- Define child abuse and neglect, including familial and institutional abuse and neglect.
- Describe your legal and ethical obligation to report abuse and neglect wherever it occurs.
- Recognize protective factors that prevent child abuse and neglect.
- Describe training requirements for staff and your responsibility regarding training.
Learn
Teach
For most of us, it’s hard to imagine anyone harming a child. As disturbing as it can be, child abuse and neglect is very real. At least one in seven children in the U.S. experience abuse or neglect in the United States per year (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). Most of us will never understand why an individual abuses or neglects. The purpose of this lesson is to:
- Help you understand what child abuse and neglect is
- Help you understand your responsibilities in reporting and preventing abuse and neglect
- Help you understand your training and professional development responsibilities for staff members who work with children ages birth to 12 years
As a Training & Curriculum Specialist, you will have the role of teaching staff members how to identify, report, and respond to suspicions of child abuse and neglect. To do your job effectively, you must be knowledgeable about child abuse and neglect. It is also important to remember that you are a mandated reporter. This means you are legally required to report suspicions of abuse or neglect to appropriate authorities (e.g., Child Protective Services).(e.g., Child Protective Services, Military Family Advocacy Programs, and law enforcement).(e.g., Child Protective Services, Military Family Advocacy Programs, law enforcement, and your Reporting Point of Contact (RPOC) in Army Programs). If you are unsure whether something is abuse or neglect, or rather an infraction of a policy, you may want to discuss this with your supervisor. You never have to seek permission to report. If YOU think a case of abuse or neglect has occurred, you are required to report it properly.
The following sections define child abuse and neglect. All direct care staff members have read identical definitions, so you can communicate a consistent message with this content.
What is Child Abuse and Neglect?
The U.S. Federal government defines child abuse and neglect as:
Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.
Source: Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-320), § 3.
Take a minute to reflect on that definition. What are your impressions of the federal definition? What does it mean? Let’s explore each part in more detail:
- Any recent act or failure to act: This reminds us that abuse and neglect are two distinct concepts. A child can be harmed by overt actions like hitting or kicking, but a child can also be harmed when an adult fails to provide for the child’s well-being.
- on the part of a parent or caretaker: Remember abuse and neglect can happen anywhere and by anyone. Abuse does not just happen at the hands of a parent or family member. Abuse and neglect can be performed by anyone who is responsible for the care of a child. This might be a teacher, coach, faith leader, or any other individual in a caregiving or supervisory role.
- which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm: We don’t have to wait for tragedies to strike. If a child is at serious risk of harm, it can be considered abuse or neglect.
This definition is the minimum federal standard. States and government departments can develop their own more specific definitions of child abuse and neglect.MIL In your program, you will observe and follow the Department of Defense definitions of child abuse and neglect.
