Prevent Child Abuse New York's Blog

Artists United for Human Rights

Artists United for Human Rights is a global initiative beginning in Buffalo, New York, where musicians, artists, and businesses donated their time to educate and create awareness on all human rights focusing on the prevention of child abuse, violence and trafficking during Violence Awareness Month. The event supported Prevent Child Abuse New York and Maiti Nepal, with a focus on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The event was held at Pearl Street Grill in Buffalo.

Special thanks to Susan Marie, event organizer, for the time, passion and expertise she invested in shining a spotlight on these important issues. A multi-media presentation of the event, including photos, video, audio and press releases, can be found here. Thanks to all who helped make the event a success.

Musicians:

• Noa Bursie, Emile Latimer
• Joni Russ
• Lenny Revell, Tim Webb, Zuri Appleby
• Buffalo Select Chorus & Linda Appleby
• Gruvology
• Derek McKeith & The Exoutics (Ron Walker)
• Van Taylor Project (Tim Webb, Van Taylor, Jerry Livingston)
• Joyce Wilson Nixon Band
• Lance Diamond
• Sons of The King
• Rob Falgiano
• Free Henry!
• The BloodThirsty Vegans

Artists:

• Eco-Scents
• Nomad Magazine
• Poet Tree Magazine
• Memorable Creations
• Hyatts
• Bass Reeves
• Tara Nova
• Allen Street Connection
• MB Originals
• Max Gabriel
• Artfully Aware
• Egg Art
• ee Photography
• Friends of Maiti Nepal
• Marti Gorman
• Dr. Mark Donnelly

History of Childhood Maltreatment Linked to Higher Rates of Poverty

The long-term impacts of childhood maltreatment include higher rates of unemployment, poverty, and use of social services in adulthood, according to a new study by David Zielinski, Ph.D., of the National Institute for Mental Health. Research has shown that negative early life experiences can adversely affect a person's physical and mental health in adulthood. Zielinski evaluated data on childhood maltreatment and socioeconomic well-being from the National Comorbidity Survey. Adults who were physically abused, sexually abused, or severely neglected as children were significantly more likely to be unemployed, living below the poverty line, and using social services than people without a history of childhood maltreatment. Having experienced more than one type of maltreatment increased these risks further. Maltreatment was also linked to lower rates of health care coverage and greater use of social services such as Medicaid, especially among adults who had experienced childhood sexual abuse.

In the first comprehensive study of the long-term socioeconomic effects of abuse and neglect, Zielinski shows that childhood maltreatment carries significant costs to the individual and to society. Not only does the public share the burden in supporting maltreatment-related social services, but also those related to unemployment insurance, poverty-based public assistance, and publicly funded health insurance. Other societal impacts include the loss in employment productivity and tax revenues, from federal and state income taxes as well as state and local sales taxes.

Previous research has shown low socioeconomic status to be a risk factor for the perpetration of child abuse and neglect. Additional research has found that parents who were maltreated as children are more likely to abuse and neglect their own children than those without a history of maltreatment. Targeted assistance for maltreatment victims may help break this cycle. For example, Zielinski suggests that enhanced access to job training and job counseling programs may be especially helpful for victims of physical abuse or multiple types of maltreatment, who were most likely to be unemployed among those who had experienced maltreatment.

Facts For Parents About the H1N1 Flu Virus

There’s a common topic emerging among all my conversations with fellow moms lately: The H1N1 flu. Who has it? Are you getting vaccinated? Is the vaccine safe? Where can I find a vaccine?

Below are some quick facts about the H1N1 flu for parents, along with links to more information.

1. Pregnant women are a priority group for the H1N1 flu vaccine.
2. Vaccinating children is a priority. Flu is more dangerous than the common cold for children.
3. Plan ahead for this school year.
4. Talk to children about H1N1 flu.
5. Do not stop breastfeeding if you are sick. Your breast milk is good for the baby.
6. The symptoms for all flu, including H1N1 flu, are similar. However, be on the lookout for signs of serious illness.
7. Don’t wait; call your doctor immediately if your child gets sick with flu-like symptoms.
8. Relieve the symptoms of H1N1 flu with certain over-the-counter medications.
9. Treat and prevent H1N1 with antiviral drugs. 

For more information about H1N1 flu, including information about where to find a vaccine, please visit www.flu.gov.

