Emotional stability is vital for the development of a child, particularly in the first few years of a young life. According to CPS in the state of Kentucky, there is no law in place that will let them investigate and take appropriate action if emotional abuse of an infant or young child occurs. Abandonment is not recognized either in the state of Kentucky as a form of neglect, which ultimately then turns into emotional neglect or abuse. The US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families recognizes this problem and although certain KRS chapters briefly address emotional injury to some extend, they are not defined enough to ensure the well-being of a child, especially an infant.
My goal is to establish a law that will recognize and protect infants and young children from emotional abuse caused by either the abandonment of a child by a parent, and emotional abuse and neglect of a child by witnessing violence and instability in the home. The following website is a guideline established by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families:
http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm
Other than the above applications, there are many research articles available that will emphasize on the emotional stability from infancy on. Psychology Today published the following:
“The first two years of life are critical because that's when your baby is building the mental foundation that will dictate his or her behavior through adulthood. In the first year alone, your baby's brain grows from about 400g to a stupendous 1000g. While this growth and development is in part predetermined by genetic force, exactly how the brain grows is dependent upon emotional interaction, and that involves you. "The human cerebral cortex adds about 70% of its final DNA content after birth," reports Allan N. Schore, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and bio-behavioral sciences at UCLA Medical School, "and this expanding brain is directly influenced by early environmental enrichment and social experiences."
"Failure to provide this enrichment during the first two years of life can lead to a lifetime of emotional disability, according to attachment theorists. We are talking about the need to create a relationship and environment that allows your child to grow up with an openess to learning and the abiity to process, understand and experience emotion with compassion, intelligence and resilience. These are the basic building blocks of emotional success."
At no point should an infant or child be made to wait "until a visible injury can be verified" and emotional neglect and abuse is recognized by an agency only when this person can effectively verbalize their trauma before actions can be taken by CPS or a law enforcement agency.
I respectfully ask my fellow citizens, parents and grandparents to sign this petition to be able to get a law passed that fully addresses this very important issue. Thank You!
