Prevention

Why Do We Need the Front Porch Project?

The United States is fortunate to have a mandatory public system of child protection. However, the fact remains that since 1976, America has seen a more than threefold increase in the number of children who are abused or neglected by caretakers.

Across the nation in 2001 (the most recent year for which complete data exist), approximately 903,000 children were victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, or neglect. An unanticipated byproduct of the strengthening of the public child protection sector is that individuals have ignored the significant community value of civic involvement and personal responsibility in protecting children and supporting families in their own neighborhoods. Ordinary, caring individuals have been stripped of the imperative duty to get involved on behalf of at-risk children.

American Humane believes that it is time to bring citizens back into the arena of child protection and abuse and neglect prevention. Our goal is to thoroughly affect large-scale, enduring, systemic change. Responding to families in trouble must blend the provision of government child protective services with leadership from the broader community.