Address Child Abuse Before Victims End Up in Court
It’s a heartbreaking and consistent reality. Many abused and neglected children go unnoticed until they themselves act out and come to the Juvenile Court. Numerous studies link early child abuse and neglect to later involvement in the juvenile justice system. That means it’s when they’re sitting in a courtroom like mine that children are asked, often for the first time, about abuse.
Too often, we are using a child’s delinquent and criminal behavior to finally address the impact of child abuse. It must, for every single child, begin sooner.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month. Last year alone, Hamilton County Jobs & Family Services, reports serving more than 24,000 children and families and answering more than 51,000 hotline calls. In Hamilton County Juvenile Court, we heard just over 1,300 cases of abuse, neglect or dependency.