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Ensure Children Have Safe and Healthy Homes

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: American Humane Association

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was passed in 1974 because of increasing public awareness of the need to ensure the safety and welfare of children. CAPTA provides federal money to state and local communities like yours for programs and services to prevent abuse, protect children and strengthen families.

Each year, almost 1 million American children experience abuse and neglect. Of these children, 60 percent suffer neglect, 19 percent physical abuse, 10 percent sexual abuse, and 7 percent emotional maltreatment. All of these forms of abuse can have a lifelong psychological and physical impact on a child. And shockingly, approximately 1400 children are killed each year from abuse, most of whom are under the age of one.

Every five years, CAPTA gets reauthorized. This year it is up for review again. President Bush has already cut many important human service programs in this year's budget (including domestic violence and juvenile justice funds). We need your help to ensure these cuts do not affect the safety of children.

Please ask Congress to not only maintain current funding levels, but to increase funding to keep up with today's economy, so that all children can live in safe and healthy homes.

deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 30,000

21,093
signatures!

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Tell Congress why you want programs to prevent child abuse.

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Dear [member of Congress],

I am writing to you today to ask for your support for increasing the budget for state grants, community-based prevention grants, and research grants supported by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). Our nation's child welfare system is stretched beyond capacity to handle the full scope of the problem. Appropriate services for families and children who have been victimized by abuse or neglect are lacking, and insufficient funding has been allocated for the prevention of child maltreatment.

And now, I fear that this situation may only get worse. President Bush has already cut many important human service programs in this year's budget (including domestic violence and juvenile justice funds), and I strongly oppose cutting into budgets for child abuse services.

Our child protection system demands adequate investment. Continuing to do otherwise is far too costly. A 2003 study calculated the total costs of child abuse to exceed $87 billion annually -- $258 million dollars a day -- a figure that includes the immediate direct costs (such as law enforcement, medical treatment, child welfare services and foster care) and long-term indirect costs (including juvenile delinquency and crime, special education, and lost productivity).

Yet, according to the Urban Institute, out of more than $20 billion spent each year on child welfare in federal, state and local funds, states typically spend just between 10 and 15 percent on prevention and the protection of children. We have a spending gap in this country in services to prevent child abuse and to intervene on behalf of children known to the child protection system.
It would be good business sense if we invested our resources in child protection and prevention services the way we should.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Dr. James J. Heckman has concluded in his research that "early childhood interventions of high quality have lasting effects on learning and motivation." An additional analysis conducted by Federal Reserve Bank economists recognizes that "investment in early childhood development yields an extraordinary return, far exceeding the return on most investments, private or public ... that are currently funded as economic development." And at a recent Senate hearing, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke noted "a significant return towards investing in young kids."

Preventing child abuse is cost effective. Putting dollars aside for prevention is sound investing, not luxury spending. We urge you to put together the resources to support preventive services and treatment services that can save us money in the long run.

It is crucial that Congress makes the protection of children a priority. Therefore I urge you to support increased funding for CAPTA.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

We signed the “Ensure Children Have Safe and Healthy Homes” petition!

# 18,850:

4:36 am PDT, May 9, Gay Bristor, North Carolina
These children are our future - my daughter is a social worker and we need these programs to protect these children.

# 18,849:

4:30 am PDT, May 9, Name not displayed, Michigan

# 18,848:

4:24 am PDT, May 9, James D Stiles, North Carolina
Cut war spending, not child spending

# 18,847:

4:20 am PDT, May 9, Barbara Katz, Pennsylvania
Our priorities are wrong. I would rather have my tax dollars spent on the prevention of child abuse than the Iraqi war.

# 18,846:

4:06 am PDT, May 9, CATHY FIORENZO, New Jersey

# 18,845:

3:51 am PDT, May 9, Robin Hardy, Ohio

# 18,844:

3:50 am PDT, May 9, Brian Curtin, New Jersey

# 18,843:

3:35 am PDT, May 9, Bob Hamburg, West Virginia

# 18,842:

3:33 am PDT, May 9, Elaine Lord, New York
Some families need help to understand what is appropriate and caring when raising children. Parenting is not biological; it is a learned skill. Funding for programs is necessary to help some families build relationships.

# 18,841:

3:18 am PDT, May 9, Rosie Phillips-Leaver, United Kingdom

# 18,840:

2:45 am PDT, May 9, Janice Bieszk, Wisconsin
SIMPLY-------------------------THEY DON'T DESERVE TO BE---------------------GOD SAYS THIS BEHAVIOR IS A SIN--------------FOR HIM DO THE CHRISTIAN OBILIGATION----------------TO PUT AN END TO IT!!!!!!!!!

