Child abuse in Virginia
By: Brennan, Sander, and hongfai
It's a real thing!
In Virginia, a child is abused or neglected every 75 minutes, and every 14 days a child dies from such mistreatment. The immediate impact of abuse or neglect on a child is tragic, but so, too, are the long-term consequences -- affecting children, their communities, and the Commonwealth as a whole. Child abuse is often hidden, may occur over time, and is usually preventable.
How is Virginia doing?
Virginia has a relatively low child maltreatment rate, ranking 3rd lowest in the United States for substantiated cases of abuse. Nationally, the child maltreatment rate in 2012 was 9.8 substantiated cases per 1,000 children. Virginia's rate was much lower, at just 3.2 cases per 1,000 children for the same year. Pennsylvania's rate of 1.3 was the lowest in the nation.
Make it stop.
There are already many people trying to make child abuse stop, but that's nearly impossible. One organization is the CPS, child protective services. The goal of Child Protective Services (CPS) is to identify, assess and provide services to children and families in an effort to protect children, preserve families, whenever possible, and prevent further maltreatment. Child Protective Services is non-punitive in its approach and is directed toward enabling families to provide adequate care for their children. But there are other things that you can do, like if you see a kid in school who shows up in school every day with cuts or bumps and bruises. Or always looks upset or even depressed, talk to teacher or adult to see if they can help, because you can make a difference.