Hearts for Families | Child Abuse Prevention Month
One of my first jobs in this field was as a Child Protection Investigator with my local Sheriff’s Office. Our division was tasked with investigating reports of child abuse and neglect which had been called to our state’s Abuse Hotline. I applied for the job because I wanted to make a difference. And I did! I went to bed each night confident that I was SAVING children.
I look back now and am not so sure.
There were MANY children that I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, were made safer because we intervened to remove them from a dangerous situation. They had experienced undeniable abuse and neglect, some since birth, and they likely would have continued to experience this had we not acted.
But what I didn’t understand at the time…what I wish I had known then… was that our actions to protect these children and remove them from abuse, would have a profound impact on their long-term mental health, and their ability to navigate the world forming safe and healthy attachments.
I’m not talking about the complex and complicated impact of abuse that is experienced at the hands of a parent – the person in the world who you should be able to trust most.
But the compounding trauma that occurs when “the system” intervenes and a child is separated from their primary attachment figures – the only caregivers they have ever known. Even when all they’ve ever known is harm.
The compounding trauma when a child endures multiple placements, a revolving door of caregivers, and the steady drip of stress hormones that comes with insecurity, rewiring the brain and body.
No matter how egregious the abuse, how horrific the neglect, I cannot point to a single memory of a child who wanted to be removed from their family’s home.
As our field has evolved, and as research has come along to help us better understand the long-term physical and behavioral health implications of disrupted childhood attachment, my thoughts on my time working as a Child Protection Investigator have also evolved.
We know now that children will thrive MOST when they can remain safely in the care of their family.
As a community of professionals, we owe it to children to bring to bear every possible means to partner with their family and stabilize their home life before the system intervenes. We must constantly, tirelessly seek creative supports and community resources which will “bubble wrap” families and keep them from breaking when they come up against hard things. If the difficult decision must be made to remove a child from their home, we must not underestimate and discount the very real trauma WE are causing them.
As a community of people with hearts for children – I ask you to join me in expanding that place in your heart. I am asking you to become a community of people with hearts for families.
- When you see a parent who appears to be struggling, offer them help and encouragement
- When you see a child whose needs don’t appear to be met, find out what their family is lacking
- Defy the stigma around asking for help, and share openly with others about times when your own family has struggled
April is “Child Abuse Prevention Month,” and I hope awareness efforts like this will result in the prevention of abuse, even for just one child. But most of all, I hope as a unified system we will evolve our hearts for children into hearts for families and invest in resources which will strengthen and stabilize families so that ALL children might thrive in a safe and loving home.
Morgan Ednie
Thornwell Vice President for Strategic Impact