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Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect
Tommy Wilson

Child Abuse and Neglect (CJ436)
August 12,2010

Child Abuse and Neglect Child abuse and neglect is a growing problem in the United States. Child abuse and neglect may take place in many forms. It is important that we have a clear understanding of the reporter’s expression when reading news article. Many of these news articles provide detailed information concerning the growing problems and available programs concerning child abuse and neglect. After reading nine news articles related to child abuse and neglect, I was able to understand the reporter’s expressions and view points. Reporters often use various techniques to expresses themselves; words may be used to catch the reader’s attention. A majority of reporters provide their own view points of the people involved in the abuse, in many cases, the parents of the victimized child. Additionally, many news articles offer solutions to child abuse and neglect.
The first news article I read was “A Tragedy That Is Ours to Stop”. This news article was writing by Colbert I. King and published by The Washington Post. The news article was centered on the death of a 5 month old infant. Once again the murderer is the mother of the infant. King opens the eyes of many readers by revealing that the death of the 5 month old infant is much deeper than the average child abuse case. The death took place when the 15 year old mother rolled over on the 5 month old infant when she was asleep, causing the infant to suffocate. He appealed to readers not to focus on the mother but rather look at the bigger picture of the death of the 5 month old infant. He related the infant’s death to the increasing number of teenage mothers in the Unites States. King stated that “children of teenage mothers are more likely to be abused, neglected, or wind up in foster care”. In an attempt to express his view point to parents who fail to properly raise their children he adds to the old saying “boys get guns and girl get babies”. In most cases, teenage mothers lack the knowledge, financial stability, training and skills needed to be effective mothers. King’s message to the reader was based on facts that had been proven over and over again. Girls that were abused, school drop-outs, surrounded by violence, and or in the juvenile justice system were twice as likely to end up as teenage mothers. King explains that children of teenage parents are more likely to become teenage parents themselves which continues the intergenerational cycle of this major problem. King reminds parents that youth engaged in risky, destructive behavior don’t have what they need. Teenagers need a home where they are given a sense of belonging, where they are made to feel safe starting at an early age. Instead many teenagers have gangs instead of families and the street instead of schools. As the primary recommendation, King stated “no amount of support from the government will make any difference if we, as a community, don’t seize more responsibility in our own lives and with our children. If we as parents are ineffective in combating child abuse within our own communities, we are definitely prodded to fail globally. The second news article that caught my attention was ““A Deadly Failure at Child Welfare” written by Jeff McDonald and published by the San Diego Union Tribune. This news article tells the story of the tragic death of a 14 year old boy named Brandon McClure who died from starvation. The news article was written so well that it had an immediate impact on anyone who read it. McDonald used several key phases such as “severe neglect, gruesome, and involuntary manslaughter” to express the depth of Brandon’s neglect by his mother and the many case workers involved. In this particular case, Brandon was diagnosed at birth with hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluids in the brain cavities that can stunt mental development. Jeff McDonald’s view of Brandon’s mother, Angela Bernard, was nothing less than a disappointment to any parent. Angela would often leave Brandon home alone as she and her boyfriend went out drinking. To add to disappointment, Brandon was suppose to be under the watchful eye of several case workers from the county‘s Child Protection Services, a service in which he was enrolled in since his birth. McDonald describes both the parent and county child protection services as failures. He reminded the readers that there are many other children like Brandon that aren’t receiving quality treatment from the parents or the Welfare System. McDonald identified several of the problems that resulted in Brandon’s death including, Angela a tired parent who gave up on her child, and a Welfare System with over-worked and untrained case workers. He offered many recommendations that could have prevented Brandon’s death. First, In the future, case workers should provide a detailed report of each visit with the child. Additionally, McDonald reminded the local politicians of the importance of providing proper funding for the County Child Welfare System in order for them to hire additional workers and provide them with the necessary training. Another contributing factor to child abuse is unplanned motherhood. Many parents assume the role of parenting before they are mentally and or financially ready.
The third news “Obesity as a form of Child Abuse” was written by Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick and published by The New York Post. Unlike ordinary child abuse and neglect, we all are accustom to hearing; obesity is one that most parents over look. Fitzpatrick’s definition of obesity is when body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected. He also explained the difference between obesity and overweight. Overweight means weighing too much. Both terms mean that a person's weight is greater than what is considered healthy for his or her height. Obesity is not really the result of child abuse. However, parents who allow their children to eat too much could be as guilty of neglect as those who do not feed their children at all. Fitzpatrick recommends that being over weight should become a part of the Child Protection System; over weight children should be taken from parents; to curb the obesity epidemic. So, do you think he stated this to get our attention? Or were you convinced that he was truly advocating for this? Fitzpatrick informs his audience that obesity is connected to several other health problems and contributes to the increasing health care cost. Childhood obesity is a national concern. Schools, including day care services, need to adopt physical fitness and healthy living educational programs to help reduce obesity amongst children. Parents must encourage healthy eating by serving more fruits and vegetables, buying fewer sodas, and serving low-calorie, low-fat snack foods. Additionally, he recommends that parents should monitor the amount of time there children spend watching television and playing video games. Despite the growing concern of child abuse and neglect, news articles provide the latest information on intervention programs. “There are many programs available for abused children and mothers,” said Jessica Champlin, author of the news article “Local Foster Agency seeks community Involvement” published by the Bakersfield News. However, these are child abuse and neglect prevention programs that we have developed here within our own community. Champlin informs the Bakersfield community of the program called Covenant Community Services Inc (CCSI), a program that has been implemented in several other communities. Champlin provided the local people with the current statistics of child abuse and neglect within the Bakersfield community. On the average, Bakersfield has a child abuse rate of 10 per 2000 children which is not relatively high. However, it is high enough to cause concern within the community. The program was developed by a group of local Christian leaders to provide strength-based therapeutic foster care services as an alternative to group home care and shelter care for children and teens. In efforts to get his readers to adopt his view point of establishing a Covenant Community Service program within Bakersfield, he provided before and after statistics of the program in Kern County California. Good strategy! The program provides a host of services. These services include foster care, mental health, and consulting, emancipated youth housing, mentoring, and family preservation services. Additionally, the program sponsors activities and events varying from youth camping, biking, singing, talent shows, carnivals, and many special events designed for the success and happiness of each child. Increased technology such as the internet has had a major impact on global communications; the development of the internet has led to improved communication throughout the nations. Despite all the benefits of the internet, it also has contributed to another type of child abuse. Ernie Allen, the author of the news article “In Child Pornography, fight harder” which was published by The Los Angels Times explained how the internet enhances child abuse. Millions of children around the world are being sexually abused or molested. Billions of dollars are changing hands as a part of a growing crime wave of child pornography, “getting rich at the expense of children,” Allen says. He goes on to remind his readers that unlike pornography centered on sexual activities engaged in by adults; child pornography is never a “victimless crime.” Children are not able to give informed consent to participate in sexual acts. They are exploited and manipulated in every way by adults intended on satisfying their own impulses. Allen identifies the people in this business as people who are highly skilled in using the internet and cyberspace programs. The majority of these pedophiles are middle class people who can afford the internet’s latest technologies. In other words, Allen describes those who want to harm children for pleasure and profit as cold hearted predators. He expressed that children depend on adults to keep them safe. We need to do more to protect them from these dangers. In an effort to reduce child pornography, law enforcement must be imposed on those that peddle child pornography. The PROTECT Act of 2003 needs to be fully funded to help track those who are involved in pandering child pornography material. In Allen’s conclusion, he supports the development of an international internet filter designed to prevent access to child pornography. Despite the many forms in which child abuse occurs, we often over look the most common forms simply because it does not appear to be abuse.
My fifth news article voiced concerns on the global problems of child abuse, “Unwanted Visitors; Child-sex Tourism in South-East Asia”. The News article was written by Juan Miguel Petit and published by USA Today. The reporter of this article clearly wanted to express to his readers that not enough is being done to curb child-sex tourism. While Petit identified several countries that allow trafficking of women and children and child-sex tourism. Thailand and India had the highest number of problems. Petit stated, “These countries use the mistreatment and abuse of women and children as a means of economic growth, which is the foundation of the problem”. The content of this news article had a strong impact on its readers simply because this is a problem that we have all witnessed and allowed politicians to ignore. Each day thousands of children are abused, from child labor to the enforcement of the sex industry. Petit identifies that perpetrators are from all walks of life, ranging from famous actors and powerful officials to local tourists. Many of these perpetrators travel around the world taking advantage of innocent children simply because of the weak law enforcement and poverty in these countries. Totally unacceptable treatment is the word Petit used to relate to the value of this crime, a crime committed at the lowest level of life. He offered many recommendations to reduce the problems; however, he stated “shedding light on this crime and opening the eyes of the people is the first initial action. Additionally, he recommended (1) “that a better screening process at immigration to identify known pedophiles entering the countries (2), Develop stronger law enforcement within these weaker countries (3). Enforce maximum punishment for child abuse violators, (4) Seek financial help from others countries and develop educational programs to reduce peer pressure among young girls. Petit mentioned several factors that contribute to the global contribution of this problem.

