Child Protection Policy Essay Example

Introduction

Children represent a vulnerable population that should be protected by the law. Children are prone to negligence and different forms of abuse that directly and indirectly impact on their holist growth and development. In an attempt to protect children from various violations and neglect, the US government established the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (Public Law 93-247) which was passed as a bill in 1974 (Widom et al., 2015). Existing statistics indicate that the rate of child abuse and negligence have been on the rise in the recent past which have in turn lead to increased adverse effects of abuse and neglect among them the increasing rate of d fatality (Widom et al., 2015). In the financial year 2016, approximately 1,750 died as a result of abuse and neglect which represent 2.36 per 100,000 children (United States, 2016).

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The 1750 data was higher when compared to the number of children who died due to maltreatment in 2012 as it accounted for approximately 2.36 per 100,000 which represents a 7.4% increment (United States, 2016). Additionally, of the 1750 cases of fatality experienced in 2016, about 74. 6% died from parental and caregiver negligence while 44.2% die as a result of physical abuse which was either exclusive or was combined with other forms of maltreatment (United States, 2016). Based on the statistics and other risk factors, it is essential to focus on the Child Abuse Prevention and treatment act to ensure that it protects children from any form of negligence or abuse, which will in turn help to reduce such cases an ensure healthy growth and development for the young children.

Problem Description

Over the years, children have been exposed to numerous abuses and negligence which adversely affect their growth and development. In some instances, child abuse and negligence lead to anxiety, depression, anxiety as well as deaths (Widom et al., 2015). Despite the existence of the children protection bills, children continue to be vulnerable which demonstrate gaps in the child protection and treatment policies.

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment act was established to protect children from any form of abuse which arises from their parents, caregivers and or other people in society. Interestingly, in 2015, approximately 1,670 children suffered negligence and abuse which lead to their death. Additionally, in 2014, the Children's Advocacy Centers across the country provided advocacy and support to approximately 311,000 children who had suffered different forms of abuses (Myers, 2015). Further statistics indicate that about 683,000 children in 2015 suffered from child abuse and negligence (Mignon, 2016). Also, in 2015, approximately 3.4 million children were provided with the investigation and other alternative services, while about 2.3 million children were provided with prevention services (Mignon, 2016).

Child abuse and negligence affect all children across all cultures and different social groups. However, girls are more vulnerable to sexual abuse than boys (Petersen et al., 2014). It is, however, essential to state that besides sexual abuse, boys and girls have almost equal vulnerability rates to other violations and negligence. For example, child abuse and negligence project that one in every four girls and one in every six boys will be subjected to sexual abuse before turning 18 years (Petersen et al., 2014). Also, children across all ages are vulnerable to child abuse and negligence. However, younger children are more susceptible than older children. For example, statistics indicate that approximately 27% of all the reported child abuse and negligence cases involve children below three years (Petersen et al., 2014).

Besides age and gender factors, children from all the ethnic groups are vulnerable to child abuse and negligence. However, some ethnic groups are more susceptible than others. For example, as at 2015, approximately half of the reported child abuse and negligence cases were from the Caucasian community, one-fifth children were African, and also the Hispanics had one-fifth cases of child abuse and negligence (United States, 2016). Essentially children from social economically disadvantage neighborhood have high chances of suffering from injuries and neglects. For example, children from low social, economic families are three times more vulnerable to child abuse and seven times vulnerable to child negligence when compared with children from middle and upper-class families.

In addition to ethnic and social economic factors, parent's employment also influences the rate of child abuse and negligence. In this case, children from unemployed parents are two times vulnerable to child abuse and two to three-time vulnerable to an oversight while compared to children whose parents are working. Further statistics also reveal that children are abused and neglected by their parents or close family members (Widom et al., 2015). In some instances, children are abused and ignored by individuals they are in constant contact within from different environments such as school and home. Children from violent families, families with one or both parents using alcohol and engaging in drugs abuse are more vulnerable to injuries and negligence when compared with children from other families with rare cases of violence, alcoholism and drug and substance abuse.

Historical Background of the Policy

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was established in 1974 to protect children from any forms of negligence and child abuse. In this case, the bill provided prevention, evaluation, investigation, advocacy and treatment services to children and families suffering from child abuse and negligence (United States, 2016). The statement holds individuals accountable for acting or failing to act which leads to child abuse and any form of neglect. Importantly, the bill considers a child as anybody below the age of 18 years.

