Issues in Child abuse

1
Issues in Child abuse Neglect

• How to define?
• Who gets to define?
• Where to draw the line?
• What to do about it?

2
Types of Abuse
Other
Neglect
Emotional
Sexual
Physical
3
Physical Abuse

• Knowingly inflicts cruel and inhuman punishment
  upon a child
• BUT discipline including spanking, administered
  in a reasonable manner, shall not be construed to
  be abuse RS Mo 210.110

4
Sexual Abuse

• Fondling a child's genitals, intercourse, incest,
  rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and commercial
  exploitation through prostitution or the
  production of pornographic materials.
• Primary issues are ones of proof

5
Emotional Abuse

• Acts or omissions by the parents or other
  caregivers that have caused, or could cause,
  serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or
  mental disorders.
• Line-drawing and causation are primary issues

6
Neglect Physical Neglect

• Refusal of, or delay in, seeking health care
• Abandonment expulsion from the home or refusal
  to allow a runaway to return home and
• Inadequate supervision.

7
Educational Neglect

• allowance of chronic truancy,
• failure to enroll a child of mandatory school age
  in school, and
• failure to attend to a special educational need.

8
Emotional neglect

• marked inattention to the child's needs for
  affection
• refusal of or failure to provide needed
  psychological care
• spouse abuse in the child's presence and
• permission of drug or alcohol use by the child.

9
Neglect issues

• Fault v. Protection
• Risk of bias

10
Consequences

• Numbers overall depend on definitions
• 160,000 severe injuries annually
• 1,000 to 2,000 children die annually
• Future consequences include increased risks of
  substance abuse, mental health problems, criminal
  activity, and abuse of their own children and
  spouse

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Who are the children?
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Who are the children? Age
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Who are the children? Gender
SEXUAL ABUSE OTHER ABUSE
?
?
?
?
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Who are the children? Race
Other
White
Black
Hispanic
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Who are the abusers?
Parents and Family (75-85) Under age 40
(80) Substance abuse (50-80) Both male and
female (though varies by type of abuse) Anyone
can abuse a child.
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Why?

• Complex interaction of many factors

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Community/society

• High crime rate
• Lack of or few social services
• High poverty rate (Poverty is the most
  frequently and persistently noted risk factor for
  child abuse)
• High unemployment rate

18
Parental characteristics

• History of abuse or violence
• Youth, Emotional immaturity, poor parenting
  skills
• Single parent or few social supports
• Poor coping skills, Low self-esteem
• Substance abuse
• Unwanted pregnancy multiple young children

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Child characteristics

• Prematurity
• Low birth weight
• Handicap

20
Additional factors

• Cultural/Religious Norms - Spare the Rod, Spoil
  the Child
• Triggering Event -
• Discipline gone awry
• Substance Abuse
• Family Conflict

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Abuse - R.S. Mo. 210.110
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Child Abuse Neglect

• any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional
  abuse of child
• other than by accidental means
• by those responsible for the childs care,
  custody and control,
• except reasonable discipline

23
Neglect failure to provide

• proper or necessary support,
• education as required by law,
• nutrition or medical, surgical or
• any other care necessary for well being
• by those responsible for the care, custody, and
  control of the child

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R.S.Mo. 210.110 Abuse

• any physical injury, sexual abuse, or emotional
  abuse inflicted on a child other than by
  accidental means by those responsible for the
  childs care, custody and control
• discipline including spanking, administered in a
  reasonable manner, shall not be construed to be
  abuse.

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What is Reasonable Discipline?

• Raboin v. North Dakota Department of Human
  Services
• Should the United States sign the Convention on
  the Rights of the Child?

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How is abuse discovered?

• Reporting laws

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Child Abuse Reporting Statute

• Definition of Abuse 210.110
• Reporters Mandatory/Voluntary 210.115
• Immunity/Penalty for Reporters 210.135-165
• Privileges waived 210.140
• Investigation/Assessment 210.145
• Findings 210.145
• Central Registry 210.152
• Alleged Perpetrators rights 210.152 /183

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Should everyone be a mandated reporter?

• Mo. SB 627 - This act would provide that any
  person who has reasonable cause to suspect child
  abuse shall be required to immediately report the
  suspected abuse to the division. This act also
  adds an enhanced penalty for failing to report
  child abuse from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class
  D felony when the child at issue dies as a result
  of the abuse or neglect.

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How does the legal system respond?

• Criminal Prosecution
• Private Civil Actions
• Juvenile/Family Court Intervention

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Juvenile Court Jurisdiction

• Delinquency
• Status Offenders
• Abuse Neglect
• Adoption

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Intervention

• Hot Line reports
• Require investigation
• Protective Custody
• Reunification Plans
• Referrals for Termination of Parental Rights

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Termination of Parental Rights - Procedure

• Juvenile Officer Investigates and files or gives
  notice of intent not to file petition
• Family Court may order Juvenile officer to file

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Due Process in TPR Cases

• The standard of proof in all termination of
  parental rights cases is by clear, cogent and
  convincing
• (See Santosky v. Kramer for analysis)
• Parents have right to counsel by statute but not
  necessarily under constitution (See Lassiter)

34
Termination by Consent

• Written, witnessed parental consent, reviewed and
  approved by judge
• Judge determines that termination is in the best
  interests of the child
• May also occur through an adoption petition

35
Common reasons for foster care

• Parent is incarcerated
• Parent has a substance abuse problem or
• Parent has a mental condition which impairs his
  or her ability to adequately provide for the child

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Mandatory Filing for Involuntary Termination

• Foster care for 15 of past 22 months
• Abandoned infant
• Certain criminal acts by a parent (e.g.,murder or
  felony assault with serious injury of another
  child)

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Exceptions

• A compelling reason that filing would not be in
  BIC or
• The child is being cared for by a relative
• The family has not been provided sufficient
  reunification services

38
Additional Bases for TPR

• Abandonment (actual or constructive)
• Abuse Neglect
• Failure to Rectify conditions that brought child
  under family court authority
• Conviction/Guilty plea to certain sexual crimes
• Parent is Unfit

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Parental Abandonment

• six months or longer,
• Unknown identity (or)
• left the child without any provision for parental
  support and visits/ communication

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Abuse Neglect for TPR

• A permanent mental condition which renders parent
  unfit
• A chemical dependency which renders parent unfit
  and cant be treated adequately
• Severe or recurrent acts of physical, emotional
  or sexual abuse
• repeatedly or continuously failed to provide the
  child with adequate food, clothing, shelter,
  education, or other care

41
Failure to Rectify

• The terms of the social service plan and the
  extent of progress in compliance
• Agency assistance to parent
• Parents a mental condition
• Parents chemical dependency

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Parental Unfitness

• a consistent pattern of committing child abuse or
  drug abuse before the child or
• parental rights were involuntarily terminated
  within three years immediately prior to the
  requested termination with regard to the current
  child.

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BIC

• the childs emotional ties to the parent
• The parents interest, commitment, contact and
  support of child
• Possibility of reunification in ascertainable
  time with more services
• Length of incarceration
• deliberate harmful acts of parent or another with
  parents knowledge

44
Sexual Abuse

• Most abusers are related or live in the home
• Unlike physical abuse, not spontaneous, but
  seduction
• Perpetrator often convinces himself that child
  wants to participate
• Perpetrators threaten child to remain quiet