With the growing problems centered on child abuse and neglect, it is important for us as responsible adults, to keep abreast of the latest information concerning child abuse and neglect. This information can be found within most major newspapers; news reporters provide detailed information concerning both the victims and predators. Additionally, newspaper articles offer ways of identifying child abuse and neglect, prevention tools, and current abuse education programs. From a personal point of view, child abuse is a serious problem. Our best line of defense against predators is to educate ourselves and our children. We live in an era where we are surrounded by resources. We must take advantage of these resources or continue to be nothing more than a statistic.

References

Tower, Cynthia C. (2008). Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect. Canada: Pearson Education.

Gelles, Richard, J Child Abuse. (1993-2008). Child Abuse. In Encarta.msn.Com [Web]. Pennsylvania: Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved September 28, 2008, from http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia.

Greenberg, K. (1994). Family Abuse. New York, New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc.

Havelin, Kate (2000). Child Abuse: "Why Do My Parents Hit Me?". 818 North Willow Street Mankato, Minnesota: Capstone Press.

Champlin, J. Local Foster Care Agency Seeks Community Involvement. (2008, June 21). Bakersfield News,

McDonald, J. A. Deadly Failure at Child Welfare. (2008, August 24). The San Diego Union Tribune,
King, C. I. A Tragedy That is Ours to Stop. (2008, July 19). The Washington Post,
Petit, J. M. Unwanted Visitors; Child Tourism in South-East Asia. (2008, August 23). USA Today,
Allen, E. In Child Pornography, Fight Harder. (2008, June 26). Chicago Tribune,
Fitzpatrick, M. Obesity as a Form of Child Abuse. (2008, August 28). New York Post,
Child Abuse. In World Book Encyclopedia [Web]. Scott Fetzer Company. Retrieved October 02, 2008, from HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abuse" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abuse.
(2007, Jan, 03). History of Childhood Abuse or neglect Increase Risk of Major Depression. National Institute of Mental Health, Retrieved October 03, 2008, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/

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