April Proclaimed Child Abuse Prevention Month by Morris County Commissioners

Proclamation Presented to Kiwanis Young Children Priority One Program

Morris County’s Board of County Commissioners today proclaimed April 2022 Child Abuse Prevention Month in Morris County to bring more focus to the societal threats posed by child abuse and neglect, and to urge all residents to aid all families in crisis.

Commissioner Director Tayfun Selen presented a framed and signed copy of the proclamation to Karen DeChristopher, Director of the Young Children Priority One Program for the Kiwanis of Greater Parsippany, during the Board’s public work session in Morristown.

“The Kiwanis Young Children Priority One Program is one of our community partners working to improve the lives of young children in our nation,” Director Selen said.

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have declared child abuse and neglect to be a serious public health threat with long-lasting, negative impacts on every victim,” Director Selen added. “The most effective way to combat child abuse and neglect is to increase awareness and to report abuse; to encourage nurturing parenting practices and to provide support to everyone who may need help raising their children in a healthy environment.”

DeChristopher met Commissioners Selen and Stephen Shaw recently in Parsippany at a “Pinwheel Garden,” which she described as an awareness project developed by Prevent Child Abuse New Jersey, an organization founded in 1979 that promotes great childhoods, positive parenting and healthy child development.  DeChristopher said the pinwheels are placed into the ground in ceremonies every April to bring awareness to child abuse and neglect, and she gave each Commissioner at tonight’s meeting a pinwheel lapel pin..

“The pin wheel is something that is happy … It just brings joy to children,” she said. “Every child should be healthy and happy and not suffer abuse.”

DeChristopher said teaching proper parenting is key to ending child abuse and neglect.

“If you’ve grown up in an abusive situation, you don’t realize that’s not how everybody lives, especially domestic violence situations. Your kids grow up thinking everyone beats their wives, abuses their children or husbands and the cycle keeps continuing. … The point is teaching the parents how to take care of their children and not abuse them,” she added.

Her local organization, Young Children Priority One, is an ongoing community service program of Kiwanis International that addresses prenatal care and the needs of children of up to five years old. The program focuses on four key areas, including maternal and child health care, child care and development, parent education and support, and safety and pediatric trauma.

The problem remains widespread in the United States, although national rates of child abuse have declined since the 1990s, with the prevalence of awareness, intervention, family assistance programs and child placement services.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families reported that 618,000 children were confirmed victims of child abuse or serious neglect nationwide, and 1,750 children died as a result in 2020, the last year for which data is available.  However, nearly 3.9 million cases of suspected neglect, mistreatment or abuse were referred for investigation to child services authorities in the United States that same year.

In 2019, the New Jersey Child Placement Advisory Council reported 96,060 referrals involving claims of child neglect or abuse in the state, including 2,054 in Morris County. The Advisory Council noted 16,318 of those New Jersey referrals involved physical abuse, 8,223 involved multiple forms of abuse and 4,859 were reports of child sexual abuse.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the long-term impacts on the lives and general well-being of the victims include increasing a victim’s risk of perpetuating and experiencing future violence, delayed brain development, lower educational attainment, criminal activity and limited employment opportunities.