Youth Catalyst Team Blog: National Child Abuse Prevention Month - Being The One in Seven
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month
National Child Abuse Prevention Month is a time for families and communities to work together to strengthen families and build caring connections to prevent child abuse and neglect. Join Youth Collaboratory and agencies all across the country to drive prevention and raise awareness during the month of April!
Check out this poem by Youth Catalyst Team Consultant, Diamond Dumas highlighting the impacts of child abuse and neglect, and calling for purposeful action in policy and practice.
Being the One in Seven
They say children are our future; the data says that in a year 1,840 children died of abuse and neglect. How do we reconcile that without cringing a little?
Do not put it too far out of your head; there is a cost to everything. Children are paying a debt, and this one is $428 billion. It is not about the money, but the fact is children in poverty are five times more likely to be the one in seven.
Here is what that means: higher risk of injury, future violence victimization and perpetration, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections, delayed brain development, lower education attainment, and limited employment opportunities. Not exactly the recipe for strengthening communities.
If someone told you the solution, would you make it a strategic plan, purpose, and process? I ask because prevention is possible, and when given the tools children are unstoppable.
Let thriving children and families be the call to action, not the faction. With five steps we can change the stats, and everyone can benefit from that. Imagine the impact if we strengthen economic support to families, support parents and positive parenting, provide quality care and education in early life, promote healthy child development, and intervene in situations of risk - until we get it right.
Author: Diamond Dumas, Youth Catalyst Team
