Recognizing & Reporting Child Abuse, Neglect By Cassie Johnson
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pril is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and a great time to get involved to learn what you can do to help recognize, prevent, and stop abuse in our community. We all have a role to play and an obligation to protect children. Those subjected to abuse the most are the vulnerable ages of birth through five years. At this innocent age, young children are often unable to escape a predator or ask for help. For the third year in a row, 2019 statistics show Kentucky leads the nation in child abuse cases: 20.1 cases per 100,000 kids. The most common type of abuse is neglect, and it comes in several different forms. It is far more than the environmental neglect of unsanitary living conditions at home.
Categories of Neglect
“People tend to think that children who have been neglected will show signs of poor hygiene or be very thin and look hungry, but those are not the only ways a child can be neglected,” said Janie Criner, Executive Director of Child Watch Counseling and Advocacy Center and CASA of West Kentucky. A child who is suffering physical neglect can show signs of abandonment, nutritional deficiencies, or might hide food for later. How a child is dressed can be a big clue of physical neglect. Red flags include not having a coat or shoes in cold or wet weather, wearing dirty, stained clothes, or clothes that are way too big or too small. Children who have experienced emotional neglect are not nurtured or given enough affection. They may never receive something as simple as a hug or goodnight kiss at home. Name-calling, witnessing domestic violence, and belittling also fall into this category.
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APRIL - MAY 2021
Purchase Area Family Magazine
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