Child abuse hurts homes, communities

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tara A. Williamson
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Are signs of child abuse and neglect noticeable? Does a child show sudden changes in behavior or school performance? Do they go to school early, stay late and not want to go home?
Have they received help for physical or medical problems?

These are just a few signs that a child may be being abused, and it happens far too often.

Statistics from Prevent Child Abuse America show 15 out of every 1,000 United States children will be a victim of some form of abuse. Kadena is not immune to these statistics. Last year, Kadena's Family Advocacy team assessed 100 child abuse cases.

"Of these cases, 30 percent were neglect," said Capt. Joel Cartier, Kadena's Family Advocacy officer. "Thirty-five percent was physical."

While it's important to make note of statistics and learn from them, it's just as important, perhaps even more so, to prevent abuse and neglect from happening in the first place.

"Preventing child abuse is everyone's responsibility," Captain Cartier said. "It affects the entire community."

Anyone in the community can make a referral to Family Advocacy. However not all referrals meet the criteria to become a real case.

"We get a lot of referrals we don't end up opening, which is fine, that's good. We want people to refer," Captain Cartier added. "The more we can prevent, the less we're dealing with maltreatment cases."

Captain Cartier said some parents may not even realize they're abusive or think their parenting skills are fine.

"[Parents] don't necessarily take advantage of the [prevention and outreach type programs], they just do what they think is best and move on," said Captain Cartier.

During the month of April, Family Advocacy will be available to provide child abuse prevention briefings upon request. A variety of educational materials will also be available at the clinic to help educate base agencies, families and individuals on how to prevent child violence and neglect.

Captain Cartier said Family Advocacy is running almost three to four times the amount of classes this month. During April they will provide Parenting, 1-2-3 Magic, Active Parenting of Teens, Kids in the Middle, and anger management groups for men and women.

To learn more about Kadena's Family Advocacy Program and services available, call 634-0433.