 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Nighat Quadri, MS, MPH, University of Connecticut, School of Medicine, Graduate Program in Public Health, Workplace: 235 S. Beretania St. Suite 701 Honolulu, HI 96822, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT 06030, (808) 586-8391, ATPMFellow@mail.health.state.hi.us
Issues: Children are important asset of a nation, and child abuse is a serious public health problem. This research examined different child abuse prevention laws in the states of America and compared them with the laws in Connecticut so the state laws could be strengthened.
Methodology: The research was conducted by: researching legislation and extracting helpful information pertaining to child abuse and neglect and violence prevention in other states to support new legislation in Connecticut. The statutes were reviewed and collected by the World Wide Web (computer) and the law libraries. Collected information was categorize into various kinds of violence such as child abuse, domestic violence and sexual abuse, identified policy gaps in the present laws of Connecticut by comparing them to laws in other state.
Findings: The present child abuse prevention laws of Connecticut are comprehensive enough however some areas need improvement and overall there is a need to strengthen the implementation of these laws. Although this study was to study and compare the child abuse laws of Connecticut, the findings can be applied for strengthening the child abuse laws in other states too.
Recommendations: There is a need to narrow the scope of child abuse and neglect. A number of high standards, supporting neighborhood social, child-welfare and child-protection services directed towards reducing environmental and other internal stresses on family life can be helpful. A system of social services should exist to help children and families who are not living together due to family problems. The CPS system should be made friendlier and should concentrate on the strengthening of family ties. Child custody laws should be periodically revised. There is a strong need for counseling the parents by experts and professionals.
Conclusion: Every state has mandated the reporting of child abuse; however, more emphasis needs to be placed on helping the family cope with the problem and finding solutions rather than putting stress on punishment. Child abuse can be prevented with prevention efforts, parent education and an effective child protective system. Raising public awareness of child abuse can help to identify child abuse as a serious social problem.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Children, Violence Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.