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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!

# 350:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Betsy Germanotta, Massachusetts

# 349:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Eleni Karameris, New York

# 348:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Patrick Lavery, Connecticut

# 347:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Jeffrey Hight, North Carolina

# 346:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Jonathan Bowers, Tennessee

# 345:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Chris Kim, Massachusetts

# 344:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Rosalie Pelch, Michigan

# 343:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Vicki Word, Texas

# 342:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Name not displayed, Minnesota

# 341:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, William Hurley, Kentucky
The Government should be doing all it can to protect our children, They ae the backbone of our future

# 340:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Loy Belcher, Missouri

# 339:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Heather Fisch, Rhode Island

# 338:

6:37 am PDT, Mar 27, Gail Alford, Massachusetts

# 337:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Dina Mariani, New York

# 336:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Sherry Prince, Texas

# 335:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Marianne Szalega, Michigan
Someone please tell me why we have so much "humanitarian aide" going outside of our country when we refuse to take care of our own. My heart breaks for every child of abuse and neglect. Shame, shame, shame on our government. Yet another reason to sponser and create the federal level Department of Peace. Yet another reason for people to stand up and take the responsibility of reshaping our government.

# 334:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Valerie Dolgner, Massachusetts
Before I got sick and could no longer work, my house was a specialized foster home for battered and abused children. Some of the children were so battered that I could not even see what they looked like. These children lived in constant fear, as I did as an abused child. This is no way that a child to live. IT MUST STOP and end the cycle of abuse.

# 333:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Jen Valerius, California

# 332:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Lisa Meintzinger, Florida
PROTECT ALL CHILDREN! They are our hope for the future!

# 331:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Sandi Maroney, Alabama

# 330:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Anne Orth, Missouri

# 329:

6:36 am PDT, Mar 27, Rita Persichetty, New York

# 328:

6:35 am PDT, Mar 27, Sherrill Cox, New Jersey

# 327:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Tammy Dobradenka, Arizona

# 326:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Todd B, Texas

# 325:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Ariel Walsh, Maryland

# 324:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Lisa Taddeo, Massachusetts

# 323:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Diane Masters, New York

# 322:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Bill Craig, Germany

# 321:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Rodney Beattie, Michigan

# 320:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Mary jo Minick, Illinois

# 319:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Andrea Santa Maria, Oregon

# 318:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Naomi Whiteley, Florida

# 317:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Victor DelRossi, Pennsylvania

# 316:

6:34 am PDT, Mar 27, Karen Phillipo, California

# 315:

6:33 am PDT, Mar 27, Aegina Barnes, New York

# 314:

6:33 am PDT, Mar 27, Kyle B, New Jersey

# 313:

6:33 am PDT, Mar 27, Lavinia Lucescu, Arizona

# 312:

6:32 am PDT, Mar 27, Christopher Harding, Massachusetts

# 311:

6:32 am PDT, Mar 27, Tonya Evans, Mississippi

# 310:

6:32 am PDT, Mar 27, Lynn Kahle, Denmark

# 309:

6:31 am PDT, Mar 27, Andrea Madian, Oregon

# 308:

6:31 am PDT, Mar 27, Sherry Spencer, Georgia

# 307:

6:31 am PDT, Mar 27, Name not displayed, Maryland

# 306:

6:31 am PDT, Mar 27, Name not displayed, Virginia

# 305:

6:31 am PDT, Mar 27, Charles Doty, Illinois

# 304:

6:30 am PDT, Mar 27, Jean Dunn, New Jersey
This has to stop and we can not do it without funding. This is not optional, but necessary.

# 303:

6:29 am PDT, Mar 27, Raquel Anderson, Indiana

# 302:

6:29 am PDT, Mar 27, Pam Jordan, Georgia
I totally agree that prevention is what is needed. We have to cure the cause, not just treat the symptoms. This is unbelievable that we would even have to have a petition to stop something that should be a no-brainer. What are the lawmakers doing all day long that they have lost touch with what is wrong and right!! Why do we have to tell you to fight to make this happen?!

# 301:

6:29 am PDT, Mar 27, Christine Egan, New York

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