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The following article was published in Your Health Magazine. Our mission is to empower people to live healthier.
Darcy Hubbard, Executive Director
April Is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Fairfax CASA
. https://www.fairfaxcasa.org/

April Is Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Fairfax Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is working to help raise awareness. While all children deserve a safe, loving and stable childhood, that is not the reality for many. During FY15, over 330 Fairfax County children had open abuse and neglect cases before the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Over 75% of those children were placed in foster care.

The cycle of abuse is often consistent throughout a lifetime, and can manifest in many forms. Neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse all range in severity, but the effects can persist for the remainder of the child's life. Regardless of how the abuse manifests itself, the toll taken on the child's psychological, emotional and physical health is one which cannot be overemphasized.

Exposure to trauma during influential growth periods can impair social, cognitive and emotional development. Teens and adults who experienced abuse and neglect are more likely to participate in high-risk behaviors, more likely to develop an alcohol or substance addiction, and more likely to have health complications. The rate of liver failure, heart disease and pulmonary infections are considerably higher as well. Overall, quality of life and life expectancy is reduced significantly for those who were abused and neglected as children.

Fairfax CASA is tasked with providing these vulnerable children with a voice, by recruiting, training and supervising citizen volunteers, who are appointed by the Court to investigate, monitor, report and advocate for the children.

You do not need to be a CASA to help ensure that children enjoy a safe and stable childhood. Together, communities can unite in their efforts to prevent the abuse and neglect of children in our commonwealth. How can you help? Know the signs of abuse. Not sure if something qualifies? Ask a physician or psychologist. Worried about a child you know? Speak up. Report instances of suspected abuse and neglect to local and national authorities on the matter. Lastly, create an atmosphere of acceptance, honesty and loving boundaries at home. Speak openly to your children about their relationships. Abuse is often perpetrated by someone close to the child. Trust any accounts of abuse and neglect and take them seriously. Through awareness, caring and reporting we can keep Fairfax County's children safe from abuse and neglect.

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