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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

21,078
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!

# 19,150:

11:16 pm PDT, May 14, Judith Montserrat, Spain

# 19,149:

9:51 pm PDT, May 14, Ned Overton, New York

# 19,148:

8:31 pm PDT, May 14, Kori Turrubiate, New Jersey

# 19,147:

8:13 pm PDT, May 14, Rochelle Franson, California
That's right President Bush, don't abort children just deprivethem of any opportunity to survive in this world once they are born. So stupid so very stupid!!!!! I guess Haliberton doesn't have a company that can make money off these kids...

# 19,146:

8:09 pm PDT, May 14, Nydia Aponte, Puerto Rico

# 19,145:

7:52 pm PDT, May 14, Cynthia Castaldo, New York

# 19,144:

7:49 pm PDT, May 14, Sarah Smalling, Tennessee
Children are our future....who wouldn't want child abuse stopped? Would you wanna be abused?

# 19,143:

6:22 pm PDT, May 14, Fiona Bright, New Zealand
Every child deserves to feel loved warm and safe. They deserve to know there's programmes out there to help these children and people to help. Every child deserves to be safe!! Lets put programmes into action so we can help!!

# 19,142:

6:11 pm PDT, May 14, Mary Evans, North Carolina

# 19,141:

5:54 pm PDT, May 14, LYNN AUERBACH KAPLAN, Pennsylvania

# 19,140:

5:46 pm PDT, May 14, Kathleen Bovello, Maryland

# 19,139:

5:08 pm PDT, May 14, Name not displayed, Australia

# 19,138:

5:06 pm PDT, May 14, Name not displayed, United Kingdom

# 19,137:

3:39 pm PDT, May 14, Heavenlee Schwabe, New Zealand

# 19,136:

3:30 pm PDT, May 14, Joan Redd, Ohio

# 19,135:

2:56 pm PDT, May 14, Sonya Hallenbeck, Texas
I pray all child abuse will be stopped. It is not right for children to have to suffer & be killed.

# 19,134:

2:05 pm PDT, May 14, Mindaillen Clotfelter, Georgia
Please protect our children from abuse.

# 19,133:

2:01 pm PDT, May 14, Lauren Thompson, North Carolina

# 19,132:

12:07 pm PDT, May 14, Nikki Schmitt, Pennsylvania

# 19,131:

12:02 pm PDT, May 14, Name not displayed, North Carolina
Children are a gift from God and they look to us to protect them from harm as they are unable to take care of themselves. they trust us and when they are abused and/or neglected, they have emotional problems into their adulthood.

# 19,130:

11:35 am PDT, May 14, Isabelle MacKenzie, South Carolina
Be kind to our children; they are our future.

# 19,129:

11:32 am PDT, May 14, Heather Hamilton, Virginia
After working in the field for over 6 years, there needs to be more prevention for child abuse. There are no programs especially in communities that are smaller.

# 19,128:

10:48 am PDT, May 14, Julie Hodes, Oklahoma
because children are the next generation and we need to protect them.

# 19,127:

10:46 am PDT, May 14, Lynn Smith, Michigan
Isn't it obvious?

# 19,126:

10:30 am PDT, May 14, Sharon Grebe, Texas

# 19,125:

10:29 am PDT, May 14, Melissa Grebe, Texas

# 19,124:

9:51 am PDT, May 14, Michele Harvey, Kentucky

# 19,123:

9:03 am PDT, May 14, Megan Waldschmidt, Illinois

# 19,122:

8:59 am PDT, May 14, Avak Norbert Kirchner, Germany

# 19,121:

6:45 am PDT, May 14, ANNETTE ARAST, Illinois

# 19,120:

6:16 am PDT, May 14, Roger Nehring, Michigan

# 19,119:

6:03 am PDT, May 14, Elizabeth Forsman, Georgia

# 19,118:

5:38 am PDT, May 14, Aracely Asztalos, Illinois

# 19,117:

5:30 am PDT, May 14, Amy Anderson, California

# 19,116:

5:20 am PDT, May 14, Stephanie Jones, Georgia

# 19,115:

12:51 am PDT, May 14, Ananska Andrea, Puerto Rico

# 19,114:

12:17 am PDT, May 14, Kathy Whitaker, Michigan

# 19,113:

11:27 pm PDT, May 13, Jacquline Cortes, Indiana

# 19,112:

9:23 pm PDT, May 13, Mark Runyan, California

# 19,111:

9:13 pm PDT, May 13, Teresa Bradley, Michigan

# 19,110:

6:59 pm PDT, May 13, Anita Corn, Colorado

# 19,109:

6:36 pm PDT, May 13, Julie Gossett, Georgia

# 19,108:

6:04 pm PDT, May 13, Helen B. Decker, California
Our children are our future. That is almost trite it is so obvious. So why has our President done almost everything he could to make life for the least fortunate of our children even worse than it is? I fear he has lost his soul to the service of special interest groups, and wishes to reserve all of the funds he can for their service and for the cause of war. Please do not allow this to go on. We are not barbarians. We are Americans, and that means that we defend the innocent. Period.

# 19,107:

4:18 pm PDT, May 13, Emma Olvio, Utah

# 19,106:

3:32 pm PDT, May 13, Kimberly Zandy, Pennsylvania
Someone needs to be the voice to advocate for children.

# 19,105:

3:15 pm PDT, May 13, Joyce Padgett, Texas

# 19,104:

2:18 pm PDT, May 13, Amanda Walsh, Colorado

# 19,103:

2:15 pm PDT, May 13, Jennifer Dery, Florida

# 19,102:

1:21 pm PDT, May 13, Name not displayed, Utah
Help is only for the elite? The elite are so because of the common. The mind is not so different. This is the message we understand. Cynicism.

# 19,101:

12:27 pm PDT, May 13, Gladys Cole, Virginia

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