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++++++++++ Child Trends Data Bank: Infant Homicide This new report from the Child Trends Data Bank reports that in 2000 infant homicide rates nearly equaled homicide rates among teens ages 15-19, more than doubling since 1970 (from 4.3 to 8.4 infants deaths per 100,000 children under age one). From the report:  | Homicide is the leading cause of injury deaths among infants (under one year of age) in the United States . | | Half the infant homicides occur by the fourth month of life. | | Homicide risk is greater in the first year of life than in any other year of childhood before age 17. |
Click on the link above to read the complete report. ++++++++++ Stop It Now! Vermont Stop It Now! Vermont is a new approach to child abuse. It is a public health campaign designed to prevent the sexual abuse of children. What makes the program unique is its emphasis on the responsibility of adults. The program works to change attitudes and behaviors surrounding this issue. Most prevention programs place all the responsibility of reporting on the shoulders of children. Stop It Now! says that it is equally important for adults to know what to look for and what to do when they suspect sexual abuse. The goals of Stop It Now! are: | To increase public awareness of child sexual abuse | | To challenge abusers to stop their abuse immediately and seek treatment | | To change attitudes about what can be done to prevent abuse | | To encourage behaviors by adults to intervene in abuse situations or act before the abuse occurs. |
Here are some particularly valuable pages from this site: ++++++++++ Animal Abuse, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Youth Violence Below you will find links to publications dealing with the connections between childhood cruelty to animals and later events and animal abuse as associated with domestic violence. Animal Abuse and Youth Violence – OJJDP Bulletin discusses the nature of the relationship between the abuse of animals and aggressive behavior towards human beings. First Strike: The Connection Between Animal Cruelty and Human Violence – The Humane Society of the United States First Strike Campaign to increase awareness about the connection between animal cruelty and human violence. Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse: The Deadly Connection – From the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine this article says that the main reason for animal abuse within a domestic relationhip is control. ++++++++++ Uniform Child Witness Testimony By Alternative Methods Act (UCWTBAMA) This proposed act from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws addresses procedural issues when children are witnesses and provides methods of taking and preserving the testimony of children. Currently in draft form, expected to be completed in 2002. Read the text of the current draft at this link. ++++++++++ If I Could This new non-fiction film is a sociological study of the impact of abuse and neglect over three generations in the life one family. The film’s producer filmed a documentary for CBS in 1979 that followed four teenagers sent to an alternative program for juveniles. She picked up the tale again two decades later to tell the story of one of the original subjects of that 1979 film, now a struggling single mother attempting to deal with her son’s entry into the juvenile justice system. Viewers of If I Could "experience the rare opportunity to witness the psychological impact of abuse, neglect, abandonment, alcohol, drugs and rage through three generations of one family." At this site you can read more about the movie and view an online version of it. ++++++++++ Gene Linked to Violent Behavior is Triggered by Abuse A study of 442 New Zealand men who were followed for 26 years found that those who were abused and had the flawed gene accounted for 44 percent of all violent-crime convictions among the group even through they were only 12% of the study population.
