Increasing public awareness of the need to ensure the safety and welfare of
children led to the passage of the first Federal child protection legislation,
the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), in 1974. While CAPTA has
been amended many times over the years, most recently with the CAPTA
Reauthorization Act of 2010, the purpose of the original legislation remains
intact. Today, the Children's Bureau, within the Administration for Children and
Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the
Federal agency charged with supporting States, Tribes, and communities in
providing programs and services to protect children and strengthen families.
In the early 1980s, Congress made a further commitment to identifying and
implementing solutions to end child abuse. Recognizing the alarming rate at
which children continued to be abused and neglected and the need for innovative
programs to prevent child abuse and assist parents and families affected by
maltreatment, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives resolved that the
week of June 6-12, 1982, should be designated as the first National Child Abuse
Prevention Week. Members of Congress requested the President issue a
proclamation calling upon Government agencies and the public to observe the week
with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities promoting the prevention
of child abuse and neglect.
The following year, in 1983, April was proclaimed the first National Child
Abuse Prevention Month. As a result, child abuse and neglect awareness
activities are promoted across the country during April of each year. The Office
on Child Abuse and Neglect (OCAN) within the Children's Bureau coordinates Child
Abuse Prevention Month activities at the Federal level, providing information
and releasing updated national statistics about child abuse and neglect. Many
governors also issue proclamations to encourage initiatives and events in their
States.
In 1989, the Blue Ribbon Campaign to Prevent Child Abuse began as a Virginia
grandmother's tribute to her grandson who died as a result of abuse. She tied a
blue ribbon to the antenna of her car as a way to remember him and to alert her
community to the tragedy of child abuse. The Blue Ribbon Campaign has since
expanded across the country; many people wear blue ribbons each April in memory
of those who have died as a result of child abuse and in support of efforts to
prevent abuse. Based on Prevent Child Abuse America's (PCAA) Pinwheels for
Prevention® campaign, some communities distribute pinwheels and coordinate
outdoor pinwheel displays representing children affected by abuse or neglect.
Regardless of the type of activity, the focus has shifted to a positive message
of supporting families and strengthening communities to prevent child abuse and
neglect.
In Title II of the CAPTA amendments of 1996, the Children's Bureau was
charged with identifying a lead agency in each State for Community-Based Child
Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) grants. These grants support the development,
operation, and expansion of initiatives to prevent child abuse and neglect, as
well as the coordination of resources and activities to strengthen and support
families to reduce the likelihood of child maltreatment. CBCAP grantees within
each State often take leadership roles in coordinating special events and
preparing materials to support Child Abuse Prevention Month, and they are
required to report annually on their activities.
In 2003, as part of the 20th anniversary of the
original Presidential Proclamation designating April as Child Abuse Prevention
Month, OCAN launched the National Child Abuse Prevention Initiative as a
year-long effort. The theme of the 14th National Conference on Child Abuse and
Neglect was devoted to prevention; at that time, a press conference was held to
launch the initiative and release the publication,
Emerging
Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. In addition,
OCAN and Child Welfare Information Gateway partnered with PCAA and the child
abuse prevention community to produce a variety of tools and resources to
support national, State, and local public awareness activities.
As momentum grew among national organizations and Federal agencies, an
emerging consensus determined that building public will for child abuse
prevention required engaging the public in efforts to support families and
enhance parenting skills. When the U.S. Surgeon General named 2005 the Year of
the Healthy Child, there was renewed commitment to make child abuse prevention a
national priority. As a result, OCAN focused on making safe children and healthy
families a shared responsibility, a theme that was also incorporated into the
15th National Conference. The theme expanded in 2007 when OCAN's resource guide
and the 16th National Conference encouraged communities to join the effort to
promote healthy families and work collaboratively to provide responsive child
abuse prevention and family support services. At the same time, OCAN invited 26
national organizations to be national child abuse prevention partners so the
message could reach a wider audience.
Support for child abuse prevention efforts has expanded due in part to the
growing body of evidence that suggests home visitation programs for pregnant
mothers and families with young children can reduce the incidence of
maltreatment and improve child and family outcomes. In 2007, the Children's
Bureau funded three grantees to implement and evaluate nurse home visitation
services, and in 2008, it funded 17 cooperative agreements to generate knowledge
about the use of evidence-based home visiting programs to prevent child abuse
and neglect, including obstacles and opportunities for their wider
implementation. Recently, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010
included a provision to create the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home
Visiting Program. The Health Resources and Services Administration has partnered
with ACF to implement this program to fund States and Tribes as they provide
evidence-based home visitation services to improve outcomes for children and
families in at-risk communities.
The 18th National Conference theme "Celebrating the Past – Imagining the
Future" highlighted our desire to embrace our past successes, to learn from our
challenges, and to realize our dream of eliminating child abuse and neglect.
Timing the National Conference with the centennial celebration provided us with
a special op-portunity to come together and reflect upon accomplishments and
lessons learned, as well as a chance to collectively develop strategies to
improved policies and services to ensure the safety, protection, and well-being
of our nation's children.
Today, the Child Abuse Prevention Initiative
continues to be an opportunity to create strong communities to support families
and keep children safe. Visit the
National Child
Abuse Prevention Month website for more information on the most current
resources and national efforts.