The Department of Defense (DoDI 6400.01, 2019) defines child abuse and neglect as follows:
The physical or sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect of a child by a parent, guardian, foster parent, or by a caregiver, whether the caregiver is intrafamilial or extrafamilial, under circumstances indicating the child’s welfare is harmed or threatened. Such acts by a sibling, other family member, or other person shall be deemed child abuse only when the individual is providing care under express or implied agreement with the parent, guardian, or foster parent. A child is an unmarried person under 18 years of age for whom a parent, guardian, foster parent, caregiver, employee of a residential facility or any staff person providing out-of-home care is legally responsible. The term child means a biological child, adopted child, stepchild, foster child, ward, a sponsor’s family member (except the sponsor’s spouse) of any age who is incapable of self-support because of mental or physical incapacity, and for whom treatment in a DoD medical treatment program is authorized.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services MIL and the military Family Advocacy Program, child abuse and neglect generally falls into one of these four categories:
Neglect
Neglect includes the failure to provide for a child's basic needs despite being financially able to do so. Neglect may be:
- Physical, when an adult fails to provide necessary food, shelter, or appropriate supervision
- Medical, when an adult fails to provide necessary medical or mental-health treatment
- Educational, when an adult fails to educate a child or attend to special education needs
- Emotional, when an adult fails to provide attention to a child's emotional needs, fails to provide psychological care, or permits the child to use alcohol or drugs
Physical Abuse
Physical Abuse is defined as the non-accidental use of physical force by a parent, caregiver, or other person responsible for a child. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to :
- Punching
- Beating
- Kicking
- Biting
- Shaking
- Throwing
- Stabbing
- Choking
- Hitting with an open hand or slapping
- Scalding or burning
- Poisoning
- Dropping
- Pushing or shoving
- Pinching
- Scratching
- Grabbing or yanking limbs or body
- Restraining or squeezing
- Applying force to throat
- Holding underwater
- Any other action that intentionally causes physical harm
Physical abuse can include hitting with an object such as sticks, straps, belts, hangers, or electrical cords. Physical abuse can cause injuries that range from minor bruises to severe fractures or even death.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse includes a pattern of behaviors that have a negative effect on the child's psychological well-being, including constant criticism, threats, and rejection as well as withholding love, support, or guidance. Emotional abuse may occur when a child is:
- Ignored: An adult may not look at or respond to a child.
- Rejected: An adult actively refuses a child by denying their needs or ridiculing them.
- Isolated: A child is prevented from having interactions with peers, family members, or other adults.
- Exploited or corrupted: A child is taught or encouraged to engage in illegal or inappropriate behaviors like stealing.
- Verbally assaulted: An adult constantly belittles, shames, ridicules, or threatens a child.
- Terrorized: An adult threatens or bullies the child and creates a climate of fear; the child or a loved one may be placed in a dangerous situation or threatened with harm.
- Harmed or indicating that the caregiver will harm a person or that the child cares about
- A witness or victim of domestic violence. Witnessing domestic violence can be auditory, visual, or inferred. Children who witness this can suffer severe emotional and developmental difficulties.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse includes sexual activity toward or involving a child, and may include:
- Fondling or groping a child's genitals
- Making a child touch an adult's sexual organs
- Penetration of any kind that does not have a valid medical purpose
- Incest, rape, and sodomy
- Exposing oneself to a child
- Exposing children to pornographic material
- Deliberately exposing a child to the act of sexual intercourse
- Masturbating in front of a child
- Having the child masturbate
- Involving a child in prostitution
- Involving a child in the production of any sexually explicit images
- Coercion of a child to engage in, or assist any other person to engage in, sexual conduct
Where Does Child Abuse and Neglect Occur?
Child abuse and neglect can happen anywhere. You should be familiar with two distinct types of abuse and neglect: Familial and institutional.
Familial abuse or neglect occurs when a child is in the care of a parent or family member. This could be in the child’s home, while in the car with family, at the store, in the parking lot before school starts, or other places in the community. The act of abuse or neglect is performed by a parent, guardian, or other person designated to provide care for the child, including siblings and babysitters.
Institutional abuse or neglect occurs outside the home in community or private settings, such as schools, religious organizations, community groups, or during extracurricular activities, while the child is in the care of a non-family member. This type of abuse or neglect is also known as “out-of-home” or “extra-familial” abuse or neglect. This type of abuse typically involves a child and an adult in a supervisory role, like a teacher, caregiver, or volunteer. MIL Throughout the rest of this course, institutional abuse will refer to abuse or neglect which may occur in Department of Defense-sponsored facilities, programs, or activities. This course will focus on abuse or neglect which may occur occur in child development centers, family child care homes, sponsored field trips, and school-age care programs. Remember, though, that institutional abuse can also occur in installation homework or computer centers, mentoring or tutoring programs, sports programs, chapel programs, scouts, Morale Welfare and Recreation programs, teen centers and youth programs.