Since the establishment of the CAPTA policy in 1974, the system has been amended numerous time to allow the meet the ever emerging child abuses and neglect activities (Petersen et al., 2014). For example, in 1978, the CAPTA act was changed by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act (Petersen et al., 2014). The amendments aimed at protecting adopted children as well as providing a legislative requirement for couples who wish to take children for various reasons. Ten years later, the law was rewritten afresh in the Child Abuse Prevention, Adoption and Family Services Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-294, 4/25/88) (Petersen et al., 2014). The amendment aimed at incorporating some elements that were seen as essential in protection and prevention of child abuse. In the following year (1989) the law was also amended by the Child Abuse Prevention Challenge Grants Reauthorization Act and also the Drug-Free School Amendments of 1989 (Widom et al., 2015). Since then the law has been faced with different amendments among which the last one include the 2010 and 2015 changes.

Policy Description

The CAPTA aims at protecting the American children from any form of abuse and neglect that arise from parents and caregivers acting control or failing to act which leads to physical, emotional social harming of the child and in some instances leads to death (Myers, 2015). The law defines the different forms of abuses as well as neglects to ensure uniformity in protecting the American children (United States, 2016). Importantly, the policy provides grants to governmental and non-governmental organisations to protect the interests of the children. Additionally, the system also focuses on giving penalties for individuals who violate children by abusing them or failing to act (neglect). Different offences face a different form of prosecutions and sentences depending on the degree of severity.

Since its enactment, the policy has significantly aided in preventing and protecting children from abuse and neglect. For example, the rate of child abuse and neglect in 1976 was approximately 61%. However, the percentage has been declining over the years, and as of 2015, the rate of child abuse and neglect was about 31% (United States, 2016). Despite the efforts that have been placed by the CAPTA policy in protecting and preventing children from abuse and neglect, the numbers of reported cases have been on the rise. For example, as at 1973, the child-protection agencies handled more than 60,000 reported cases while in 2015 there were approximately three million reported cases of child abuse and neglect (Myers, 2015).

Major Problem

The CAPTA faces numerous challenges which in turn hinders its effectiveness. One major problem with the CAPTA is the fact that it is wide in nature and incorporate many activities. As a result, the CAPTA fails to achieve an equal balance which has seen the policy fail in eliminating child abuse and neglect in the US (United States & United States, 2014). Even though the CAPTA have a definition for child abuse and neglect, it is essential to indicate that the definitions vary from one state to the other which in turn hinders unification of prevention and protection strategies. The definition of the term child abuse and neglect is based on state research on the topic, and since each state is different regarding demographic composition, economic, social and cultural aspects, the definitions vary significantly from state to state which hinders a collective approach in dealing with cases of child abuse and neglect (Daro et al, 2015). The definition of the characteristics of the problem as well as the determination of the scope is primarily influenced by the source of data used for analysis. Since each state is assigned the duty of researching on the problem (child abuse and neglect), the CAPTA lacks clarity of the definitions of basic terms which in turn impact on the effectiveness of the law.

Reform Proposal

In an attempt to solve the existing challenges in the CAPTA it should focus on developing a standard definition for the various child abuses and neglects (Mignon, 2016). A standard definition will ensure that the country has an ordinary meaning to child abuse and neglect which will, in turn, lead to the unification of the fight against child abuse and neglect (Mignon, 2016). Additionally, a standard definition will also ensure similarities in the assessment, evaluation, prosecution and prevention process which will, in turn, allow the states to work collectively in the fight against child abuse and neglect.

Policy Goals

The CAPTA focuses on providing adequate funds to both governmental and non-profit organisation which facilitates the prevention, assessment, investigation, advocacy and treatment in different projects and programs which incorporates different tribes including Indian and tribal organizations. The CAPTA provide federal funding as well as adequate guidance to a different organization which focus on preventing and protecting children from various abuses and negligence (Daro et al, 2015). The CAPTA provide guidelines and financial support to state and local based governmental and non-governmental nonprofit organization which provide support against child abuse and neglect. Additionally, the CAPTA also offers support to a community-based organization which are organized on tribal lines (Daro et al, 2015). The governmental and non-governmental organization provide prevention of children as well as prosecuting child culprits of child abuse and negligence.

Secondly, the CAPTA goals also focus on establishing the federal duties and responsibilities in providing and supporting research, analysis, technical support as well as engaging in national data collection activities (Daro et al, 2015). CAPTA support other child-related services which aims at establishing the current position of child abuse and n...