IN THIS ISSUE:

• Children Living Without Homes
  20,000 Massachusetts children are at risk for hunger, poor health, emotional abuse, educational neglect, parental substance abuse, physical and sexual abuse, and exposure to violence, due to homelessness.
  Highlight from MCC's "State Call To Action: Working to End Child Abuse and Neglect in Massachusetts"
• Federal Funding for Child Abuse Prevention
  Congress Passes Final FY2002 Budget
  
• Childhood Abuse Increases Risk of Suicide
  Journal of the American Medical Association highlights findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
  
• Teens in Foster Care Face Difficult Adulthood
  New data predicts unhappy outcomes for young people who spend their adolescence in foster care.
• Child Sexual Abuse Information Available on MCC Web Site
  Visit www.masskids.org for information and resources
  

 

Children Living Without Homes
20,000 Massachusetts children are at risk for hunger, poor health, emotional abuse, educational neglect, parental substance abuse, physical and sexual abuse, and exposure to violence, due to homelessness.

A Highlight from MCC's "State Call To Action: Working to End Child Abuse and Neglect in Massachusetts"
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More than one million American children are homeless today. In Massachusetts, the number of children living without homes is estimated at approximately 20,000 - a dramatic increase from the 1,600 homeless children estimated only a decade ago. It is interesting to note that, despite our state's per capita income being the fourth highest in the country, Massachusetts ranks 24th for its number of children living at risk of homelessness.

Although homelessness itself does not cause child abuse, it can lead to conditions in which child maltreatment is more likely to occur. A mother who finds herself homeless struggles against conditions that can undermine her children's basic physical and emotional well-being. Homeless children commonly suffer from malnutrition, poor health and mental health, and educational neglect. Many homeless children suffer trauma from parental substance abuse and witnessing violence, and are often victims of abuse themselves.

Poor Health and Hunger
Homeless children are in fair or poor health twice as often as other children, and they are also hungry more than twice as often. Almost one-third of low-income families do not have enough money to prepare three meals a day. Even when housed in homeless shelters, undernourishment is still prevalent, as strictly scheduled meals are easily missed when mothers are searching for housing and work. For children who live in shelters, the communal conditions they are exposed to serve to increase their risk of disease and infection, and shelters often can provide little in the way of a quiet place to rest or a specially prepared meal. Getting medical care can typically become overwhelming or impossible, due to such obstacles as lack of transportation or lack of childcare.

Emotional Abuse
Not surprisingly, the very condition of being homeless is emotionally abusive to the vast majority of these children. Chronic stress, worries, fears, and disruptions are the mainstays of their lives. A study published in the journal "Pediatrics" reported that more than 20 percent of young homeless children are extremely distressed and have emotional problems serious enough to require professional care. Older children also have very high rates of mental health problems: nearly half of children ages 6-17 suffer from such problems as anxiety, depression, or withdrawal; one-third have at least one major mental disorder; and over one-third manifest delinquent or aggressive behavior. Unfortunately, less than a third get relief through treatment, and the likelihood of receiving treatment tends to drop as the severity of a child's mental illness increases.

Educational Neglect
Homelessness is strongly linked to educational neglect. At least one-fifth of homeless children do not attend school; educational needs are often pushed aside by the daily demands of finding food and shelter. Lack of prior academic records or medical records, and lack of transportation, create obstacles to school enrollment. For those homeless children who do attend school, academic success is greatly impeded by their emotional and physical problems: many homeless children are diagnosed with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia or language problems, and the occurrence of homeless children repeating a grade or being suspended from school is twice that of other children. Sadly, the academic failure that results from the effects homelessness can lead to school drop-out, which in turn has implications for future poverty and homelessness.

Parental Substance Abuse
Parental substance abuse, which can be devastating for children, is evident in a high percentage of homeless families. Forty percent of homeless mothers report an alcohol or drug dependency at some time in their lives. Among fathers of homeless children, alcohol and drug problems are evident in 43 percent, and though most men do not live with their homeless children, 70 percent are in touch with them.

