Preventing Child Abuse
If you suspect a child is in immediate danger, call 911
If you suspect abuse, call the Office of Children’s Services at
1-800-478-4444
The Cost of NOT Preventing Child Abuse
When a child is abused or neglected, there is an enormous cost -- to the child, their family, and the community.
We pay the direct costs in additional expense of child protection, public safety, courts, medical care, mental health care, foster care, adoptions, and increased crime.
Yet the greatest cost can't be easily measured, for abuse and neglect steals a child's sense of trust and their hope for the future.
The Statistics
In 2000, 97% of deaths among children in the United States were caused by child abuse and neglect. In 2003, Alaska had the HIGHEST rate of child maltreatment compared to all other states. Last year in Alaska, more than 12,000 children were abused, neglected or abandoned.
You Can Stop Child Abuse
- Talk to the adult to direct attention away from the child.
- “Children can wear you out, can’t they? Is there anything I can do to help?”
- “She seems to be trying your patience.”
- “My child has gotten upset like that too.”
Divert the attention of a misbehaving child by talking to him or her.
Find something to praise about the parent or the child.
Stay with the child who appears to have been left alone until the parent returns.
- Pay attention to what goes on in your community. Know the parents and children in your neighborhood.
- Be a good neighbor. Offer to baby-sit, allowing parents some time to relax & unwind.
- Build a positive relationship with a child; it may have a bigger impact than you think.
- Volunteer for agencies, day care centers and schools in your community that work with children, youths and families.
- Become a CASA volunteer.
- Become a foster parent or adoptive parent.
- Investigate how to start a “Safe Home” program in your community or start one if you don’t already have one.
- Become an advocate for prevention and early intervention services.
- Support preventive, community-based services designed to alleviate stress and promote parental behavior that will increase the ability of families to successfully nurture their children.
Be An Everyday Hero To A Child
- Be a role model for respectful behavior and values you believe in.
- Listen to a child without judging what you hear.
- Encourage a child to keep trying when he or she fails. Set goals and celebrate accomplishments.
- Set boundaries that are appropriate for your relationship to a child.
