By: Dylan Francis, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
SOUTH JERSEY – Every April is recognized as a month to raise public awareness about the issue of child abuse and its severity. This month reminds people to make sure all children’s safety and well-being are well at all times.
According to Praesidium, Dr. C. Henry Kempe and Brandt F. Steele published a paper called “The Battered Child Syndrome” in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1962. That talked about the way doctors can detect and prevent child abuse. It also discusses the ways in which those doctors can report those issues to the proper authorities. In the years that followed, every state had to pass some form of law that made it easier to report child abuse.
The government enacted the Child Abuse Protection and Treatment Act (CAPTA) in 1974. This act gives federal funding for states to provide prevention, identification, and treatment resources.
The early 1980s brought the US Congress to make moves to help bring awareness to the issue. Those moves include making April the designated month of National Child Abuse Prevention Month in 1983 by Ronald Reagan.
The month is symbolized in blue and white pinstripes, which began in 2008 with the “Pinwheels for Prevention” campaign. Those pinwheels represent childhood innocence and the carefree nature that every child should have in their life.
Some statistics from 2023 from the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency Report for this month show that 32,407 children were in this report. Of those 32,407 children, 71% were comprised of children of color (Hispanic 35%, Black/African American 32%, White 24%, Another Race 4%, Undetermined 5%)
According to the DCP&P, 2,833 children were identified as maltreated. 64% were neglected, 13% were sexually abused, 13% were abused in multiple ways, and 10% were physically abused.
Programs like Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey, New Jersey Child Abuse Prevention, and the New Jersey Youth Resources are put in place to help prevent and properly report child abuse.
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