Recent Surge in Recession Runaways

The intersection between the recession and family stress may be causing an increase in runaway kids and teens, according to a recent article in the New York Times. Job loss, foreclosures, and poverty have added to the stresses at home which have been trickling down and effecting teens.

Reporter Ian Urbina recently spent time with teen runaways in Medford, Oregon. He learned the desperate measures they take in order to survive everyday rather than return home. Most runaways aren’t even reported missing by their guardians, and if they are reported to the local police, most times they don’t make it into the national database. Without national recognition, it is very hard for police to identify and return these runaways.

Police claim that runaways are not a top priority because most of the time they do not want to be found or returned home. Unfortunately of the 267 runaways reported nationwide 58 of them were found dead. “These kids might as well be invisible if they aren’t in National crime information center (N.C.I.C.),” said Ernie Allen, the director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

While federal officials are expecting a rise in homelessness this year, most social programs aid homeless families, not unaccompanied youth. At the same time, many financially troubled states have severely cut social services, leaving little to no help for homeless runaways. This presents a significant challenge for society, as runaway children are more likely to become homeless adults who are forced to live a life of crime.

For information please visit the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, The National Coalition for the Homeless, and The National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Making Kids a Priority

Guest post by Michelle Gross, Project/Public Policy Manager, Prevent Child Abuse New York

In this recession, working families are struggling to meet their children’s basic needs. Five out of six children in low-income families have at least one adult who works.   These families are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, and gas in the car so they can get to work. The stress of these difficult financial times takes the heaviest toll on at-risk families. More than ever before, programs that support families, like home visiting, parenting education, family resource centers, fatherhood and kinship support, and child advocacy centers play a pivotal role in ensuring a stable and more prosperous future.

Yet, these services continue to be in danger of funding cuts. New York’s families’ health and well-being rests on the voices of advocates like you.  As we prepare for the New York State Budget proposal for 2010-11, we must be vigilant in continuing to contact our state government representatives, from the governor to the legislature, and even locally. Regularly updating your elected officials on your program’s successes helps to reinforce the important role it plays in supporting families. Every voice counts, and it is up to us to speak for those who cannot. It can be daunting to contact your representative, but your advocacy can make the difference between a program funding cut and a program funding expansion. Here are a few tips on calling your elected official’s office:

• When calling, you will likely reach a staff member rather than your representative directly. Staff             members can be just as influential as the legislator themselves.
• Be sure to tell the staff member your name and where you live. It’s important that they know you are a constituent.
• Inform the staffer of the reason for your call. It can  be as simple as saying that you’d like to make sure the program does not get cut in the state budget.
• Tell the staffer why the program is important and what difference it has made in your life or the lives of those around you.
• Thank the staffer for their time and ask for a follow  up if you feel its necessary.
• Always follow up a phone call with a letter restating your call.
• Call again in a month just to check in, and ask others to call on behalf of the program. Persistence is key in advocacy!

Again, remember that what you have to say matters. As Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Children’s needs, long overlooked, should receive the highest priority during critical discussions leading to cuts in the New York State Budget. Far too few services are available at a time when demand is increasing greatly. We encourage our legislators to support programs that work, and to support families through this fiscal crisis.

For more information about Prevent Chils Abuse New York's Advocacy Programs, please visit our website: http://preventchildabuseny.org/advocacy.shtml

Traumatic Childhood Can Reduce Life Expectancy

A difficult childhood reduces life expectancy by up to 20 years according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study found that participants who were exposed to more then five different types of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were over 50 percent more likely to die during the 10-year period of the study. On the other hand, people who reported fewer than six ACEs did not have a statistically increased risk of death compared with the control group.

Listen to a podcast Adversce Childhood Experiences and the Risk of Premature Mortality.

To explore the effect that childhood trauma could have on life span, Kaiser Permanente mailed questionnaires to adults who were 18 years and older, and who had visited the Kaiser clinic in San Diego from 1995 to 1997. Overall, the study subjects were middle-class and had good health coverage. Of those surveyed, 75 percent were white, 11 percent Latino, 7 percent Asian, and 5 percent African-American. They’re educated: 75 percent attended college and 40 percent have a basic or higher college education. When they filled out the questionnaire, their average age was 57. Most of them had jobs. Half were women, half were men.

