Building Awareness of Child Abuse and Neglect

Shepherding the Next Generation’s National Director, Tom Pearce, published an op-ed in Christian Headlines about how we can stop the cycle of child abuse and child neglect.

Start by acknowledging the gravity of this issue. Four children die everyday in America as a result of child abuse, often by the hands at the child’s own parents. it’s a pandemic that reaches into every corner of our nation, even into our churches.

But there is good news! There are proven prevention strategies that can cut child abuse and neglect in half. Consider the impressive results among families participating in a high-quality home visiting program:

• Abuse and neglect were cut nearly in half
• The affected children’s involvement in later crime was cut by more than half
• The children’s fathers were more involved with their families
• The mothers were up to a third less likely to be dependent on welfare

Evidence-based voluntary home visiting programs can help provide support and resources to parents of young children before serious problems occur.