Transcript Categories of Abuse

The State of Children in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Bar
Association
Outreach to Children
Initiative
Support Center for
Child Advocates
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Volunteer Lawyer Program for Abused and
Neglected Children
First Case in 1971
Child Advocates Incorporated 1977
Collaborative Teams of Attorneys & Social
Workers
Represented 680 Children in 2005
Office: Philadelphia PA
Sources
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Annie E. Casey Foundation: Kids Count 2006
www.aecf.org
Child Abuse and Neglect State Profiles
www.firststar.org
Children of Immigrants: Facts and Figures May 2006
www.urban.org
Children of Immigrant Families
www.futureofchildren.org
Dependent Youth Aging Out of Foster Care in
Pennsylvania www.jlc.org
DPW Child Abuse Report 2005 www.dpw.state.pa.us
Sources
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Foster Care: Voices from the Inside
www.pewfostercare.org
Kinship Report: Assessing the Needs of Relative
Caregivers and the Children in their Care, 2003.
Casey Family Programs www.casey.org
National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being,
Wave 1 www.ndacan.cornell.edu
National Data and Analysis System: Children of Color
in the Welfare System www.cwla.org
2005 Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS)
www.pccd.state.pa.us
Sources
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Center for the Promotion of Mental Health in the
Juvenile Justice www.promotementalhealth.org
Report Card 2006: The Well-Being of Children in
Philadelphia www.philasafesound.org
Smith, JM. “Foster Care Children with Disabilities”
Journal of Health and Social Policy: 2002
Sullivan, P.M. Knutson, J.F. “The Prevalence of
Disabilities and Maltreatment Among Runaway
Children” Child Abuse and Neglect: 2000.
Supporting Justice: A Report on the Pro Bono Work of
America’s Lawyers www.abanet.org
U.S. Census Bureau www.census.gov
Children in Pennsylvania
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2,846,382 children under 18 live in
Pennsylvania
Children make up 22.9% of the population
www.census.gov
Key Risk-Factors
to a Child’s Well-Being
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Living in poverty
Living in a single-parent household
Being a high school dropout
Having difficulty speaking English
Living in a high-poverty neighborhood
www.aecf.org
How Pennsylvania Measures Up
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14.7% of children live in poverty
23% of children live in single-parent
households
17.1% of 16-19 year olds are high school
dropouts
2.9% have difficulty speaking English
15.3% live in high-poverty neighborhoods
www.aecf.org
Children and Family
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68% of children live in married-couple
households
23% live in single-parent households (US 31%)
204,909 children live with their grandparents …
39% are cared for solely by their grandparents
32% live in families where no parent has fulltime, year-round employment (US 33%)
www.aecf.org
PA Children and Poverty
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Poverty threshold for 2004: A family of 2 adults, 2
children with an income of $19,157
466,000 children live in poverty
17% live below poverty line (18% nationwide)
8% live below 50% of poverty line (8%)
37% live below 200% of poverty line (40%)
20% of children living in poverty do not have health
insurance vs. 10% of total child population
www.aecf.org
Percentage of PA Children living in
Poverty broken down by Race:
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10.2% of white children (234,935 of 2,242,083)
16.8% of Asian children (9,115 of 55,135)
30.5% of American Indian or Alaskan children (1,559 of
5,093)
35.8% of black or African-American children (129,201
of 380,123)
37.7% of Hispanic children (54,030 of 148,664)
42.5% of children of some other race (30,094 of
73,080)
www.aecf.org
Immigration in Pennsylvania
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4.1% of Pennsylvania’s population is foreign born
Children of immigrants are the fastest growing
segment of the child population nationwide
www.futureofchildren.org
Children of Immigrants
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More likely to be experience at least one of the five key
risk factors
54% live in families with incomes of less than twice
federal poverty level
Less likely to receive food stamps, cash welfare,
housing assistance
Only 62% of 19 year olds with parents of South and
Central American descent have graduated high school
Nationwide, 26% live in linguistically isolated
households
www.urban.org
www.futureofchildren.org
Education in Pennsylvania
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31% of fourth graders score below basic reading level
(ranked 14th of the 50 states)
23% of eight graders score below basic reading level
(23/50)
46% of children live in homes without internet access
(52% nationally)
5% of teens are high school drop outs (8% nationally)
www.aecf.org
Highest Education for 18-24 year
olds in PA
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20.2% have not graduated high school
29.8% have graduated high school or
equivalent
36.2% have some college, no degree
13.1% have Associates or Bachelor’s degree
Youth Risk Factors
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6% of teens are not in school or employed (US 9%)
317 out of every 100,000 young adults in Pennsylvania
live in juvenile detention and correction facilities, a
number that has been rising since 1999 (US
307/100,000)
11% of 11-17 year olds and 46% of 18-26 year olds are
binge drinkers
15% of 11-17 year olds and 45% of 18-26 year olds are
smokers
6% of 11-17 year olds and 8% of 18-26 year olds use
drugs other than marijuana
www.philasafesound.org
Risks for High School Drop-Outs
School dropouts are more likely to:
 Be unemployed
 Experience higher levels of early pregnancy
 Experience substance abuse
 Require more social services
www.pewreportfostercare.org
Risks for Children
Charged as Delinquents
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Experience unaddressed health, mental health, and
learning problems
Suspended or expelled even if charges are dismissed
Not permitted to return or re-enroll in home school
Re-arrested if not in school
Do not receive adequate education while incarcerated
www.pewreportfostercare.org
Youth
in the Juvenile Justice System
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Have substance abuse/dependency rates 2x that of the
general population
50-75% have a diagnosable mental health problem;
less than 1/3 have been diagnosed when incarcerated
4x the suicide rate of the general population
92% of young women report being emotionally,
physically, or mentally abused at some point in their
lives
www.promotementalhealth.org
Foster Care
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In 2003, 523,062 children in America were living in
foster care
21,768 of Pennsylvania’s children were living in foster
care
Fifth highest number nationwide!