You will learn more about institutional abuse in the last lesson of this course and in the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Course. However, there are a few things you should know as you begin this course. There are certain types of guidance and discipline that have the potential to inflict harm and model aggression. When staff members use aggressive techniques with children, they and their families learn that aggressive responses to behavior are OK. That is not the message we want to send children and families. The following practices have no place in programs and may be considered child abuse or neglect:
- Corporal punishment: You may not, under any circumstances, strike, hit, whip, spank, pinch, yank, push, drop, or use any other form of physical punishment on a child of any age.
- Withholding physical needs: You may not, under any circumstances, withhold food, sleep, physical activity or other needs like toileting from a child as punishment.
- Yelling, shaming, belittling, or threatening a child: You may not, under any circumstances, intentionally make a child fear for his or her physical or psychological safety. You may not call children hurtful names, threaten children, or make children feel shame.
- Isolating a child: You may not punish a child by leaving him or her alone (i.e., leaving a child on the playground alone because he did not line up with the group) or by putting the child in “time out” in an enclosed space like a closet, restroom, or cardboard box.
- Binding or restricting a child’s movements: You may not punish a child by preventing him or her from being able to move or speak (i.e., covering a child’s mouth or hands with tape).
If a staff member is accused of child abuse or neglect, they can expect to be removed from direct contact with children while an investigation is underway.
Who is At-Risk?
Child abuse and neglect can happen to anyone. There is no “typical” abuser or victim. There are some situations that are associated with higher levels of risk for abuse or neglect, though. Understanding who is more at-risk for abuse and neglect can help us provide extra support to children and families who are experiencing stress. We can think of risk occurring at several levels: individual, family, and community.
Individual: Individual children who are more at-risk for experiencing child abuse and neglect: young children, children with disabilities, and children with challenging behavior. This means children who have a difficult time communicating, controlling their emotions, following directions, or getting along with others might be at-risk for abuse or neglect. The adults around them might get frustrated easily or not know how to help the child. We must be careful to remember this does not mean that the child causes the abuse and neglect. The child is never to blame. It also does not mean that only children in these categories are abused or neglected. Rather, we must remember to provide extra support to families whose children meet these characteristics.
Family: There are also some characteristics of adults who are more at-risk for committing abuse or neglect. Adults with little knowledge of child development or a history of maltreatment as a child are at increased risk for abusing or neglecting a child. It is important to remember, though, that not all adults who were abused as children go on to abuse their own children. Adults with substance abuse, mental health issues, or a harsh approach to discipline may also be at risk.
Abuse is more likely to occur in families that are socially isolated. A family might be socially isolated for many reasons: a recent move or deployment might separate them from extended family and friends, long or unpredictable work schedules might prevent them from having social opportunities, or they might not know how to reach out to others. Child abuse and neglect is also more likely to occur in families that have experienced other forms of domestic violence, like violence against a spouse or partner. Families experiencing stress (like unemployment, birth of a new child, marital conflict, or deployment), poor parent-child relationships, and negative interactions also are more at-risk for abuse or neglect to occur.
Community: Community risk factors include community violence, high levels of poverty, high levels of mobility and housing instability, high unemployment rates, and poor social connections. Community risk factors can add increased stress to families. Abuse and neglect are more likely to occur when stress is high or access to necessary resources is low.
What are Protective Factors?
Take a moment to reflect on the risk factors you just read about. If you could think of ways to counteract or cancel out those risk factors, what would they be? What types of characteristics minimize the risk for child abuse and neglect? Researchers and policymakers have spent a lot of time thinking about these questions. As a result, the Center for the Study of Social Policy has developed the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework to prevent child abuse and neglect. It is important to understand this framework because it can help you see that the high-quality, family-centered work that you do every day in your program makes a difference in the lives of children and families. Our job is not only to care for each child but also to provide care and support for the whole family. The Strengthening Families Protective Factors framework gives us tools and ideas to support families.
