Family Law and Policy Speech

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Brigham Young University, Idaho *

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460

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Medicine

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Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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1 Family Law and Policy Speech Kimiko K. Whitmore Department of Home and Family, Brigham Young University - Idaho FAML 460: Child and Family Advocacy Kaylee Draper March 16, 2024

2 Abuse Effects on children Any form of abuse can be a sensitive subject to talk about, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist and that it shouldn’t be talked about. Physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect are all forms of abuse and they all have negative effects on the child, the family, and society. The National Library of Medicine (2014) stated that “Child abuse and neglect appear to influence the course of development by altering many elements of biological, cognitive, psychosocial, and behavioral development…” Effects on family These forms of abuse can also affect the family. According to Mass General Brigham McLean (2023) “Abuse can cause generational effects as well as immediate ripples within a family. Additional impacts of abuse on the family include: anger toward other family members for not preventing harm, fear of the abuser, anxiety or worry about the victim of abuse, etc…” Effects on society Abuse not only affects the child and the family, it also has societal effects as well. The previous source has also stated that “Some of the costs include medical care for injuries and ongoing mental health treatment. Child abuse also increases government costs for child protective services and the foster care system” (Mass General Brigham McLean, 2023). Government Law – CAPTA A federal law that I have found on the topic of abuse is The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, also known as CAPTA. CAPTA provides grants to states to support the prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution and treatment of child abuse and neglect. I found CAPTA through Prevent Child Abuse America or PCA America which is a public policy

3 program that operates on a national level. The PCA America website states “We advocate for policies and services that strengthen families and communities, promote healthy child development, and prevent child abuse and neglect before it happens ” It also says “We promote programs and resources informed by science that enable kids, families, and entire communities to thrive—today, tomorrow, and for generations to come” (Prevent Child Abuse America, 2024). Having said this, I would say that CAPTA is both individual and family focused, addresses both the symptoms and problems of abuse, and strengthens families by educating them and providing resources. They are individual and family focused because they are concerned about the child and the effects that abuse has on them which in turn affects the family and the community and society. They address both the symptoms and problems because they try to prevent abuse before it happens and they provide resources for those who are already experiencing it. Lastly, instead of undermining or replacing parents in the home, they strengthen families by educating them and providing resources for them to help them help themselves. Strengths and weaknesses of CAPTA Some strengths of CAPTA, according to the University of Texas (2024), are that they have “been able to advance treatment, prevention, research, and educational aspects for these victims” (University of Texas, Arlington, 2024). Another strength is that it “gives government agents the legal authority to forcibly separate children from their parents, families, and communities and detain them in the foster system” (Children’s Rights, 2024). Even though these strengths exist, one of the weaknesses is that “there is no evidence that the law has reduced the mistreatment of children” (Children’s Rights, 2024).

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4 Experience/story with abuse I have been lucky enough to have never had to go through any form of abuse, but my uncle and aunts did. Relating back to the weakness I had mentioned, my aunts and uncle were neglected and abused by their biological parents so they were put into the system. Even though they got taken out of their bad home situation, they were sexually and physically abused while with their foster family which impacted them emotionally as well. I’m not saying this is what always happens when kids are put into the system, but just because the government can remove a child or children out of a bad situation, doesn’t mean that they are always put into a new one that is necessarily any better. Luckily my grandparents found them and adopted all of them together and now they all have their own families, two of which have adopted children. How PCA America and CAPTA go from the government to the home As I stated previously, PCA America is a public policy program that operates on a national level and through it, CAPTA became a federal law that is able to provide grants to states to support the prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution and treatment of child abuse and neglect. It is able to trickle down from international, national and state level to impact the city, community, and home by providing the means for cities to have the right resources for their communities which impacts the homes that are involved in those communities. Therefore what Before I did research on this subject I didn’t know CAPTA was a thing. Now that I know about it I think that it is a good resource for communities to be able to have the means to create more resources for the children and families who need help with the threat of any form of abuse. Something that I believe the government could do in order to bring more attention to CAPTA would be to talk more about what its purpose is. I believe that each state could have someone

5 look into how much CAPTA has been able to help the states children, families, and communities and have the representatives report on how beneficial it has been. Having them do this would show the people, in their state that they represent, that they care more about this topic and this could encourage others to support and commit to doing things that could help this cause in their communities. Would it encourage you to look more deeply into the resources provided in your area?

6 References Committee on Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Decade: Phase II; Board on Children, Youth, and Families; Committee on Law and Justice; Institute of Medicine; National Research Council; Petersen AC, Joseph J, Feit M, editors. New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2014 Mar 25. 4, Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect.Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK195987/ Example paper - policy analysis paper CAPTA (1) (PDF) . Course Sidekick. (n.d.). https://www.coursesidekick.com/sociology/254615#:~: text=Although%20more %20research%20and%20funding , educational%20aspects%20for%20these%20victims . Prevent Child Abuse America. (2024, February 13). Public policy . https://preventchildabuse.org/what-we-do/public-policy/#:~: text=The%20Child %20Abuse%20Prevention%20and , of%20child%20abuse%20and%20neglect . Understanding child abuse and its effects on Mental Health . The Mental Health Impact of Child Abuse | McLean Hospital. (2023, August 18). https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/effects-child-abuse#:~:text=Additional %20impacts%20of%20abuse%20on,Fear%20of%20the%20abuser 50 years of CAPTA: What you need to know about this harmful law . Children’s Rights. (2024, January 19). https://www.childrensrights.org/news-voices/50-years-of-capta-what-you- need-to-know-about-this-harmful-law#:~:text= CAPTA%20has%20failed%20to %20prevent ,reduced%20the%20mistreatment%20of%20children.

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