Foster children have to move to an average of three
different placements during their time in the system
www.pewreportfostercare.org
Foster Care in Pennsylvania
Compared with national average:
 7.5/1000 children are in foster care (v. 7.2)
 0.35% are maltreated in foster care (v. 0.49%)
 23.5% re-enter foster care (v. 11.40%)
 70.1% are reunited with their parent or caregiver within
12 months (v. 69.12%)
 16.8% are adopted within 12 months (v. 21.08%)
www.firststar.org
Racial Inequity and Foster Care
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Children in foster care are disproportionately children
of color; 33% of nationwide population, but 55% of
children in foster care system www.cwla.org
Children of color are more likely to stay in foster care
longer and leave at a slower rate; 61% of children
waiting to be adopted are children of color
Far less likely to reunite with their families
www.pewreportfostercare.org
Mental Disability and Foster Care
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30-40% of children in the foster care system
should receive special education
Because of frequent moves these needs often
go unmet or unidentified because special
education depends on careful tracking and
parental involvement to work successfully
Smith, JM. “Foster Care Children with Disabilities” Journal of Health
and Social Policy: 2002
Challenges for Children
in Foster Care: Emotional
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Most do not know whether they will rejoin their families
or become part of a new, permanent family
Some blame themselves because they do not
understand why they were removed from their
birthparents
As adults, they are more likely to experience
homelessness, unemployment, and other problems
www.pewreportfostercare.org
Challenges for Children
in Foster Care: Education
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Numerous school placements by age 18
Loss of academic progress with each move
Higher rates of grade retention
Lower scores on standardized tests
Higher absenteeism, tardiness, truancy, and dropout
rates
2x as likely to drop out
High rates of out of school suspension leading to
increased juvenile detention
www.pewreportfostercare.org
Profile of Children
after One Year in Foster Care
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45% African-American; 31% white; 17% Hispanic; 7%
other
Neglect was primary reason (60%) for placement; 41%
had experienced more than one of the four main
categories of maltreatment: physical abuse, sexual
abuse, failure to supervise, failure to provide
Average age of children: In traditional foster care: 6; In
kinship care: 7; in group care: 10
www.ndacn.cornell.edu
Physical and Emotional Well-Being
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90% were insured by Medicare and had adequate immunizations
and dental care
However, these children fell below national samples on every
measure of cognitive and social development
25-50% of those 2 years and older had behavioral problems v.
17% nationally
40% had social skills categorized as low v. 16% nationally
Over 50% of 11-17 had committed a delinquent act
Those children who had been sexually abused, were living in a
group home, or who were older than 7 were most at risk
www.ndacn.cornell.edu
Youth Aging Out of Foster Care
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Often do not have adequate education to
successfully transition
Finding housing and paying for healthcare are
particularly problematic
www.jlc.org
Kinship Care
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In Pennsylvania, kinship care is defined as a
child living with “someone related in the first,
second, or third degree to the parent or
stepparent of that child who may be related
through blood or marriage and who is at least
21 years of age”
16.6% of PA’s children live in formal or informal
kinship care
www.casey.org
Kinship Care is a Rising Trend
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Number of available foster care placements
has not kept apace of the rise in children
needing out of home placements
Child welfare agencies taking a more positive
view of kinship care
Federal and state court rulings recognizing the
right of relatives to act as foster parents and be
financially compensated accordingly
www.casey.org
Characteristics of
Kinship-Care Givers
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Most caregivers are older than 60 and unmarried;
majority are grandparents
2/5 have incomes below the poverty level
Most take on responsibility during a crisis period
Encounter serious financial difficulties because of need
for housing, medical services, schooling etc.
www.casey.org
Characteristics of Children living in
Kinship Care: Emotional
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Tend to move fewer times than others in out-of-home
placements; Have more contact with siblings and birth
parents; Have higher self-esteem
However, also tend to have more intense and higher
rates of emotional and behavioral problems than the
general child population
Higher rate of intra-uterine drug and alcohol exposure
Lack access to medical and emotional health care
www.casey.org
Children with Disabilities
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4.6% of non-institutionalized children in Pennsylvania
have one disability
3.7% of these children have a mental disability
1.1% of Pennsylvania’s children have more than one
disability
www.aecf.org
Risks for Children with Disabilities
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More likely to suffer sexual, physical, emotional abuse
and physical neglect
Children with a disability are 3.4 times more likely to
suffer maltreatment at home
Runaways are disproportionately likely to have a
mental disability
90% of youth who commit suicide have at least one
major psychiatric disorder
Sullivan, P.M. Knutson, J.F. “The Prevalence of Disabilities and
Maltreatment Among Runaway Children” Child Abuse and
Neglect: 2000.