There is a resource in the Apply section for you to download and read to learn more about the Protective Factors Framework. Here is a brief overview of the five protective factors that help prevent child abuse and neglect in families. When these five factors are strong, families are better equipped with the skills and supports they need to protect their child from abuse and neglect.
Strengthening Families Protective Factors
Parental Resilience
Families are able to manage stress and bounce back from challenges.
Knowledge of Child Development and Parenting
Adults know what to expect as children grow and are able to meet their child's needs at each stage of development.
Social Connections
Families know there are people who care about them and who they can call on for help.
Concrete Supports in Times of Need
Families can get the help they need when crises strike: food and shelter, medical and mental health services, social, legal, and educational resources.
Social and Emotional Competence of Children
Social and emotional development promotes healthy relationships with others. Children with strong relationships, who can regulate their own behavior, express their emotions, and relate to others are at lower risk of maltreatment.
What is My Role in Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect?
As a Training & Curriculum Specialist, you have a legal and ethical professional obligation to protect children from harm. You and all the staff in your building are mandated reporters for suspicions of child abuse and neglect. This means you are legally required to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect to appropriate authorities including Child Protective Services (CPS), Military Family Advocacy Programs (FAP), and law enforcement. To help staff understand the legal ramifications of reporting or failing to report, you can visit the Child Information Gateway’s resources about state statutes and penalties (https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/state/).
You will learn about reporting procedures in Lesson 3 of this course. For now, it is important to recognize that you have an obligation to report your suspicions of child abuse and neglect to FAP, law enforcement, and Children Protective Services.
On military installations, you may also work closely with staff of your installation’s Family Advocacy Program (FAP) to create a climate that promotes reporting. Watch this video to learn more about FAP’s scope and mission.
Scope and Mission of Family Advocacy Programs
A major part of your role is training, supporting, and strengthening staff. You will ensure staff members participate in annual child abuse and neglect trainings. It is also likely that your will be the first person staff members come to when they are concerned about a child or family. You have an important role to listen actively, take concerns seriously, and provide staff with the professional and emotional support they need during stressful times. You will learn more in Lesson 4 about the signs of stress and how you can help staff members build resilience.
Model
Model a Commitment to Keeping Children Safe
As a mandated reporter and a role model for staff members, if you suspect child abuse or neglect, you must make a report. You must also provide staff members with the information and support they need to make a report if they suspect child abuse or neglect. You will learn more about reporting in subsequent lessons, but for now understand that you play a critical role in building a program culture that prioritizes each child’s safety.
Model Collaboration With Community Organizations
You are a mandated reporter, and so are all installation law enforcement personnel, physicians, nurses, social workers, school personnel, Family Advocacy Program and Children, Youth and School personnel, psychologists, and other medical personnel. In some services and on some installations, all service members are mandated reporters.
Clearly, there are many other professionals who share your mission to protect children from harm. You can build relationships with these other professionals and share resources. Reach out to your local FAP office. Learn about how they can support your work with children and families.
Training & Curriculum Specialists also have an important opportunity to partner with Prevention Education trainers and FAP clinicians. Some program staff members may view FAP as dealing only with families in the aftermath of violence, but, in reality, FAP has just as much focus on prevention and supporting healthy familial interactions. FAP has general counseling for individuals, couples and families dealing with life transitions or long-term mental health issues. FAP is designed to provide educational, group, or counseling services before an incident of abuse or neglect occurs. You can refer families to FAP even if no abuse or neglect is occurring. You can also refer families of infants and toddlers to the New Parent Support Program on many installations. They offer many support groups and trainings, and they can partner with you to provide staff trainings.
You are a mandated reporter, and so are law enforcement personnel, physicians, nurses, social workers, school personnel, Youth and School personnel, psychologists, and other medical personnel within your community.
Clearly, there are many other professionals who share your mission to protect children from harm. In your community, law enforcement personnel, physicians, nurses, social workers, school personnel, and medical personnel are usually mandated reporters. You can build relationships with these other professionals and share resources. Learn about how they can support your work with children and families.
