Child Abuse

Tyeisha Brevard
PHI-105
Instructor Roundtree
May 19th, 2013 Child Abuse
Primary prevention of maltreatment is the level of prevention most sought out in stopping child abuse. This level of prevention focuses on creating an ideal environment in which child abuse is least likely to ever occur. The environment can range anywhere from personal to public. The personal environment, or macro system, would be considered the internal make-up of a family such as cultural values or financial status. The public environment, or exosystem, would be considered to be the surrounding make-up of a family such as school or even mass media. Both environments can be influential in the treatment a child receives from their parents. Primary prevention is more of an earlier step in preventing child abuse. It exposes families to socially positive surroundings so as to eliminate all stresses that can lead to a parent abusing their child. . Foster care and adoption are both options in providing a cherishing family for all abused children. An intervention at the primary-prevention level would most likely come from the exosystem (Selph, S. S., Bougatsos, C., Blazina, I., & Nelson, H. D. (2013). For example, an abused child’s homeroom teacher may notice that said child has been wearing a worn down long-sleeved shirt for weeks. After questioning the child about the constant wearing of the shirt proves futile, she becomes suspicious. In turn she takes it upon herself to express her growing concerns with the principal. The principal with extended evident from the worried teacher, decides to schedule a meeting with the child’s parent. The meeting is intended to make sure things are okay at home not necessarily to intervene which make this type of intervention relevant to the primary-prevention level. Secondary prevention of maltreatment is the level of prevention that involves recognizing forewarnings and helping to ameliorate risky situations (Selph, S. S., Bougatsos, C., Blazina, I., & Nelson, H. D. (2013). When child abuse is suspected someone is needed to mediate the situation. This mediator will have to be someone who will take full responsibility in the outcome of the situation; good or bad. Someone whose profession requires this type of responsibility should be called on. A nurse or social worker would come to mind for this type of duty. Families that are at high-risk for child abuse can be appointed these mediators or even preventive medical treatment to help avert such maltreatment. A secondary prevention intervention would derive from people trained to deal with abusive situations. An example would be a social worker visiting a family to ensure a child’s well-being. Another example would be a child’s doctor noticing multiple signs of maltreatment during visits. The doctor is trained to take actions, such as making referrals to Children’s Services, if abuse is suspected. Tertiary prevention of maltreatment is the level of prevention of child abuse that takes place after the abuse has already begun (Selph, S. S., Bougatsos, C., Blazina, I., & Nelson, H. D. (2013). At this point the child-parent relationship is dysfunctional. The goal at this level of prevention is to make sure abuse comes to an end. The first steps in making this happen are reporting and substantiating abuse. The second step is legally removing the child from the abusive or neglectful household. This step is succeeded by permanency planning which is an effort in finding a family able to properly care for the formerly abused child. At this level of prevention there is not much of an intervention. Specific events of child abuse should’ve been reported and substantiated by now. At this point the abusive parents should be addressed by authorities. The abused child should be held by authorities until a judge assigns the child to another family or family member capable of providing a loving environment. As mayor of Small Townsville, the name an innuendo relaying the community itself, I will mark child abuse as a hazard to the public. In this being said, it’ll be treated as a serious crime. My part in the prevention of child abuse comes by way of providing a healthy environment in which families can flourish to their loving potential. I will provide more playing facilities for children, hold more meetings for adults of the area to express concerns and employ more counselors at local schools. Extra efforts in reducing child abuse will come by way of stringent laws. By law sexually abusive parents’ parenting rights will be revoked. Sexually abusive parents will be given a minimum sentence of one month in prison. Their children will be transferred to foster care, kinship care if available. If sexually abusive parents produce another child after such offense they will be required to give up the child to foster care and serve two years in prison. If they do not agree with these laws they’re more than welcome to leave our town. Physical abuse and neglect will not be tolerated. Physical child abuse will land the child in foster care after abusive events have been reported and substantiated. Neglect will land neglected children in temporary foster care. Neglectful parents will be given the choices of either taking parenting classes and proving that they can provide a stable home for their children or letting their children remain in foster care until another family is assigned.

References
Selph, S. S., Bougatsos, C., Blazina, I., & Nelson, H. D. (2013). Behavioral Interventions and Counseling to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect: A Systematic Review to Update the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 158(3), 179-190.

References: Selph, S. S., Bougatsos, C., Blazina, I., & Nelson, H. D. (2013). Behavioral Interventions and Counseling to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect: A Systematic Review to Update the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation. Annals Of Internal Medicine, 158(3), 179-190.