Child Abuse and Neglect
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In 2005, there were 4,390 substantiated reports of child
abuse in Pennsylvania
19% of the total reports of suspected abuse
59% of the perpetrators had a parental relationship
with the child they abused; 22% had been perpetrators
in at least one other case of abuse
11% of the cases involved children who had been
abused before
www.dpw.state.pa.us
Categories of Child Abuse
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Physical Injury
Mental Injury
Sexual Injury
Physical Neglect
www.dpw.state.pa.us
Physical Abuse
“causes a child severe pain or significantly impairs a child’s
physical function either temporarily or permanently”
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1,095 or 27% of substantiated injuries were physical
40 children died as a result of abuse
34 of these children were under the age of 9
17 of them lived in Philadelphia
www.dpw.state.pa.us
Mental Abuse
“a psychological condition, as diagnosed by a physician
or license psychologist that renders a child
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severely anxious, agitated, depressed, socially
withdrawn, psychotic or in reasonable fear that his
or her life or safety is threatened;
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or seriously interferes with a child’s ability to
accomplish age-appropriate developmental tasks”
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60 or 1% of substantiated injuries were the
result of mental abuse
www.dpw.state.pa.us
Sexual Abuse
“includes engaging a child in sexually explicit conduct,
including the photographing, videotaping, computer
depicting or filming, or any visual depiction of
sexually explicit conduct of children”
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4,629 or 65% of substantiated injuries were
the result of sexual abuse
58% of these injuries were the result of
sexual assault
514 children were raped; 297 were victims of
incest
www.dpw.state.pa.us
Physical Neglect
“prolonged or repeated lack of supervision or the failure to provide
the essentials of life, including adequate medical care”
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234 or 3% of substantiated injuries were caused by of
physical neglect
13 of the 40 fatalities were the result of physical
neglect; 10 of these deaths resulted from a lack of
supervision
www.dpw.state.pa.us
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Nationwide, physical neglect is the reason 59.9% of
children in foster care enter the system
www.ndacn.cornell.edu
Child’s Living Situation at Time of
Abuse
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46% of children were living in a single-parent
household
32% were in a two-parent household
11% were living with a parent and a paramour
5% were in foster care
4% were living with a relative
www.dpw.state.pa.us
Philadelphia
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11.8% of Pennsylvania’s population lives in
Philadelphia County
370,210 children or 13.0% of Pennsylvania’s
total child population lives in Philadelphia
www.census.gov
Philadelphia
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28.5% of Philadelphia’s children live in poverty
25.9% high school drop out rate
6,728 children are in dependency placements;
1,797 are in delinquency placements
www.philasafesound.org
Children and Crime in Philadelphia
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4,433 children and young adults were victims of crime;
¾ of these crimes were violent (rape, homicide,
assault, robbery)
In 2005, there were 920 gunshot victims between the
ages of 7-24
In 2005, the number of assaults in public schools went
up for the eighth straight year
2,258 youths were arrested for drug related offenses
www.philasafesound.org
2005 Pennsylvania Youth Survey
(PAYS)
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6th, 8th and 10th graders scored lower than the national
average in terms of engaging in detrimental behaviors
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Use and willingness to use drugs, alcohol for younger youths
have gone down since 2001
12th graders scored higher than national average in
almost all categories
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Use and willingness to use drugs, alcohol for 12 graders have
risen since 2001
www.pccd.state.us
PA Youth and Alcohol
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Emerged as biggest problem
33.7% of 12th graders binge drank at least once in past
2 weeks; 14.9% overall
9.3% of students reported being drunk or high at
school in the past year; 20.1% of 12th graders
Rates of alcohol use and binge drinking were higher for
students with medium or high symptoms of depression
www.pccd.state.pa.us
PA Youth and Risky Behavior
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11.7% had attacked someone with the intent to harm
2.1% attempted to steal a vehicle
5.1% reported being arrested
9.6% reported being suspended
5.5% reported selling drugs
2.4% reported bringing a weapon to school
7.0% reported belonging to a gang with a name
www.pccd.state.pa.us
Pro Bono
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93% of lawyers surveyed responded that pro bono is
“something that lawyers should do”
66% provided “Tier 1” pro bono: free legal services to
people of limited means or to the organizations that
support them
18% provided “Tier 2” pro bono: free legal services to
other entities or legal services at a reduced rate
De-Motivators: perceived lack of time, employer
discouragement, lack of expertise
www.abanet.org
Support Center for
Child Advocates
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1900 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tel: 215-925-1913
www.advokid.org
Frank P. Cervone, Executive Director
(tel. ext. 130)