American Humane Testifies for Reauthorization & Expansion of Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Plus Increased Use of 'Differential Response' and Other Approaches

American Humane Testifies for Reauthorization & Expansion of Child Abuse
Prevention and Treatment Act, Plus Increased Use of 'Differential Response'
and Other Approaches

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In testimony today before the
U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor's Subcommittee on Healthy Families
and Communities, Caren Kaplan, MSW, director of child protection reform for
the American Humane Association, strongly urged Congress to reauthorize and
increase funding for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), the
landmark 1974 legislation that addresses child abuse and neglect. The hearing
was titled "Preventing Child Abuse and Improving Responses to Families in
Crisis."

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American Humane, a national nonprofit organization, was created 132 years ago
to protect the welfare of both children and animals. Kaplan's testimony
reflects well over a century of American Humane advocating at the federal,
state and local levels for laws that protect children and animals from abuse
and neglect.

Kaplan urged that CAPTA include language that supports and enhances
interagency collaboration between the child protection system and animal
welfare agencies to address what American Humane calls The Link(R), which is
the connection between animal abuse and other forms of social violence such as
child abuse, elder abuse and spousal violence.

Kaplan recommended that, in reauthorizing CAPTA, Congress encourage child
welfare agencies to more fully utilize an emerging and promising approach to
dealing with reports of child abuse or maltreatment, namely "differential
response" or "alternative response," in addition to the traditional
investigative approach that continues to be most appropriate for allegations
of severe maltreatment and cases that have the likelihood of serious harm to
the child. She also encouraged widespread integration of what are known as
family involvement and leadership models that build on the protective
capacities of the family group, both immediate and extended, to give those
families more decision-making abilities about their children, and she
recommended having the federal government provide additional leadership to the
state and local levels in dealing with chronic neglect, which is the ongoing,
serious pattern of depriving a child of his or her basic physical,
developmental and/or emotional needs by a parent or caregiver.

"Differential response allows for and promotes the use of interventions that
do not alienate or demonize parents, but rather engage parents in addressing
their needs so they can successfully and safely parent their children," Kaplan
said.

"Throughout the United States, a primary responsibility of child protection
agencies is to receive and respond to all reports of alleged child abuse and
neglect," Kaplan noted. "Historically, there has been one response by the
child protection agency to accepted reports of alleged maltreatment - an
investigation. Given that the majority of families who come to the attention
of the agency are at low or moderate risk of maltreatment, and are not
experiencing immediate child safety issues, a developing trend has emerged
over the past 15 years among public child welfare agencies to respond to these
families differentially in a manner that is more responsive to their needs."

Kaplan explained that differential response is based on several foundational
underpinnings: In particular, the severity of each family's situation is never
identical to another, and it is crucial to be responsive to these differences.
Another tenet is based on the fact that national child welfare data indicate
that over many years, many families receive no post-investigation services.
After being identified and labeled as 'child abusers', these families refuse
services and the case is closed. A significant proportion of these families
will return to the attention of the child protection agency because there was
no intervention to remediate their difficulties. Some will eventually require
juvenile or family court involvement and they will be ordered to comply with
court decisions.

"Thus, our historical approach with these families has produced incentives to
'meet an obligation' and resist anything that resembles comparable
interference and enforcement instead of breeding the cooperation and
motivation of families to change - which is the aim of differential response
systems," Kaplan testified.

Differential response approaches emphasize the value of child and family
assessments without requiring a determination that maltreatment has occurred.
It allows for access to available resources and services rather than solely
investigating the occurrence of maltreatment. Services are provided to
families without a formal determination of abuse or neglect or labeling
someone as perpetrator and listing them in the central child abuse registry.

In making American Humane's recommendations, Kaplan noted that differential
response has been implemented either statewide or in selected jurisdictions in
about 20 states, and the number continues to grow. She said initial research
indicates positive results:
-- Child safety is not compromised and, in some cases, is attained
sooner.
-- Repeat cases of abuse and neglect decrease.
-- There are higher rates of family cooperation and participation
-- There is a lower placement rate of children into foster care.
-- Costs, although higher upfront, are actually lower over time.

-- There is increased satisfaction, both with families and child welfare
workers.

"American Humane hopes this CAPTA reauthorization serves as a foundation and
impetus for the reduction of children who experience abuse or neglect, and an
increase in the number of families who have sufficient strengths, capacity and
supports to keep their children safe from harm," Kaplan concluded.

Kaplan's entire written testimony, including more details on family
involvement and leadership models, chronic neglect and The Link between social
violence and animal abuse, can be found at www.americanhumane.org/CAPTA.

About American Humane
Founded in 1877, the American Humane Association is the only national
organization dedicated to protecting both children and animals. Through a
network of child and animal protection agencies and individuals, American
Humane develops policies, legislation, curricula and training programs to
protect children and animals from abuse, neglect and exploitation. The
nonprofit organization, headquartered in Denver, raises awareness about The
Link(R) between violence to people and violence to animals, as well as the
benefits derived from the human-animal bond. American Humane's office in Los
Angeles is the authority behind the "No Animals Were Harmed"(R) end-credit
disclaimer on film and TV productions, and American Humane's office in
Washington, D.C., is an advocate for child and animal protection at the
federal and state levels. American Humane meets the strong, comprehensive
standards of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, has been
awarded the Independent Charities of America's "Best in America" Seal of
Approval, has met the stringent standards for financial efficiency and
accountability required by the American Institute of Philanthropy to qualify
as a Top-Rated Charity, and has received a 3-star rating from Charity
Navigator, America's premier independent charity evaluator. Visit
www.americanhumane.org to learn more.

SOURCE American Humane Association

Randy Blauvelt of the American Humane Association, +1-303-925-9442,
randyb@americanhumane.org