Observe
Model a Protective Factors Approach
What do programs that promote the Protective Factors Approach look like? Watch this video to find out.
Learning Together about the Protective Factors
- Help build awareness about child abuse and neglect in your program and community.
- Learn about resources in your community MIL or on your installation you can share with families.
- Visit https://cssp.org/our-work/projects/protective-factors-framework/ to learn more about the Protective Factors Framework approach.
Make sure staff members fulfill their annual training requirements for child abuse and neglect identification and reporting. This is more than just offering training and making sure basic requirements are met. Make sure staff members really understand what they are looking for and how to respond if they have a suspicion of abuse or neglect.
Also be sure to observe staff members for signs of stress and provide them with the professional and emotional support they need. You will learn more about this in Lesson 4.
Continue working through this course and the Child Abuse Prevention course to learn more about how to observe and support staff members.
Completing this Course
For more information on what to expect in this course and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Training & Curriculum Specialist Child Abuse: Identification & Reporting Course Guide.
To support the professional development of the direct care staff members or family child care providers you oversee, you can access their corresponding Course Guides:
- Infant & Toddler Child Abuse: Identification & Reporting Course Guide
- Preschool Child Abuse: Identification & Reporting Course Guide
- School-Age Child Abuse: Identification & Reporting Course Guide
- Family Child Care Child Abuse: Identification & Reporting Course Guide
Explore
Throughout the next five lessons, you will learn about “Bethany and Braden”. This story has been specifically chosen to highlight in the T&CS track because this family’s experiences might be applicable across your work with different age groups. The family had children of different ages in a variety of child and youth programs. Direct care staff members will have similar fictionalized accounts of actual events, but they will answer different reflection questions. The purpose of this activity is for everyone to reflect on issues that are relevant to their roles. While the content in this case study and those that follow in subsequent lessons is important in order to bring awareness to the topic of child abuse and neglect, we recognize that it may be difficult to read. After you complete this lesson, we encourage you to take some time to reflect on your own well-being and engage ins self-care strategies as needed.
Read Case Study: Part 1 and answer the reflection questions. We also encourage you to read the suggested responses from experts. These will provide additional information and that will be helpful when it comes to supporting staff members.
Apply
Before identifying and reporting child abuse and neglect, you must have a basic understanding of the terms. Child Welfare Information Gateway has created a fact sheet with a definition and types of child abuse and neglect. Print the handout, Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect as a resource for your professional library.
To learn more about how you can strengthen protective factors in your work, review the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework handout.
Glossary
Demonstrate
Center for the Study of Social Policy (2018). About strengthening families and the protective framework. https://cssp.org/our-work/projects/protective-factors-framework/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Fast facts: preventing child abuse and neglect. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childabuseandneglect/fastfact.html
Crosson-Tower, C. (2021). Understanding child abuse and neglect, 10th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2022). Definitions of child abuse and neglect. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau. https://cwig-prod-prod-drupal-s3fs-us-east-1.s3.amazonaws.com/public/documents/define.pdf?VersionId=P2GBlQKK7w_ohrCN3oV2TiD6QIkkEjIP
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2018). Preventing child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. https://www.childwelfare.gov/resources/preventing-child-abuse-and-neglect/
Harper Browne, C. (2014). The Strengthening families approach and protective factors framework: Branching out and reaching deeper. Washington, D.C.: Center for the Study of Social Policy. https://cssp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Branching-Out-and-Reaching-Deeper.pdf
Military One Source (2022.). Military family advocacy programs. https://www.militaryonesource.mil/family-relationships/family-life/preventing-abuse-neglect/the-family-advocacy-program/
The University of Minnesota Center for Research and Outreach. (2020). Physical and psychological safety research review. https://reachfamilies.umn.edu/sites/default/files/2020-10/Mod_2_Safety_Paper.pdf