All forms of abuse and neglect are wrong. I have described a few signs of child abuse and neglect to look for when working with children.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse is a non-accidental injury to a child that may include, but is not limited to, burning, beating, kicking and punching.
- There may be physical evidence of bruises or broken bones
- Internal injuries that may not be apparent.
- Bruises more numerous than expected from explanation of incident, bruising behind the ears, crescent-shaped bruising caused by pinching, or bruises that resemble distinctive objects. (e.g. belt buckle).
- Welts or loop marks in various stages of healing.
- Bald spots or missing clumps of hair.
- Unexplained fractures, skin lacerations, bite marks, puncture wounds, or abrasions.
- Swollen lips or chipped teeth.
- Linear/parallel marks on cheeks and/or temple.
- Other unexplained injuries
Sexual Abuse
Any intentional touching/contact that can be reasonably construed as being for the purpose of sexual arousal, gratification, or any other improper purpose.
Neglect
Physical Neglect – Negligent treatment, including but not limited to failure to provide or attempt to provide the child with food, clothing, or shelter necessary to sustain the life or health of the child, excluding those situations solely attributable to poverty.
Failure to Protect – Knowingly allowing another person to abuse and/or neglect the child without taking appropriate measures to stop the abuse and/or neglect. They do nothing to prevent it from recurring when the person has knowledge or should have had knowledge of the abuse and/or neglect.
Improper Supervision – Placing the child in, or failing to remove the child from, a situation that a reasonable person would realize requires judgment or actions beyond the child’s level of maturity, physical condition, or mental abilities and results in harm or threatened harm to the child.
Abandonment – The person responsible for the child’s health and welfare leaves a child with an agency, person, or other entity such as a hospital or mental health facility and they do not return.
Medical Neglect – Failure to seek, obtain, or follow through with medical care for the child, with the failure resulting in or presenting risk of death, disfigurement or bodily harm or with the failure resulting in an observable and material impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child.
Behavior Indicators
- Withdrawn and/or aggressive-behavior extremes
- Uncomfortable/skittish with physical contact
- Expresses fear to go home
- Lacks impulse control such as inappropriate outburst
Recognize that there could be numerous reasons for a child’s behavior but if you are concerned make the call!!