CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION: END THE “NATIONAL MEDIA BLACKOUT” ON CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT DEATHS IN ORDER TO AID NEEDED REFORMS

REMARKS BY JOAN LEVY ZLOTNIK, PhD, ACSW
DIRECTOR, Social Work Policy Institute, National Association of Social Workers

On behalf of the 145,000 professional social workers who are members of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), I am pleased that you have joined the Coalition for this important news conference. 

Enhancing the well-being of children and families is at the heart of the social work profession.  For children who die due to child abuse and neglect, there is much that we can do to prevent these deaths.

First, we need a public health and social service system that addresses the health, safety and well-being of all children. The government must invest in strengthening families and preventing maltreatment. This includes effective home visiting services and community-based outreach. 

Many children who die from abuse and neglect are unknown to the child protection system. Thus we need investments in prevention programs and the involvement and intervention of doctors, teachers, day care professionals and others who see children who are at risk.

Secondly, we ask that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in cooperation with child protective and public health agencies, conduct a public education campaign to encourage reporting of child maltreatment, and to enlist communities in the protection of children.  Because most maltreatment arises from neglect, child neglect should receive equal focus with abuse in this campaign.  

As one of society’s First Responders, front-line child protective service workers are challenged by low salaries, lack of access to necessary technology, safety risks, and high caseloads.  Large caseloads, poor supervision and unsupportive work environments lead to burnout and high turnover, hindering agencies’ attainment of key safety and permanency outcomes for children. 

Supporting our child welfare workers to do their jobs demonstrates that we care about the well-being of children and families.  However the current economic downturn has led to cutbacks and lay-offs in “safety-net” agencies. 

Better training and high quality supervision will strengthen competent practice, better prepare workers to immediately protect children, and encourage them to consider lifelong careers in child protection, bringing maturity and experience to the system.

Continuing education and training across disciplines should be mandated, including a focus on licensure and accreditation. A social work degree paired with specialized education in child welfare, are important factors for successful child welfare outcomes. The public may think child welfare workers are professional social workers, however nationally, less than 40% of child welfare workers have social work degrees and in many states it is less than 20%. This needs to change.

A third Coalition recommendation is the need for 3-5 billion additional dollars in Federal funds. Current levels of federal spending are far below what is needed to protect all children at imminent risk of harm. Funds are needed for a wide array of public health and social services to at-risk children, including comprehensive in-home services for children already in the child welfare system.

To ensure that the necessary services are of high quality and that they are provided by competent and qualified staff, our fourth recommendation is that states be required to adopt national standards drawn from best practices and policies for protecting children.

A fifth recommendation addresses confidentiality laws.  The withholding of information, especially between jurisdictions and between agencies can be detrimental and cost children their lives. Congress should consider modifications to confidentiality laws while still protecting the rights of children and families.

So that we can better track the real number of child abuse and neglect deaths, the sixth recommendation is for HHS to standardize definitions and methodologies used to collect data related to maltreatment deaths and to require that state child death review teams be adequately funded.

The seventh recommendation is to better protect children at imminent risk of severe harm. The federal government, working with states, should adopt a model protocol for assuring that civil and criminal legal proceedings are closely coordinated between child protection and law enforcement agencies.

For the safety of children and the health of our communities, increased media attention can highlight the important ways that we can prevent deaths from child abuse and neglect.

This can be accomplished through making prevention programs available, through providing resources for child protection agencies to implement the necessary array of services to effectively serve children and families, and to invest in hiring and retaining professional social workers in child welfare.

More funding, a stronger federal role, and greater community involvement in keeping children safe are imperatives.

Thank you.