Boston Area Law Enforcement Leaders: Invest in Child Abuse Prevention to Cut Violent Crime
Jun 23rd 2008
BOSTON -- Massachusetts law enforcement leaders released a new report by the anti-crime organization Fight Crime: Invest in Kids showing that child abuse and neglect produces an estimated 1,400 future violent criminals in Massachusetts every year.
Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley called on the Massachusetts Congressional delegation to support federal legislation for quality home-visiting programs proven to cut child abuse and future crime and violence. Also participating were Revere Police Chief Terence Reardon, Brookline Police Chief Dan O'Leary and Brockton Police Chief Bill Conlon.
"I urge our elected officials in Congress to bring the Education Begins at Home Act to the floor for a vote," Conley said. "It is a measure that supports the expansion of high quality home visiting programs. If this bill becomes law, more at risk families will get the help they need, saving innocent lives in the process."
According to the report, Breaking the Cycle of Child Abuse and Reducing Crime in Massachusetts: Coaching Parents Through Intensive Home Visiting, in 2006 more than 36,000 children were abused and neglected in Massachusetts in 2006, enough abused children to fill up Fenway Park. From 2000 to 2005, 74 Massachusetts children died as a result of this abuse.
Child abuse and neglect too often launches a cycle of violence that extends into the next generation. One study found that poor mothers who were abused or neglected as children were 13 times more likely to do the same thing to their children than similar mothers who were not abused or neglected as kids.
A study of the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), a voluntary model home visiting program, found that the program cut child abuse and neglect in half and reduced later arrests of children and mothers by about 60 percent.
"If today is like most days, 99 children in Massachusetts will be bruised, burned, sexually molested, left hungry, or left without needed medical treatment. Voluntary home visiting programs will help prevent this behavior. Congress can help prevent these tragedies by making sure the right programs are available to the at-risk families who need them." Conley said.
Home visiting programs are voluntary, allowing trained professionals to work with at-risk parents, helping them learn about the health and nutrition needs of young children, make their homes child-safe and find child care resources in their neighborhoods.
The Education Begins At Home Act (EBAH) would provide funding for states to expand home visiting programs proven to reduce child abuse and neglect.
"We know that quality home visiting cuts crime," Reardon said. "By increasing investments in helping parents become better parents, we ensure that Massachusetts' most vulnerable children won't become Massachusetts' most wanted adults."
Currently, Massachusetts has a number of programs to help families at risk of abusing or neglecting their children. Due to inadequate funding, these programs serve only a fraction of eligible families. For instance, the Massachusetts Healthy Families Program, which serves at-risk pregnant teens, serves only 4,000 at-risk families -- just half of the eligible at-risk families statewide.
FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS is a bipartisan, anti-crime organization led by more than 4,000 sheriffs, police chiefs, prosecutors and victims of violent crime, including 121 in the state of Massachusetts. Its mission is to identify what really works to keep kids from becoming criminals.
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