# 18,839:

1:23 am PDT, May 9, Bonnie Hood, Washington

# 18,838:

12:29 am PDT, May 9, Jamie Amaro, California
I was abused as a child & it affected my life in many ways. I had a child @ 15, I became a drug addict. Today as a (sober) 27 yr. mother, I am scared to take my kids to the park, every man that comes near me freaks me out, I am afraid to go outside after dark. I could go on & on about what being the victim of child abuse has done to me.

# 18,837:

11:51 pm PDT, May 8, Name not displayed, Hawaii

# 18,836:

11:32 pm PDT, May 8, Maili Westcott, Oregon

# 18,835:

11:12 pm PDT, May 8, Susan Benson, California

# 18,834:

10:56 pm PDT, May 8, Beverly Rakowski, Arizona

# 18,833:

10:52 pm PDT, May 8, Roy Cravens, Texas
These children really need this protection and the adequate funding , please support this program.

# 18,832:

10:48 pm PDT, May 8, Danielle Mckenzie, Washington

# 18,831:

10:33 pm PDT, May 8, Robert Osborn, Washington
Quit shortchanging the children of this country for the sake of war and oil companies.

# 18,830:

10:21 pm PDT, May 8, Joanne Yeaton, California

# 18,829:

10:19 pm PDT, May 8, Name not displayed, California

# 18,828:

10:15 pm PDT, May 8, Kristen De Bruyne, Wisconsin

# 18,827:

10:09 pm PDT, May 8, Lauren Dillinger, Oregon

# 18,826:

10:07 pm PDT, May 8, Rub�n Miranda, Peru

# 18,825:

10:03 pm PDT, May 8, Fulton Doty, California

# 18,824:

9:59 pm PDT, May 8, April Behzadian, California
If we have less abuse in our nation we will definately have less crime. Children live what they learn and if a child is abused they most likely will abuse others. It is a terrible cycle and I pray that we can one day put a stop to it. At least we can try and reduce the numbers through education and programs like (CAPTA).

# 18,823:

9:57 pm PDT, May 8, William Carman, Texas
Supporting this Bill is the right thing to do!

# 18,822:

9:56 pm PDT, May 8, Name not displayed, Minnesota
Child abuse is a horrible crime against the most defenseless, the most innocent of us all, our children. We need to protect our children from the monsters that hurt them and to make them believe that not all "big people" are monsters. Please do not cut out this all-important program to help our future president and our future congress leaders.

# 18,821:

9:51 pm PDT, May 8, Krystal Harman, Texas

# 18,820:

9:40 pm PDT, May 8, Aisha Moreno, California

# 18,819:

9:40 pm PDT, May 8, Arthur Wilkie, California

# 18,818:

9:28 pm PDT, May 8, Julie J, New Jersey
We need well-managed, properly functioning social services programs, not insufficiently funded ones. Our current system helps one child of every 100; how will budget cuts change that?

# 18,817:

9:24 pm PDT, May 8, Bob Morck, Iowa

# 18,816:

9:20 pm PDT, May 8, Brian Smalley, California

# 18,815:

9:19 pm PDT, May 8, Deborah Sytnik, Florida
Once you have been abused as a child, it will stay with you the rest of you're life, you allow you're self to victimed over, and over. Please, please never let these thing's go on.

# 18,814:

9:17 pm PDT, May 8, Name not displayed, Pennsylvania

# 18,813:

9:17 pm PDT, May 8, Irma Molina, Florida

# 18,812:

9:13 pm PDT, May 8, Mary Beth Patane, Virginia
This is a no brainer folks.

# 18,811:

9:09 pm PDT, May 8, Name not displayed, India
For more than 8 years my husband and I worked as foster parents in Illinois. We worked with abused children, and saw the results of abuse. If we can prevent further abusive behavior, we should do all that is necessary! Thank you!

# 18,810:

9:01 pm PDT, May 8, Kathleen Daliessio, Delaware

# 18,809:

8:52 pm PDT, May 8, Christie Weber, Pennsylvania

# 18,808:

8:50 pm PDT, May 8, Darlene Miller, Illinois
Someone has to be a small childs voice, we need to protect our most precious asset our children, they are our future.

# 18,807:

8:46 pm PDT, May 8, Sheila Conrad, Mississippi
They deserve to have a life !!Why should you NOT help these children . They depend on you and us ! I'm doing my part, why not you !?!

# 18,806:

8:46 pm PDT, May 8, Laurel Burns, Maine

# 18,805:

8:40 pm PDT, May 8, Lawrence Nowak, Florida

# 18,804:

8:35 pm PDT, May 8, Ana Fernandez, New York

# 18,803:

8:31 pm PDT, May 8, Uli Mueller, California

# 18,802:

8:26 pm PDT, May 8, Name not displayed, California

# 18,801:

8:16 pm PDT, May 8, Name not displayed, California

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