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CAPTA’s Reauthorization:

Posted June 26, 2008

In 1973, Vincent De Francis -- who was then the director of American Humane’s Children’s Division -- testified at hearings leading to the creation of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The law was passed in 1974 and then reauthorized in 2003 as the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act. It remains the most important piece of federal legislation protecting our country’s children from abuse and neglect.

I’m proud to say that Caren Kaplan, our director of child protection reform, is following in De Francis’ footsteps by testifying today before the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families about CAPTA’s proposed 2008 reauthorization.

Children, families and communities across the country count on CAPTA to support the prevention, identification, assessment, investigation and treatment of abuse and neglect. And they are counting on American Humane to help ensure that CAPTA is not only reauthorized, but also enhanced to reflect the most successful innovations in child protection practices.

One of the many amendments to CAPTA that American Humane is advocating for is a clear definition of chronic child neglect and the development of better connections among federal, state and local efforts to link research, policy and practice related to this pressing issue. We believe that better connections will lead to better results for neglected children.

Why the emphasis on neglect? Ironically, child neglect has itself been neglected, perhaps because its victims’ struggles are typically more difficult to identify than those present in abuse cases. But we all remember certain kids from our childhood, the ones who frequently missed school, seldom participated in the classroom, and never asked friends to come over to their homes. What happens to these children?

Research provides some disturbing answers. Neglected children may have behavioral and learning problems, lose developmental capacities or fall into juvenile delinquency and adult criminality. And neglect’s prevalence is staggering. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ latest Child Maltreatment Report, 62.8 percent of the 899,000 children determined to be victims of maltreatment suffered neglect.

You can do something about the toll neglect is taking on our children and our society. Notice the children in your community and ask yourself whether any of them are regularly supervising younger siblings when they are very young themselves. Or perhaps you’ve seen a child with a medical condition who has not received treatment, or parents who have substance abuse problems and do not fulfill their children’s basic needs. If you have concerns, contact your local child welfare agency and make a report.

American Humane will also continue to do our part. In addition to giving today’s testimony on CAPTA, we recently launched an initiative dedicated to the prevention, identification, intervention and treatment of chronic neglect. It is our goal to raise awareness of this critical issue and extend more help to the children affected by it.

Download Caren Kaplan’s full testimony on CAPTA.

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