Essay Child Abuse, Ineffective Solutions Are Pointless Solutions

Submitted By jennifertham
Words: 1654
Pages: 7
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Jennifer Tham
Mr. Junn
English 10 H
1 November 2012
Ineffective Solutions are Pointless Solutions The image is startling. An exhausted father comes home from work to a loving embrace from his daughter. However, after downing a couple of beers, the caring environment drastically changes, and the father is senselessly beating his daughter while blaming her for all of his problems. Violent scenarios like this are currently occurring all over the United States, and in order to prevent further abuse, immediate action needs to take place. To remove child abuse victims from a threatening environment, current solutions for child abuse need to be reformed due to lack of effectiveness. The fact of the matter is that the staggering amounts of children going through abuse exceed the capabilities of child protection services. Child abuse is a serious topic that involves the physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment or neglect of a child or children and although many organizations have been created to try and assist child abuse victims, the results aren’t as successful as they should be. The U.S Department of Health and Human (HHS) report that “CPS agencies in 2007 received 3.2 million reports of suspected child abuse and neglect” (Better Funding…). The number of child abuse victims is upsetting, yet the number of children who actually receive services is even more surprising. According to an HHS report, “More than a third (37.9%) of child victims receive no services, and “the efforts of the CPS system have not been successful in preventing subsequent victimization”” (Better Funding…). This shows how our current system has failed to protect more than one million children. However, the protection of these children is not impossible. Past home visiting services have been successful, and . A study conducted by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency has proved that parents who join support groups reduce child maltreatment and other risk factors (Better Funding…). The protection of so many children is obviously possible, therefore the immense amount of suspected child abuse victims with no service, is inexcusable.

In addition to not being able to respond adequately, the proposed solution of foster care is too risky and dangerous for children, especially after they turn 18. Mike Shaver, the Deputy Director of Fostering results paired up with Jennifer Miller, the Senior Associate at Cornerstone Consulting Group, and found that with as much as “Forty-six thousand children—one out of every four of the 185,700 awaiting permanence in long-term foster care in the United States—live in relative foster care” the consequences should be taken seriously (Miller). According to Susan Smith, the program and project director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, many adopted children that come from foster care “are at a risk for development, health, emotional, and behavioral issues” and Joseph J. Doyle Jr, an economics professor who studies social policy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, found that “placement instability in foster care has been highlighted as a potentially serious problem for child development” (Smith, Doyle). With the evidence of such negative effects of foster care, a new plan should be created and executed. Unfortunately, the risk of development in a child isn’t the only problem that foster care imposes. The concept of foster care not only hurts the children themselves, but it also threatens the security of the nation as a whole. One of the long term effects of foster care is the increase in crime rates. Especially because those placed in foster care are forced to fend for themselves after the age of 18, research has shown that “victims of child abuse are very likely to become juvenile offenders, teenage runaways, and adult criminals later in life” (Better Funding…). In addition, those placed in foster care may also “drop out of school, join welfare, experience
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