The fight against child abuse: what it would take to win.

• Author: Day, Kimberly
• Position: Feature: The Prosecutor

IN RECENT MONTHS, Americans have been inundated with news about child abuse tragedies. Several high profile cases have made national headlines including Casey Anthony's murder trial in Orlando, the awful Marchella Pierce case in New York City, and the gruesome story of Nubia Barahona in Miami that also detailed serious injuries inflicted on her twin brother. Unfortunately, the list goes on.

In the United States, a child is abused or neglected every 36 seconds. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, only 40 percent of abused children with substantiated cases receive services. Even more alarming is the number of child fatalities that result from abuse and neglect: researchers believe there are nearly seven child abuse and neglect deaths every day in America--some 2,500 a year. That means many more children die from abuse and neglect than the number of American fatalities in the two wars in the same period. (1)

The unfortunate truth about child abuse and neglect deaths is how common they are. Yet the scope of the problem attracts little attention on the part of our national leaders, or even the national media who tend to focus on the details of individual cases rather than the systemic issues that too often contribute to these tragedies.

Every day, the media report the horrible stories of abused or neglected children who have suffered at the hands of a perpetrator--oftentimes a trusted relative or "friend" of the child victim. The media and other commentators typically start by deciding where to point the finger. Was law enforcement to blame? Or was it the child welfare agency's fault? When the focus is on who should take the blame for the avoidable deaths of so many children, little attention is paid to addressing what changes need to be made.

Instead of pointing fingers, the question should be "What national strategies must be instituted for real change to take effect in child protective services across the country, and how do we prevent this epidemic of deaths from occurring?"

HOW CAN WE STOP THESE PREVENTABLE DEATHS?

This is the primary question raised by prosecutors and a number of children's advocacy groups nationwide, including the National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths (NCECAD). NCECAD, comprised of five national organizations, was formed in response to a collective concern about the escalating number of child maltreatment deaths in the United States. The five organizations include the: National District...