Preventing Child Abuse

We can stop convicted abusers from harming kids.

Nearly 700,000 children are abused in the U.S annually.

Nearly 5 children die every day in the U.S.

%

of children who die from child abuse are under Age one.

How does child abuse affect kids?

See how, here.

Legal efforts

Why wait until children are harmed before we act?
Don’t we have a duty to ensure that children are not subjected to abuse by known offenders? Learn the details in one of our recently published papers.

Having Kids advocates for Fair Start judicial orders in cases of criminal abuse and neglect.

Read about them in detail here.

Fair Start orders prevent abusers from having, and thereby harming, additional children as a condition of probation. These child-centered judicial orders are noncoercive, progressive, constitutional and reflect all five aspects of the Fair Start model. Child abuse presents an ideal context in which to begin the remodeling of our family planning systems.

Fair Start orders do more than prevent child abuse. They allow parents to focus on rehabilitation so that they can be ready and capable of providing kids with a safe and supportive environment.

OUR RECENT WORK TO PREVENT CHILD ABUSE Our call for federal legislation. Having Kids has called upon the leaders of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to amend the Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act (“CAPTA”) to require states to enact legislation that allows judges to prohibit offenders convicted of certain felonies from having children as a condition of probation. READ MORE. Case in Indiana In mid-April 2018, the Department of Child Service, in response to multiple anonymous phone calls, removed four children from a home in Greenfield, Indiana occupied by Christopher Smith and Chantelle Oliver. READ MORE Case in Florida In late January 2018, the Department of Children and Family Services went to the home of Shane Samuels on a child welfare check. Inside a home with cigarette butts and trash strewn about the floor, investigators found a four-year-old boy with a large red, swollen handprint on the side of his face. READ MORE Case in Tennessee Sharon Helene Robinson and Bradley Dwight Hill of Tennessee have been accused of criminal child neglect after their severely autistic child was found naked, and covered in both human and dog feces, which he was eating. Excrement was also found in the child’s bed. READ MORE Case in California Having Kids is calling on Governor Brown, as well as the California Bureau of Children’s Justice, to investigate the “house of horrors” in Perris, California where parents apparently shackled and tortured up to thirteen children over an untold number of years. READ MORE

A Fair Start To Prevent Abuse

Nearly 30% of abused and neglected children will go on to commit abuse themselves. By helping parents wait until they are ready to have kids, the likelihood of conflict and stress that lead to abuse and neglect decreases. We can prevent kids from being subjected to abuse when communities support better family planning.

Legislative Efforts

Having Kids is also working with legislators and child welfare agencies to incorporate Fair Start family planning into community-level, state, and federal programs.

We recently sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions asking them to amend the Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act (“CAPTA”) by requiring states to enact Fair Start legislation. The legislation would enable judges to issue Fair Start Orders in criminal abuse cases. Read more.

TAKE ACTION

Ask the Senate committee members to add a Fair Start amendment to the Child Abuse and Prevention Treatment Act.

Add your name now