This links for the first time a gene and an upbringing to a specific behavior and could help shed light on why some children who suffer trauma never seem to recover while others remain resilient. However, researchers say that in the absence of abuse, having this gene doesn’t make boys any more likely to be antisocial. Read a brief one-page report on this study in Science Magazine. ++++++++++ Open Dependency Hearings Newspaper article about the movement in Washington State to open child abuse and neglect hearings to the public. Some information from the article in the Spokesman-Review: | The National Center for State Courts says that 21 states have open hearings or give judges discretion to open them. Few states grant wide access to court dependency records. | | Oregon ’s dependency courts are the most open in the nation. All hearings are presumed open, and can only be closed for particularly inflammatory testimony. | | Minnesota is the latest state to open its dependency hearings. The move is intended to increase accountability of child protection investigations, increase awareness of child abuse, and to show the public how social services funding cuts hurt kids. (“Push on to open child court hearings,” Spokane Spokesman-Review, July 21, 2002 ) |
++++++++++ Minnesota Supreme Court Permits Victims of Sex Abuse to File Until 24 (Scroll down the page.) In a decision issued today, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision permitting victims of sex abuse to file lawsuits up until the age of 24. The court ruled that, “as a matter of law, a reasonable child is incapable of knowing that he or she has been sexually abused. Absent some other disability that serves to delay the running of the statute of limitations, the six-year period of limitation provided in the delayed discovery statute…begins to run when the victim of sexual abuse reaches the age of majority.” For a limited time read the decision at: http://www.e-lawpublishing.com/news.htm ++++++++++ Pediatricians Alerted to the Dangers to Children Living With Men Unrelated to Them There has been a flurry in the news in recent weeks about a monograph in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics in which pediatricians are alerted to the presence of a mother’s boyfriend or stepfather as a risk factor for abuse of children. The article says that | “Children residing in households with adults unrelated to them were 8 times more more likely to die of maltreatment than children in households with 2 biological parents.” | | “Children living in household with 1 or more male adults that are not related to them are at increased risk for maltreatment injury death. This risk is not elevated for children living with a single parent, as long as no other adults live in the home.” |
You can read and/or download the article here. ++++++++++ The Multiple Dimensions of Child Abuse and Neglect: New Insights into an Old Problem This is another new research brief from Child Trends. This brief points out serious gaps in our knowledge base of abused and neglected children and recommends ways to improve the scope and quality of information about abuse and neglect. It looks at the array of negative outcomes for abuse and neglect that may emerge at different stages of children’s lives. Read/download the brief (8 pages) ++++++++++ Legal Representation of Children The National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) has published a manual that contains two important standards of practice for attorneys representing children in child abuse/ neglect cases. | NACC Recommendations for Representation of Children in Abuse and Neglect is designed to assist jurisdictions in the selection and implementation of attorney representation. Contains a checklist of children’s needs that should be met no matter what the model for representation may be. |
| ABA/NACC Revised Standards of Practice for Lawyers Who Represent Children in Abuse and Neglect Cases |
Both of these publications may be read and/or downloaded at the NACC web site, but not together. They appear separately. They appear as Microsoft Word documents. But, if you’d like a hard copy (containing both documents under one cover), I just happen to have about 30 of these in hand and will be pleased to give you one if you’ll send me an email with your mailing address and tell me you want a copy. ++++++++++ Psychological Maltreatment of Children The April, 2002 issue of the American Academy of Pediatrics journal PEDIATRICS contains an article on the definition and consequences of psychological maltreatment of children. Psychological maltreatment is defined in this article as “a repeated pattern of damaging interactions between parent(s) and child that becomes typical of the relationship.” The article provides a very nice list of behaviors that may constitute psychological maltreatment and another list of the consequences of maltreatment. Includes resources for pediatricians and parents. ++++++++++ A Decade of Deadly Mistakes – Pulitzer Prize Winning Series In April a team of reporters from the Washington Post were rewarded the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for a series of articles on the deaths of 229 boys and girls who died while under the supervision of Washington, D.C.’s child protection system between 1993 and 2000. In a year long investigation the Post reporters obtained records documenting the deaths of 180 of the 229 children. “Some children lost their lives in accidents or shootings on the streets. Others succumbed to disease.” Another forty boys and girls lost their lives when workers failed to take key preventive action or placed children in unsafe homes or institutions. The complete report is available for download on the internet. If you don’t care to download the entire report I’ll suggest that you read the introduction, “Protected Children Died as Government Did Little.” I’ll make the same offer I did the last time I featured a newspaper series on Brevity. If you don’t want to take the time to download the series, send me an email with your address and I’ll mail you a copy of the complete report. +++++++++++ Prosecuting Juvenile Sex Offenders: Expert Witness Testimony and the Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome (scroll to the bottom of the home page) APRI, The American Prosecutors Research Institute, broadcast this video webcast live last December. It is archived on the NDAA-APRI web site and can be viewed from your computer. About