Abstract
The Safe Start demonstration projects, funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) under the first phase of the Safe Start initiative, are primarily designed to influence change at the systems or macrolevels to reduce the incidence of and impact of exposure to violence for children aged birth to 6 years; direct services are also provided to young children and their families who were exposed to violence. The data presented in this article come from 10 communities that submitted data regarding the characteristics of young children exposed to violence to OJJDP. These data represent families who are typically not represented in the databases of state child protective services programs but instead have been identified by domestic violence advocates, early care and education providers, family members, court personnel, police, and other social service personnel as families with young children in need of intervention due to violence exposure.The purpose of this article is to describe the characteristics of young children and their parents who seek help for psychosocial problems related to exposure to family and community violence. Results indicate that one quarter of the children and nearly half of their parents evidenced clinical levels of stress, suggesting the need to intervene at the family level as well as at the individual level when working with young children exposed to violence. The information presented, including the extent of exposure to violence, the multiple types of violence to which children are exposed, the impact of this exposure on young children and their families, and the multiple ways in which families exposed to violence come to the attention of service providers is useful for policy makers and service providers who are interested in breaking the cycle of violence by meeting the needs of the children exposed to violence and their families.
Highlights
Recent survey research indicates that more than 60% of children and youth in the United States were victims of violence or witnessed a violent event in the previous year and nearly two-thirds of these children experienced more than one victimization
Based on data from child protective services (CPS) investigations and assessments, approximately 794,000 children were victims of child abuse and neglect in 2007 and children age birth to one year had the highest rate of victimization at 21.9 per 1000 children (U.S Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS), 2009)
Much of the data concerning children’s exposure to violence comes from child protective service (CPS) providers, and is missing the children and families exposed to violence who do not come to the attention of governmental agencies (US DHHS, 2009; Prevent Child Abuse America, 2007)
Summary
Recent survey research indicates that more than 60% of children and youth in the United States were victims of violence or witnessed a violent event in the previous year and nearly two-thirds of these children experienced more than one victimization. Forty-six percent of the children and youth reported being the victim of an assault and 25% reported witnessing a violent event (Finkelhor, Turner, Ormrod & Hamby, 2009; Finkelhor, Turner, Ormrod, Hamby & Kracke, 2009) These rates are staggering and clearly show that exposure to violence has become part of the daily lives of our children. Child abuse and neglect, and community violence disrupt children’s sense of safety and security, and their normative development (Ybarra, Wilkens & Lieberman, 2007; Johnson, et al, 2002) This disruption of developmental support has effects that extend beyond physical injury, to deleterious developmental and psychological impacts (Osofsky, 1999). Violence exposure has been linked to cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological effects which interact in ways not yet fully understood
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