Op/Ed: Instead of helping families after child abuse, Indiana moves focus to prevention
There is a shift taking place across the nation regarding child abuse and neglect fatalities. These heartbreaking tragedies make headlines across every community, with a focus on why systems failed our children and how these children fell through the cracks.
As the U.S. Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities notes, child welfare systems have historically been focused on addressing harm only after it has occurred. Fortunately, federal and state agencies along with local nonprofits and community leaders are beginning to work collaboratively and create a multi-system service continuum to provide the resources that families need beforehand, preventing abuse and neglect before it occurs. We can see evidence of that shift, with demonstration projects across the U.S., including Indiana, that are identifying risk factors (e.g., contributing factors) for child fatalities, moving resources upstream to support families and building on protective factors with an emphasis on prevention.
More:Op/Ed: Program that reduces poverty, improves quality of life for Hoosiers in jeopardy
The Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) is one of five sites nationwide participating in a Department of Justice demonstration initiative known as Child Safety Forward (CSF). With support from technical assistance providers and multidisciplinary child fatality review teams, IDOH has conducted research focusing on Clark, Delaware, Grant and Madison counties that identified unsafe sleep-related deaths as the leading cause of death due to external causes (e.g., sleep related, drowning) for children ages 0-18 years old, excluding medical reasons. The findings from IDOH ― based on a five-year retrospective review ― highlighted that Black infants are at a heightened risk for sleep-related deaths (55.9%; 19 of 34 deaths) and that sleep-related deaths have been underreported throughout the state due to inconsistent and incomplete documentation of sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUIDs). High quality, accurate fatality data enables jurisdictions to better understand and address risk factors, improving the effectiveness and actionability of recommendations.
More:Child services worker lied about abuse to separate 6-year-old from family, lawsuit says
Based on these findings, IDOH took several steps to expand the state’s ability to prevent child fatalities. They developed Community Action Teams to implement prevention initiatives, and are working collaboratively with Prevent Child Abuse Indiana chapters and Family Resource Centers run by the Strengthening Indiana Families project to educate the public about safe sleep practices. Family Resource Centers are a one-stop-shop for families, providing tailored resources to address their needs and build on their strengths. IDOH has also developed videos providing safe sleep information and stories of parents who lost a child in unsafe sleep environments. (For more information on safe sleep, visit the IDOH website.)
Informed by findings from the CSF initiative, Indiana legislators passed House Enrolled Act 1169 ― which went into effect on July 1 ― establishing consistent standards for SUID investigations and data collection, aligning with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention best practices, including pathology and toxicology.
It is important to note that, in 2020, in 95 of 168 cases identified (56.5%), children were unknown to Child Protective Services before the fatality, indicating that government agencies like the Indiana Department of Child Services alone cannot prevent these deaths. The work of fatality prevention lies with all of us: neighbors, community members and the full range of professionals that serve children and families. To increase our effectiveness at preventing these fatalities and reducing racial disparities, the multiple systems that serve families must collaborate and share information to provide coordinated, holistic services. Communities also need to increase their formal and informal supports for families, so that all parents in the community have equitable access to the resources they need to be connected and safe. Every parent needs help at some point and as the Family Resource Centers’ motto says, “Kids don’t come with instructions. We’re here to help.” Let’s all join in the nationwide shift toward prevention by supporting families in our communities so that children can develop their full potential. Imagine what a difference we all can make in the lives of children in our community when we work together proactively to keep the most vulnerable among us safe.
Susana Mariscal, an associate professor at the IU School of Social Work, serves as the lead evaluator for the Child Safety Forward Indiana team and is project director for Strengthening Indiana Families, a primary child maltreatment prevention program in central Indiana funded by the U.S. Children’s Bureau (Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families).
Bryan Victor is an assistant professor at Wayne State University School of Social Work in Detroit, Michigan. His research examines community-based approaches to violence prevention with a particular focus on child maltreatment. Victor is a co-investigator on the Child Safety Forward Indiana evaluation team and co-leads the Strengthening Indiana Families project.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: New initiative shifts efforts to prevention of child abuse, neglect
