The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
RAISING AWARENESS
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect.
To this end, the Madison County Children’s Advocacy Center and the Department of Social Services have invited residents to an open house on April 9 from 5—7 p.m., 1068 Northside Shopping Center, Oneida.
CAC members remind county residents they can help a child by keeping their eyes and ears open to their surroundings. They urge residents to remember that one child suffering abuse is one too many. Abuse may be reported at the NYS Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-342-3720.
The center facilitates a collaborative and trauma-sensitive system response to the county’s most serious child abuse reports. The goal is to reduce child trauma, hold offenders accountable, and offer services to begin the healing process. In 2023, the CAC served 178 children and founded a non-profit organization, the Friends of Madison County Child Advocacy Center, to assist with fundraising.
The CAC began as a multidisciplinary team, known as the MDT, in 2003. It grew to a CAC in 2008 and just last year became a non-profit organization. Each staff member at the Madison County CAC has the primary goal of providing the best services possible to children and families who are afflicted by sexual and physical abuse.
The CAC coordinates, integrates, and facilitates a multidisciplinary team of professionals and provides the physical space where cases of child sexual and physical abuse, whenever possible and practical, are investigated, evaluated, and treated.
The county’s multi-disciplinary team is made up of prosecutors, law enforcement, social workers, advocates, and medical and mental health professionals who provide high-quality, specialized services for abused children and their families.
Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood recently presented the Friends of Madison County Child Advocacy Center with a donation of $500 to support the work that the team does and the children who are in need of their services. Make a donation at https://www.madisoncounty.ny.gov/1492/childrens-advocacy-center.
Research shows child abuse and neglect result in serious public health problems. They have long-term impacts on health, opportunity, and well-being. Child abuse is defined as any abuse -physical, sexual, emotional, or neglect — of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role such as a religious leader, a coach, a teacher that results in harm, the potential for harm or threat of harm to a child.
There are a number of behavioral changes that could indicate abuse, these include changes in behaviors — becoming withdrawn or aggressive, unexplained injuries, or injuries that don’t match a given explanation. Sleeping problems, bed wetting, an inability to concentrate, cutting or hurting pets.
Clues that could indicate abuse go beyond the child. “Also watch for explanations that don’t fit the circumstances, like when a child is blamed for repeated injuries or there are delays in seeking medical help after an injury happens,” Hood said.
“The list is so big we use multi-disciplinary teams to investigate,” Hood said. “As law enforcement, our job is to arrest the perpetrator. Other organizations offer counseling to treat traumatic events. Both law enforcement and other agencies attempt education to prevent or stop these behaviors whenever possible. We all want to stop these behaviors before they occur “
While not all reports of abuse are verified, Hood said any response is calculated to protect children. “Our department’s investigators are specially trained. We make sure a child is not traumatized any further. We try to interview them as few times as possible,” he said.
National Child Abuse Prevention Month, also known as Child Abuse Prevention Month in America, is an annual observance in the United States dedicated to raising awareness and preventing child abuse. April has been designated Child Abuse Prevention Month in the United States since 1983.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that for National Child Abuse Prevention Month, communities should rededicate themselves to being supportive of families, and play an active role in preventing child abuse and neglect as well as taking positive action to promote child and family well-being. One way the federal government provides funding for child abuse prevention is through community-based grants for the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
There are a number of behavioral changes that could indicate abuse, these include changes in behaviors — becoming withdrawn or aggressive, unexplained injuries, or injuries that don’t match a given explanation. Sleeping problems, bed wetting, an inability to concentrate, cutting or hurting pets.