PSA: Protect Our Kids Act

The bi-partisan Protect Our Kids Act was introduced in December 2011. This bill will create a National Commission on Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths to study and evaluate federal, state, and private child welfare systems and develop a national strategy to prevent and reduce these deaths. The full text of the legislation is available online at www.endchildabusedeaths.org.

In the last few years, Americans have been inundated with news about child abuse tragedies. In fact, child abuse deaths are still rampant.

Consider these disturbing statistics:
- More than seven children die from abuse and neglect every day in America- some 2,500 a year - reflecting the estimated 50 percent undercounting in the officially estimated figure of 1,537.
- A child is abused or neglected every 36 seconds in the United States, yet only 40 percent of abused children with substantiated cases receive services, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- More children die from abuse and neglect in the U.S. than in any other industrialized country.
- Minority children are three times more likely to be killed.
- 80 percent of children killed are under age 4, half are under age 1.

What Needs to Be Fixed
- Currently, child welfare systems operate independently from state to state, and even county to county. Variations in policy and capacity among states and child protection offices may translate to whether children live or die. American children should be safe in their own homes regardless of where they live.
- States define, count, and report child abuse data differently, leaving the actual number of abused children and child abuse and neglect related fatalities unknown. Even though child death review is the most effective way to identify and count child abuse and neglect deaths, not all states review every death from external causes.
- Civil and criminal proceedings are often not coordinated and lack defined protocols that outline their work. The combined professional knowledge of multidisciplinary teams, which bring together social workers, law enforcement, prosecutors, child protection services, and other child advocacy experts, leads to better outcomes for victims and higher prosecution rates. Unfortunately, these teams are often restricted in what they can share by confidentiality laws.
- Current federal and state confidentiality laws, originally intended to protect living child victims from publicity, have become a hindrance to a better public understanding of child abuse and neglect fatalities. The withholding of such information, especially between jurisdictions and between agencies, can be detrimental and cost children their lives. Congress should consider modifications to confidentiality laws to allow policy makers, the press, and the public to understand better what protection policies and practices need to be improved in the aftermath of a child's death, while still protecting the rights of children and families.
- Under-resourced child protection agencies are challenged because families' needs for services are increasing just as states are cutting back on funding for services. Prevention and early intervention are critical.
- For the many children who die before their family ever comes into contact with the child protection system, society needs to take more responsibility for the prevention of child maltreatment. Abuse and neglect are underreported, and a public education campaign to encourage reporting should be developed.
- Medical staff, who are likely to be the first to see an abuse victim, are not trained to identify abuse. Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center found in a recent study that child abuse is significantly underreported by primary health care providers.

ABOUT THE MEMBERS OF THE COALITION TO END CHILD ABUSE DEATHS
- The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is the largest membership organization of professional social workers in the world, with 145,000 members and 56 chapters. NASW works to enhance the professional growth and development of its members, to create and maintain professional standards, and to advance sound social policies.
- The National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths (NCRPCD) is a resource center for state and local child death review programs. The center provides technical assistance to help teams develop, implement and sustain a prevention-focused CDR process, training, strategic planning and program development for state and local teams, consultation to coordinate with other reviews, including fetal and infant mortality, domestic violence, serious injury, and maternal mortality, support for the network of CDR program leaders.
- The National Children's Alliance (NCA) is a professional membership organization dedicated to helping local communities respond to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient – and put the needs of child victims first. National Children's Alliance provides training, support, technical assistance and leadership on a national level to local children's and child advocacy centers and communities responding to reports of child abuse and neglect.
- The Every Child Matters Education Fund (ECM) was founded in 2002 with the mission to make children's issues a political priority. To that end ECM has promoted the adoption of smart policies for children and youth. These include ensuring that children have access to affordable, comprehensive health care services, expanding early-care and learning opportunities and after-school programs, preventing violence, abuse, maltreatment and fatalities against children in their homes and alleviating child poverty.
- The National District Attorneys Association (NDAA), founded in 1950, is the oldest and largest professional organization representing criminal prosecutors in the world. The National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse (NCPCA), a program of the NDAA was established in 1985. The NCPCA is staffed with professionals involved in the investigation and prosecution of child abuse, exploitation and computer facilitated crimes against children.