The participants were asked about their exposure to eight categories of abuse or dysfunction based on previous Kaiser studies. One third of the 17,337 participants who replied to the questionnaires had an ACE score of zero, meaning they had not been exposed to any of the eight types of abuse or household dysfunction. The majority of the remaining responders registered a score of between one and four, whereas about 8 percent of the scoring participants were rated five, and roughly three percent, six to eight.

During the next decade, the study authors, kept records of which of the 17,337 participants passed away by matching identifying information such as Social Security numbers from the questionnaire with data from the National Death Index. In total 1,539 of the participants died during the follow-up period. When the increased number of deaths in those subjects with an ACE score of six or greater was compared with the control group, their mortality risk was 1.5 times higher than for people whose childhoods had been free of all eight types of abuse. They lost about 20 years from their lives, living to 60.6 years on average, whereas the average age of death for the control group was 79.1.
 
It is unclear why the authors saw more death ages during the 10-year period only for the group with an ACE score of six or greater. Previous studies by these authors found that the risk of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, lung disease and cancer, was greater only for people with these high ACE scores. In contrast, the risk of substance abuse and suicide increased stepwise from low to high scores. The authors found that ACE-related health risks, namely mental illness, social problems and prescription medication use, accounted for about 30 percent of the 50 percent greater risk of death seen in this population. "As would be expected, the documented ACE-related conditions among participants appear to account for some, although not all, of the increased risk of premature death observed in the current study," wrote David Brown, an epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and lead author of the study.

The Future of Children: Focus on Child Abuse and Neglect

The latest issue of The Future of Children focuses on child abuse prevention. Contributors to the volume present the best available research on policies and programs designed to prevent maltreatment. They examine the gradual—and still partial—shift in the field of child maltreatment toward a "prevention perspective" and explore how insights into the risk factors for maltreatment can help target prevention efforts to the most vulnerable children and families. 

They assess whether a range of specific programs, such as community-wide interventions, parenting programs, home-visiting programs, treatment programs for parents with drug and alcohol problems, and school-based educational programs on sexual abuse, can prevent maltreatment. They also explore how CPS agencies, traditionally seen as protecting maltreated children from further abuse and neglect, might take a more active role in prevention.

October is Parent Involvement Month

Today's youth are tomorrow's leaders. Their success, in and out of the class room, is the foundation of a prosperous future for all of us.

October is Parental Involvement Month, a time to highlight various ways parents can work with their children's school to accomplish a shared goal—helping children learn and be successful.

Studies have continually shown that students from families of all different backgrounds and incomes who have involved parents are more likely to: earn higher grades and test scores and enroll in higher level programs; be promoted; pass their classes and earn academic credits; attend school regularly; have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school; and graduate and go on to post secondary education.

Quite simply, research shows that students learn more, have higher grades, and have better school attendance when parents are involved.

Tips for becoming more involve in your child’s education:

• Look for school activities or events that you could be involved in.
• Attend Parent teacher meetings at your child’s school
• Eat dinner together as a family.
• Help your child with homework.
• Take your child on regular trips to the library.
• Have a family game night. Have your child keep score.
• Have a family reading night. One person can read aloud, or everyone can read silently.
• Talk with your children about their day. What was the best part?

PSA on parental involvement from our friends at Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey.

New Medical Specialty Approved for Treating Child Abuse

After nearly a decade of work, physicians have succeeded in getting the American Board of Pediatrics to offer a specialty in child abuse treatment. Supporters of the specialty said such experts are needed to teach medical students and residents about child abuse.

The first exam in the specialty will be offered at sites around the country on November 16. An estimated 225 physicians are expected to take the test, which will be given on alternate years, and the first certificates will be issued by January 2010. The boards issue certificates in 37 general specialty and 94 subspecialty areas. Board certificates are held by about 85% of physicians licensed in the U.S.

Artists United for Human Rights

PCANY is proud to take part in Artists United for Human Rights, a music and art festival in Buffalo on October 4th. The mission of Artists United For Human Rights is to educate locally, nationally and globally about human rights, focusing on the prevention of child abuse, violence and trafficking. The event takes place aboard the USS Little Rock at The Naval & Military Park at the Erie Basin Marina and is being held in support of Prevent Child Abuse New York and Maiti Nepal. For more information, contact Susan Marie at 716-783-7067 or Susan.Marie.1971@gmail.com.