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CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT POLICY

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California is committed to ending child abuse and neglect and the crime and violence it engenders. While most victimized children never become chronic criminals, research shows that children who were abused or neglected had twice the odds of being arrested as a juvenile.

The state of California reported nearly one million cases of child abuse or neglect in 2004. In that same year, over 37,000 abused or neglected children were removed from their homes and there were 140 confirmed deaths reported as the result of abuse or neglect. Even more tragically, studies show that the real toll of abuse and neglect in California is likely to be three times as high as officially reported figures.

Children who survive abuse or neglect carry the emotional scars for life. The best available research indicates that, based on confirmed cases of abuse and neglect in just one year, nearly 4,000 kids in California will grow up to become violent criminals as a direct result of the abuse and neglect they endured as kids.

By investing in evidence-based in-home parent coaching programs such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, we could prevent as many as half of all cases of abuse and neglect among at-risk families. These programs also reduce future arrests of both mothers and their children. Mothers left out of the Nurse-Family Partnership program had three times as many arrests as participating mothers, and their children had twice as many arrests. Other proven programs to reduce child abuse, such as a New York program for new parents that was proven to reduce Shaken Baby Syndrome abuse by 55 percent, should also be considered for replication within California.

In an effort to prevent child abuse and neglect, and later crime, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California endorses the following:

• Support expanded funding for home visitation programs proven to prevent child abuse and neglect.
• Support SB 498 (Padilla and Ma) to reduce child death and injury by educating new parents with materials and training methods proven to reduce head traumas and other incidents of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

For more information, please review our comprehensive 2007 State Legislative Agenda.