an hour in length, this presentation is not only for prosecutors or attorneys. I found the background on CSAAS particularly valuable. CSAAS describes the behavior of children who have been abused that strikes adults as inconsistent or inappropriate, for example: recanting, or being affectionate and loving toward the abuser. The powerlessness, inexperience, and limited ability to act children have in these cases is convincingly described by the presenters. Good set of links are available to the viewer. Slides from the Powerpoint presentations of the two presenters are available for download too. ++++++++++ Juvenile Protective Association This is an interesting web site, both for what it does today and for its historical background. The Juvenile Protective Association was begun in Chicago in 1901 by Jane Addams and her colleagues at Hull House as the Juvenile Protective League. JPA provided the first probation officers for the first Juvenile Court in the United States until probation became a government function. until probation became a government function. Today JPA provides protection, assessment, diagnosis and treatment services for abused and neglected children and their families. JPA provides a variety of clinical treatment and counseling therapy services for children and their families. ++++++++++ Offenders Incarcerated for Crimes Against Juveniles - 12 page bulletin. Describes the characteristics of violent adult offenders who victimize juveniles and the nature of their offenses. One in five prisoners incarcerated in State prisons for violent crime in 1997 was an offender who had victimized a youth. ++++++++++ National Association of Counsel for Children For anyone working in the child dependency arena this is a web site to bookmark. The list below provides links to a number of useful sections at this web site. Child Maltreatment - Definition, incidence, and a brief history of the child protection movement with references. Child Maltreatment - Definition, incidence, and a brief history of the child protection movement with references. Attorneys for Children - Defines attorney and GAL roles. Includes information on hiring an attorney and referral information as well. NACC Child Advocacy Resource Center - Technical assistance resources in depth for NACC members and on a limited basis to the public. Frequently Asked Questions - Questions and responses about child abuse, legal process, general questions on children and the law. Good basic information parental rights and responsibilities, the difference between discipline and abuse, much more. Last, a policy guide to public policy advocacy for children and families ++++++++++ National Symposium on Child Sexual Abuse - Will be held in Huntsville, Ala., March 19-22, 2002. The primary goal of the symposium is to provide current, comprehensive training on child sexual abuse and child maltreatment. For additional information visit the symposium web site.
NCCAN The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information is the nation’s premiere resource for information on abuse and neglect and related matters. The information available here ranges from statistics to how to report suspected abuse. Click here to take a look at the selection of publications available from the clearinghouse. Other areas of interest include searchable databases and funding resources sections. The State Statutes section will give you information on state reporting laws, central registries, investigations, child witnesses, crime, permanency planning, and domestic violence, among others. ++++++++++ National Children’s Advocacy Center and Four Regional Children's Advocacy Centers NCAC is a non-profit agency for professionals in the child abuse field "providing prevention, intervention, and treatment services to physically and sexually abused children and their families within a child-focused team approach." It publishes a quarterly newsletter for professionals in the field, The Child Advocate, and a number of other publications including a forensic evaluation manual which is designed to be a resource to professionals in the field. It also conducts professional education and training services. Probably the section most useful to those readers who are looking to establish a children’s advocacy center and/or to improve their community’s response to child abuse are the four regional children’s advocacy centers. These four centers are there to help you in a variety of ways to improve services and assistance to abused children and their families. ++++++++++ Childhood abuse permanently changes the brain A study reported in this week’s Mental Health Resources newsletter at About.com has "demonstrated that childhood abuse and neglect results in permanent physical changes to the developing human brain." The changes "appear to be significant enough to cause psychological and emotional problems in adulthood." There is a link at the end of the article that will take you to Cerebrum, the journal in which the study originally appeared and a brief paragraph about the study. I looked up the complete cite in case you want to read the study: "Wounds That Time Won’t Heal: The Neurobiology of Child Abuse," Martin H. Teicher, M.D., Ph.D., Cerebrum, Vol.2 No.4 Fall 2000. ++++++++++ Monitored Visitation Guidelines Thanks to Brevity subscriber Niki Delson I am able to bring to you the Monitored Visitation Guidelines from the California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (CAPSAC). This document was written by a multidisciplinary task force of CAPSAC. The purpose of the Guidelines is to serve families in which there has been an allegation of sexual abuse in Family Court proceedings, through a coordinated visitation and reunification plan. The guidelines encompass protective and therapeutic activities that provide for the safety of the child and the rights of the parents. Seven pages plus two decision making trees. ++++++++++ Improving Tribal/Federal Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Cases Through Agency Cooperation This bulletin is from the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC). It presents basic information for improving the cooperation between tribal and federal agencies in handing child sexual abuse cases. It describes multijurisdictional protocols and multidisciplinary teams developed for investigating child abuse in Indian Country. Nice overview of a complex issue. ++++++++++ |
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