Child abuse and neglect is a societal concern throughout the nation, with significant implications for those children who are affected, their families, and society at large. One of those crucial steps is to devise an effective responses and reasonable classification of the problem. People should achieve and have clarity in the area of child abuse and neglect specifically for those who work in the field of protective service and juvenile justice system. It has been an ongoing challenge especially in New Mexico which ranks number four in the country for child abuse and neglect.
Child abuse and neglect can vary across the nation, this includes standards of how the states deal with the abuse, determining the rate of recurrence of the abuse, the occurrence rate in hospitals or how many times police officers are called to the home for domestic violence or child abuse. There are those substantial obstacles for child services which can hamper the learning process about the experiences of children, especially young children, with caregiver-inflicted abuse or neglect. People not reporting incidents or parents not willing to participate in healing or accepting help is one of the many challenges social services faces every day.
As a result, the characteristics of the problem and determinations of its scope will differ from case to case. This challenge for social workers of the abused/abuser continues to impede our full understanding of the nature of child abuse and the neglect problem by parents or a caregiver.
The issues of child abuse continue to be problematic, even with the advances that have been made as far as helping those abused and the abuser being able to find the support that parents or victims need along with helping with other issues of drug abuse, alcoholism or because they themselves have been abused as children. Many times, underreporting instances of child abuse and neglect, leads to how cases are determined by medical and mental health professionals and the legal system.
Generally, people who do not report the parents or care givers of abuse can lead to more serious injuries or even death of a child.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Child Abuse and Neglect
- New York State Office of Children and Family Services: Child Protective Services
- National Association of Social Workers: Child Welfare
- Childhelp: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
- American Bar Association: Child Neglect and Abuse Statistics
