Prevent Child Abuse New York's Blog

So You Think Every Child Matters?

Then Step Up for Kids New York!

Step Up for Kids New York is a special day for child-friendly organizations and individuals to join together in every state capital to call upon presidential, congressional, and statewide candidates to address the needs of children and discuss their plans for meeting those needs.

A national event in Washington, DC, at the National Press Club, will feature renowned pediatrician Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, who will speak to the need to make greater investments in children and also call upon the candidates to make children a priority. The goal is to leverage media attention on children’s issues and to continue to organize and mobilize child-friendly groups across the country.

New York's event will be hosted on September 16, 2008, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., on the steps of the New York State Capitol. We’re planning for direct access to the DC event and a smart, comprehensive program of champions for children. The event will also include resource tables, information, food, and fun for the family.

We’re inviting all organizations, individuals, businesses, and agencies that touch the life of a child to join us in urging candidates to recognize that every child matters.

The Step Up for Kids Campaign was conceived by the Every Child Matters Education Fund (ECMEF). New York’s efforts in the Every Child Matters campaign are led by the New York Children’s Action Network, better known as New York CAN.

The event is free, but registration is requested as we're hoping to get 2,000 - 3,000 people to rally in support of kids.

Click here to register.

Click here to read more about Step Up for Kids (PDF).

Addicted to Love

Let's face it, as joyous and precious as newborn babies are, caring for them can be grueling. Unless they possess superhuman qualities, most parents spend the first several weeks of their new baby's life in a stupor. Then, about six weeks into this endeavor, the regimen of diaper changes, seemingly incessant feedings, and around-the-clock rocking and swaying is punctuated by something amazing, something that makes the monumental task of parenting a newborn WAY MORE than worth it: Baby's first smile.

Findings of a recent study conducted at the Baylor College of Medicine confirm what most mothers (and fathers, but the study focused on moms) intuitively know: Seeing your baby smile is addictive. In fact, according to the research, seeing your own baby smile activates the same pleasure centers in the brain that respond to drug use. In short, moms get a "high" from seeing their baby smile.

The researchers note that these findings may be a step toward identifying and understanding the mother-child attachment from a neural perspective. This, in turn, may shed light on what is happening when the mother-child bond doesn't develop normally.

Read the Reuters article about the study.

NY Considers Different Route for Child Prostitutes

Sunday's Washington Post included a lengthy article about New York's Safe Harbor Act. Under this bill, child prostitutes under the age of 15, if arrested, would be classified as "persons in need of supervision" rather than juvenile delinquents, and receive counseling, housing and safety from their pimps.

Proponents of the bill say child prostitutes—who often flee broken and violent homes and are subsequently forced into prostitution for safety or survival—should be treated as victims, not criminals. Opponents, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg say the best way to get child prostitutes the services they need is to keep them in the juvenile justice system.

Read the full article here.

The Best Place in the World to be Pregnant?

There's a reason why France has some of the world's lowest infant mortality rates and some of the highest birth rates in Europe: The excellent health care afforded to pregnant women, new mothers and infants.

NPR is doing a series on health care in Western Europe. Their piece about France's system describes what may be the very best place in the world to have a baby and raise a family. Neighborhood health clinics, home visits from nurses, 3 a.m. house calls from doctors. Add to this highly subsidized child care and extended paid job leave, and you've got a society that truly values children and supports parents in the most important job they will ever have.

Read the full story.

The Rocket's Red Glare

Honoring the birth of our nation with celebrations of food, friends, fun and fireworks is a tradition enjoyed by many American families.

Here are some fireworks fast facts, courtesy of the CDC:

• 60% of injuries from fireworks in the United States occur in the month surrounding the July 4th holiday.
• Between June 18 and July 18, 2005, firecrackers (26%), sparklers (17%), and rockets (17%) accounted for most of the injuries seen in emergency departments. Sparklers were associated with over half of the estimated injuries among children under 5 years, during the same time period.
• During the month around Independence Day (July 4th), children 14 years and younger sustained about 45% of injuries related to fireworks.
• Injuries from fireworks most often affect the hands, eyes, and the head, face, and ears.

Don't let your holiday tradition become a painful memory! Practice these safety measures:

• Children should never touch or handle fireworks.
• Kids are natural imitators. If they see you handling fireworks, they will want to follow suit. You may have to trade in your backyard salute to the nation for a professional display.
• Never try to make your own fireworks.