Abuse and Witnessing Violence
Studies show that homeless children are victims of violence in alarming numbers. One research project found that among homeless children, eight percent had been physically abused - twice the rate of other children - and eight percent had been sexually abused. Thirty-five percent of homeless children had been the subject of a child protection investigation. Nearly a quarter of homeless children have witnessed acts of violence within their families; even witnessing violence can have a profoundly negative effect on a child's behavior and emotional well-being.

Violence and Homelessness
Violence toward children is strongly linked to homelessness in adulthood. One study of a homeless population found an extremely high percentage had been victims of sexual molestation or violent physical abuse before age 18. In adulthood, 63 percent of homeless women report violent abuse by an intimate male partner, and a quarter report physical or sexual assault during adulthood by someone other than an intimate partner. Of homeless mothers overall, an alarming 92 percent have been severely physically or sexually assaulted at some time in their lives.

While the relationship of homelessness to alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, domestic violence, child abuse, and mental illness is complex, and the intergenerational factors make it difficult to sort out which problem or combination of problems served to trigger others, one thing is clear: children living in these families do not go unscathed. Often they are physically and emotionally defeated by the chronic stress and instability in their young lives.

MCC has proposed recommendations that specifically address the pressing needs of abused, neglected and traumatized homeless children, such as staffing family shelters with trauma specialists and experienced case managers, and ensuring that transportation is available to homeless families. MCC additionally supports a comprehensive agenda proposed by the Better Homes Fund in its report "Homeless Children: America's New Outcasts."

For more information about children living without homes, MCC's recommendations for change, and source reference notes for the above summary, please see "A State Call To Action: Working to End Child Abuse and Neglect in Massachusetts," Chapter 5, Children Living Without Homes. The report is available online at http://www.masskids.org/cta/

 

Federal Funding for Child Abuse Prevention
Congress Passes Final FY2002 Budget
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Congress finished work on all remaining appropriations bills, including the final budget for the Department of Health and Human Services on December 20, 2001. This funding measure includes slight increases for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) programs and for other child welfare services.

CAPTA's basic state grants (discretionary grants to the states to help improve their child protection systems) were increased by almost $1 million (from $21M in 2001 to $22M in 2002). CAPTA's community-based family resource and support prevention grants (to help states develop, operate, and expand community-based, prevention-focused family resource programs) grew from $32.8M in 2001 to $33.4M in 2002. Discretionary funding for research and innovative demonstration projects remains essentially the same.

The Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program gained an increase of $70M in discretionary funding (to $375M in 2002), though the hoped-for $200M increase in mandatory funding did not pass.

The Early Learning Fund, which funds family support and early child development services, gained one of the highest percentage increases among child welfare programs, going up by 25 percent in 2002. The program had been set for elimination by the Bush administration and the House-passed bill, but through Senate action, the Fund increased by $5 million to $25 million in 2002 in the final bill.

Many thanks to all our members and friends of children who responded to MCC's Action Alerts, and urged their members of Congress to make child abuse prevention funding a priority.

Childhood Abuse Increases Risk of Suicide
Journal of the American Medical Association highlights findings from the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
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Childhood trauma and adverse experiences, especially abuse and household dysfunction, can lead to a variety of negative health outcomes, including attempted suicide among adolescents, according to research published in the December 26, 2001, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The researchers report a "lifetime prevalence" of having at least one suicide attempt as 3.8 percent. The study found "a powerful graded relationship" between adverse childhood experiences and risk of attempted suicide throughout the life span. Adverse childhood experiences, such as child abuse, increased the risk of attempted suicide 2- to 5-fold.

The findings are from the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study conducted by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Kaiser Permanente Department of Preventive Medicine in San Diego, California. An abstract of the JAMA article, "Childhood Abuse, Household Dysfunction, and the Risk of Attempted Suicide Throughout the Life Span," is available at:
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v286n24/abs/joc11276.html

The complete study, officially titled, "Relationships of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults; The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study," has documented for the first time the link between abuse in childhood and risk factors for adult disease. Look for highlights of further findings from this study in future Campaign for Children newsletters.

To learn more about the incidence, impact, and costs of child abuse, please see MCC's "State Call to Action: Working to End Child Abuse and Neglect in Massachusetts." The full report is available online at www.masskids.org/cta/, and includes source reference notes for further information.

