual abuse Children were seen as property until the 20th century Children are seen as vulnerable and in need of protection, thinking about abusing them is un- thinkable for most adults

4. Social Workers (including interns) Physicians Dentists School Officials Day care center workers Child welfare professionals Hospital personnel Police officers Mental health professionals Who is Mandated to ReportAbuse/Neglect?

5. The story of Mary Ellen, Henry Burgh,& Ella Wheeler World of abnormal rearing Battered child syndrome History of Child Abuse and Neglect

6. The Mary Ellen Story • Friendly visitor Ella Wheeler found Mary Ellen in a NYC tenement battered and beaten • No laws protected her, she was considered property • Ms. Wheeler went to Henry Burgh at the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for help • They went to court and won Mary Ellen’s freedom • In 1875 they founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

7. World of Abnormal Rearing • History of having been abused as a child • Lack of emotional or social support • Familial Violence • Homelessness • Poverty/Life Crises • Teenage Parenthood/Absence of Nurturing Attitudes • Substance Abuse • Impaired physical/emotional health • Social Pollution • Stress of Single Parenting

8. Battered Child Syndrome • In 1961 C. Henry Kemp, MD coined the term • He developed the term seeing children coming into emergency rooms, with unexplained “accidents” • He “re-discovered child abuse, it took the profession 90 years to really confront child maltreatment • Kempe and his colleagues developed criteria for abuse and provided legitimacy to address the issues of child abuse • From 1963 to 1965, 47 states passed child abuse reporting laws

9. Statistics • In 1997, 234,205 children were reported abused or neglected in NYS • 63 children died as a result of abuse or neglect in 1998 • In 1997, 146 children ages 0-19 were killed by firearms in NYS; in the U.S. 12 children a day are killed by guns • In 1998, 55,995 children were arrested; of these 48% were for a violent crime

10. Clash of Values • Parents Rights vs. Children’s Rights • Sanctity of Home vs. Freedom From Harm • Right to Privacy vs. Community Obligations

11. Conflicting Professional Viewpoints • Legal Issues • Social/Resource Issues • Medical/Illness Model

12. Definitions of Abuse • Physical Abuse • Sexual Abuse • Emotional Abuse

13. Physical Abuse Physical abuse is characterized by inflicting injury by punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, or otherwise harming a child. Although the injury is not an accident, the parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurt the child. The injury may have resulted from over discipline or physical punishment that is inappropriate for the child’s age.

14. Signs of Physical Abuse • Bruises/skin damage/welts • Bone/skull fractures • Head and internal injuries • Burns, sprains, dislocations • Enuresis/encopresis • Passivity/over compliant • Temper tantrums • Hypervigilance • Low self esteem • School problems

15. Sexual Abuse According to the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, sexual abuse includes fondling the child’s genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and sexual exploitation. To be considered child abuse, these acts have to be committed by a person responsible for caring for the child (parent, baby-sitter, day care provider).

16. Signs of Sexual Abuse • Pain/bruises/trauma in genital/anal area • Venereal diseases/Pregnancy • Persistent of inappropriate sexual behavior • Depression/low self esteem • Running away • Sudden involvement in delinquent behavior • Inability to make friends/poor peer relations • School problems • Suicidal behavior/Sleep problems • Eating disorders

17. Emotional Abuse According to O’ Hagen, emotional and psychological abuse is defined as sustained, repetitive, inappropriate behavior which damages or substantially reduces the creative and developmental potential of crucially important mental faculties and mental processes of a child, these faculties and processes include intelligence, memory, recognition, perception, attention, imagination and moral development

18. Signs of Emotional Abuse • Low self esteem • Pseudo maturity • Regressive behavior • Suicidal behavior • Sleep disturbances • Irritability • Depression/anxiety/withdrawn

19. Dynamics of Abuse Straus and Smith developed a Child Abuse Checklist, Some of the variables include: • Verbally aggressive toward the child • Verbal aggression between spouses • Physical aggression between spouses • High levels of marital conflict • Family with more than one child • Parent who was physically abused as a child • Spousal abuse in family of origin

20. Definitions of Child Neglect According to the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, Neglect is defined in three areas: Physical Educational Emotional

21. Physical Neglect • Refusal/delays in health care • Abandonment • Expulsion • Inadequate supervision • Custody issues • Other neglect issues

22. Educational Neglect • Permitted chronic truancy • Failure to enroll • Inattention to special educational needs

23. Emotional Neglect • Failure to nurture/affection • Chronic/extreme spousal abuse • Permitted drug/alcohol abuse • Permitted maladaptive behavior • Refusal of psychological care • Delay in psychological care • Other emotional neglect

24. Dynamics of Neglect • Neglect can be caused by the physical or mental impairment of the parent • Substance Abuse • Homelessness/Poverty • Lack of social support • Life Crises

25. When to Report Suspected Abuse As a mandated reporter you must file a report when there is reasonable cause to suspect the child whom you see in your professional or official capacity is being abused or neglected; or the parent or responsible person legally responsible for a child comes to you and reports that there is abuse or neglect

26. When to Report Suspected Abuse As a mandated reporter you must file a report when there is reasonable cause to suspect the child whom you see in your professional or official capacity is being abused or neglected; or the parent or responsible person legally responsible for a child comes to you and reports that there is abuse or neglect

27. How to Report Suspected Abuse New York State Central Register of Child Abuse Reporting 1 800 635-1522 Toll free Hotline for Mandated Reporters

28. Risk Assessment Decision Trees Uniform Case Record Assessments Assessing Risk Using Quantifiable Variables Standardized Measures

29. When to Report Suspected Abuse As a mandated reporter you must file a report when there is reasonable cause to suspect the child whom you see in your professional or official capacity is being abused or neglected; or the parent or responsible person legally responsible for a child comes to you and reports that there is abuse or neglect

30. Permanency Planning Outcomes • Children remain safely with their parents or relatives • Children are reunified safely with their parents or relatives • Children are safely adopted by relatives or other families

31. Permanency Planning Outcomes • Children are safely placed with relatives or other families as legal guardians • Children are safely placed in another planned alternative permanent living arrangement • All children and youth deserve safe, permanent homes, with loving families