by Julie Bradshaw
Director of Center for Safe & Healthy Families
Have you ever noticed displays of thousands of pinwheels at the State Capitol during the month of April? They represent the number of children abused and neglected during the last year. In 2011, Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services found 11,543 children in our state had been abused or neglected. What would it be like for our children and families if we could successfully prevent child abuse?
From a financial standpoint, we would save a lot of money. Recently the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that each abused child costs $212,000 over their lifespan. So in 2011, Utah’s abused kids represent $2,424,168,516 in expense and lost productivity. That large amount of money accounts for only one year’s worth of children. Since I have worked at Primary Children’s for over 21 years, it is mind boggling to do the math. The number is so high; I can’t come close to relating to it.
More important than the money though, is what happens to the children and their families. Child abuse hurts not only the child, but everyone. Every day I work here I see human tragedy that is worth preventing if we can. Unfortunately, we don’t yet have proven models to prevent sexual abuse, so what can parents do? What I did, as my son was growing up, was to teach him about safety. I talked to him as early as I dared about safe touches. I told him he should tell me if something or someone made him uncomfortable in anyway. I let him know it was safe to talk to me about anything. I am grateful that he does, even now that he is in college. When it comes to sexual abuse, what children don’t know can hurt them.
Fortunately, we do have some proven models for preventing physical abuse. We have prevention programs in Utah but need more. Home visitation programs for new parents have proven effective to reduce child abuse of infants by improving attachment, knowledge of child development, and parenting skills. Programs that teach parents how to deal with crying babies are being studied to see if they can effectively reduce the incident of shaken baby syndrome, which can cause traumatic brain injury and even death. Many counties provide crisis nurseries for families who need a place for their young children to stay when they have reached the “end of their rope.” These resources and many others are just the beginning of what communities can do to help prevent child abuse.
As I have begun to discuss on this blog, the most important thing of all, is finding ways to strengthen families. Each of us needs to find ways to do that within our own family, but our communities can invest in programs that help. Preventing child abuse is an investment in our most precious resource - our children. In both the short and long-term, failure to prevent child abuse costs more than any of us can afford.