 

Teens in Foster Care Face Difficult Adulthood
New data predicts unhappy outcomes for young people who spend their adolescence in foster care.
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AdvoCasey, the Annie E. Casey Foundation's policy magazine, has dedicated a recent issue to youth in foster care. "A Special Report on Foster Teens in Transition: Fostered or Forgotten?" addresses problem of foster children in crisis, and examines what communities and child welfare agencies are doing (and not doing) to help them.

"No group in the United States is more predictably headed for unhappy outcomes than young people who spend their adolescence in foster care," announces AECF President Doug Nelson in his opening column. The new AdvoCasey Index offers stark data to illustrate that young people who spend their adolescence in foster care often face severe problems in early adulthood.

Feature stories examine the gaps in New Jersey's efforts to support teens in transition, and the results of Los Angeles County's bold experiment to assist this population. AdvoCasey also profiles four model programs worth watching, and it interviews Gary Stangler, director of the new Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.

For more information, visit AdvoCasey at: http://www.aecf.org/publications/advocasey/newindex.htm

 

Child Sexual Abuse Info Available on MCC Web Site
Visit www.masskids.org for information and resources
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In light of several child sexual abuse cases recently highlighted in the media, MCC would like to remind parents and friends of children that the MCC web site contains an array of helpful information about child sexual abuse and its prevention.

Do you have questions about child sexual abuse? The MCC site answers many common questions, and offers tips for talking to children about sexual abuse. Learn ways to recognize signs of an abused child, and guidelines for taking action. In addition, there are many resources listed for finding information and getting help.

Please visit www.masskids.org and follow the link to Prevent Child Abuse Massachusetts, or go directly to: http://www.masskids.org/pcama/prevention/sexabuse_1home.html

While you're there, be sure to check out the transcript of the Sept. 2000 online chat, hosted by Prevent Child Abuse Massachusetts and Community Newspapers. Prompted by a recent case in Middleton, MA, involving the sexual abuse of several children, the chat provided an opportunity for citizens to ask questions and learn more directly about sexual abuse, why it happens, its impact on victims, and how it can be prevented. On line to discuss the problem of child sexual abuse were Linda Sanford, a recognized therapist of both child victims and perpetrators; Richard Hoffman, an author who has written a poignant memoir of his own life and experiences of child sexual abuse at the hands of his baseball coach; and Jetta Bernier, director of Prevent Child Abuse Massachusetts and a child abuse expert.

Child sexual abuse is more common than many people think, and its effects can be devastating. A child is vulnerable anywhere and any time, and incidents may occur just once or be repeated many times over several years. No matter what, the effects of abuse on a child can be serious and long-lasting. Please visit the MCC web site to learn how you can help prevent child abuse, at www.masskids.org.

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The Massachusetts Campaign for Children is a program of Massachusetts Citizens for Children. Its mission is to build and maintain a statewide, grassroots membership organization, which can then become a powerful voice for the children of our state. The Campaign's goal is to engage in non-partisan electoral and legislative actions at the local and state levels that promote the well-being of all Massachusetts children, youth, and their families, and help us move children's issues to the center of every political arena.

We believe that all our children have the right: to be free from poverty; to get the medical and preventive care they need; to learn in quality child care and school settings; to be safe from abuse, neglect, and violence; and to live in caring families and healthy communities.

Please share this newsletter with your friends and colleagues, and urge them to join with us to become a powerful voice for the children of our state. We urge you, too, to join with us, or renew your membership if you are already a member. The Campaign for Children is a non-profit independent advocacy organization, and we receive no state or federal funding. We rely entirely on the generosity of our members and donors. Please visit www.masskids.org to join online; or call 800-CHILDREN for a free information packet.

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Massachusetts Campaign for Children
14 Beacon Street, Suite 706 . Boston, MA 02108 . 617-742-8555 . campaign@masskids.org

Deborah Ferreri, Campaign for Children Coordinator . deborah@masskids.org
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To subscribe to this newsletter please visit our web site at www.masskids.org, or send an email to subscribe@masskids.org. To unsubscribe please send an email to unsubscribe@masskids.org.