The best way to celebrate Independence Day safely is to leave the fireworks display to the professionals. Enjoy your holiday!

What's a Dad to Do?

The introduction to Marie Hartwell-Walker's recently published essay about fatherhood in America:

Americans seem more confused than ever about the role of fathers in children’s lives. On the one hand, more and more fathers are absent for all or significant periods of time. According to the 2006 Census, 23 percent of children under 18 do not live with their biological father and the number is climbing. On the other hand, search “fatherhood” on the web and you’ll find dozens of websites dedicated to teaching, encouraging, and supporting men in becoming more nurturing and involved fathers.

Meanwhile, many TV sitcoms and animated shows continue to portray dads as dolts or, at best, well-meaning but misguided large children whose wives have to mother them as well as their offspring. If an alien in another universe happens to tune in to The Simpsons, Everyone Loves Raymond, Family Guy, etc., he (it?) will come away with a rather skewed idea of how men function in American families.

Read the full essay here.

How Have Recent Changes in New York's Mandated Reporting Laws Affected Your Agency?

Recent changes to mandated reporting laws require agency staff to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect directly to the Child Abuse Hotline. We're interested in learning how these changes impact your program or agency. How do you communicate to your staff what is required of them? Have you noticed an increase or decrease in the number of reports made? What other concerns or obstacles have you faced in trying to implement the new requirements?

The Economics of Early Childhood

A recent report issued by the Rand Corporation confirms what child advocates have long known: Investing in children, particularly in early childhood, improves lives, saves lives and saves money.

In the report, Rand Researchers apply two economic models—human capital theory and monetary payoffs—to early childhood issues, demonstrating how these concepts can be used to guide policy.

The report makes a strong case for investments in prevention, using theory and empirical analyses to show that treating poor outcomes later in life is far less effective.

Read the research brief here.
Read the full report here.

Success!

Great news! Legislation providing Child Protective Services access to criminal history backgrounds of adults living in the home, or the subjects of, suspected abuse or neglect passed the New York State Legislature late Tuesday night (A.4425a, Mayersohn/S.2978, Robach).

We believe this legislation will enable child protective workers to do their jobs more safely and more effectively.

A child protective worker can not possibly make a reasonable and valid assessment of a child's safety without complete and reliable information about the adults living with the child or otherwise named as subjects of a report. Access to criminal history information allows an investigator to immediately know if a person suspected of abuse has a violent criminal history or a record of crimes against children.

Child protective workers can not protect children without putting themselves in harm's way. It’s imperative that we not only protect these individuals, but also provide them with information to better prepare to respond to allegations of abuse or neglect through a more complete understanding of the risk and safety measures needed for them to conduct their investigations.

The end result will be improved protection for the most vulnerable among us.

We invite you to join us in urging Governor Paterson to sign this important legislation.

The Baby Borrowers: That's Entertainment?

There has been a LOT of buzz around NBC's new reality show The Baby Borrowers. The show bills itself as "a social experiment" in which five teenage couples take the "fast-track to adulthood by setting up a home, getting a job and becoming caring parents first to babies, toddlers, pre-teens and their pets, teenagers and senior citizens—all over the course of three weeks."

In this "social experiment," babies and toddlers are separated from their parents for three days and placed in the care of young and inexperienced strangers.

Yes, the parents are monitoring everything from a closed-circuit television nearby. Yes, there is a nanny on hand in case the parents by proxy have any concerns. Still, The Baby Borrowers flies in the face of everything we know about infant and toddler development.

Infants and toddlers need loving, attentive and stimulating care from a trusted caregiver. Early childhood is when kids learn to trust their parents, to feel secure in their world, and to feel confident exploring their environment. This is the foundation upon which self-esteem, self-sufficiency, and future healthy relationships are built. To simply thrust a baby in the hands of a stranger, for the purposes of entertainment no less, threatens to undermine that foundation.

The Star Tribune called the show "One of the most innovative forms of birth control," while the New York Times claims it is "The cleverest conceit of any reality show in a long time."

Our thinking is more in line with Zero to Three, an organization that support the healthy development and well-being of infants, toddlers and their families, who said in a statement, "Legitimate social experiments are not conducted on national television or on reality shows. 'Baby Borrowers' may have a catchy theme, but it exploits young children with potential harmful consequences. This is no social experiment. It is an extremely misguided endeavor that puts at risk our most vulnerable citizens, young children who need our love and protection."