A note regarding the Child Abuse Reporting and Prevention Courses: There are separate courses for staff members who work with Infants and Toddlers, Preschoolers, and School-Age children. There are important variations in examples and age-related content, but many critical concepts are similar across these age groups. Staff members who work with multiple age groups or who move to a different age group will not typically be required to complete multiple courses. Please discuss your individual professional development needs with your T&Cs or manager.

Know

对我们大多数人来说，很难想象有人伤害孩子。尽管可能令人不安，虐待和忽视儿童的现象是非常真实的。在美国，每年有60多万儿童成为虐待或忽视的受害者（美国卫生和公共服务部，2012年）。我们大多数人永远不会明白为什么一个人犯下虐待或忽视。这节课的目的是帮助你理解什么是虐待和忽视儿童。这也有助于你了解你在报告和防止虐待和忽视方面的义务。你是记者。这意味着法律要求你向有关当局（如儿童保护服务机构）报告对虐待或忽视的怀疑MIL, Military Family Advocacy Programs, or your Reporting Point of Contact in Army Programs). If you are unsure whether something is abuse or neglect, or rather an infraction of a policy, you may want to discuss this with your supervisor. You never have to seek permission to report. If YOU think a case of abuse or neglect has occurred, you are required to report it properly.

What is Child Abuse and Neglect?

Take a minute to reflect on that definition. What are your impressions of the federal definition? What does it mean? Let’s explore each part in more detail:

• Any recent act or failure to act:This reminds us that abuse and neglect are two distinct concepts. A child can be harmed by blatant actions like hitting or kicking, but a child can also be harmed when an adult fails to provide for the child’s well-being. For example, an adult may fail to supervise a child, fail to provide necessary medical treatment, or fail to feed or bathe a child.
• on the part of a parent or caretaker:记住，虐待和忽视可以发生在任何地方，任何人。虐待不仅仅发生在父母或家庭成员手中。任何负责照顾儿童的人都可能犯下虐待和忽视的罪行。这可能是一个教师，教练，信仰领袖，或任何其他个人在照顾或监督作用。
• 导致死亡、严重的身体或精神伤害、性虐待或性剥削
• or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm:We don’t have to wait for tragedies to strike. If a child is in serious risk of harm, it can be considered abuse or neglect.

这个定义是最低的联邦标准。各州和政府部门可以制定自己更具体的虐待和忽视儿童的定义。MILIn your workplace, you will observe and follow the Department of Defense definitions of child abuse and neglect.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesMIL以及军人家庭宣传计划, child abuse and neglect generally falls into one of these four categories:

Where Does Child Abuse and Neglect Occur?

Child abuse and neglect can happen anywhere. You should be familiar with two distinct types of abuse and neglect.

Familialabuse or neglect occurs in a child’s home. The act of abuse or neglect is committed by a parent, guardian, or family member.

Institutionalabuse or neglect occurs outside the home in community or private settings. This type of abuse or neglect is also known as “out-of-home” or “extra-familial” abuse or neglect.MIL在本课程的其余部分，机构滥用是指在国防部赞助的设施、项目或活动中可能发生的滥用或忽视。本课程将重点介绍儿童发展中心、家庭托儿所、受赞助的实地考察和学龄期护理项目中可能发生的虐待或忽视。不过，请记住，机构滥用也可能发生在安装作业或计算机中心、指导或辅导项目、体育项目、礼拜堂项目、童子军、士气福利和娱乐项目、青少年中心和青少年项目中。万博体育下载官方网站This type of abuse typically involves a child and an adult in a supervisory role, like a teacher, caregiver, or volunteer. You will learn more about institutional abuse in the last lesson of this course and in the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Course. However, there are a few things you should know as you begin this course. There are certain types of guidance and discipline that have the potential to inflict harm and model aggression. When we use aggressive techniques with children, they and their families learn that aggressive responses to behavior are OK. That is not the message we want to send children and families. The following practices have no place in child development programs and may be considered child abuse or neglect:

• Corporal punishment: You may not, under any circumstances, strike, hit, whip, spank, or use any other form of physical punishment on a child of any age.
• 抑制身体需求:在任何情况下,你可能不会保留food, sleep, physical activity or other needs like toileting from a child as punishment.
• 大喊大叫,羞辱、贬低或威胁一个太极ld: You may not, under any circumstances, intentionally make a child fear for his or her physical or psychological safety. You may not call children hurtful names, threaten children, or make children feel shame.
• Isolating a child: You may not punish a child by leaving him or her alone (i.e., leaving a child on the playground alone because he did not line up with the group) or by putting the child in “time out” in an enclosed space like a closet, restroom, or cardboard box.
• Binding or restricting a child’s movements: You may not punish a child by preventing him or her from being able to move or speak (i.e., covering a child’s mouth or hands with tape).

If a staff member is accused of child abuse or neglect, they can expect to be removed from direct contact with children while an investigation is underway. For more specific information, talk to your manager or T&Cs.

Who is At-Risk?

Child abuse and neglect can happen to anyone. There is no “typical” abuser or victim. There are some situations that are associated with higher levels of risk for abuse or neglect, though. Understanding who is more at-risk for abuse and neglect can help us provide extra support to children and families who are experiencing stress. We can think of risk occurring at several levels: individual, family, and community.

There are three categories of children who are more at-risk for experiencing child abuse and neglect: young children, children with disabilities, and children with challenging behavior. This means children who have a difficult time communicating, controlling their emotions, following directions, or getting along with others might be at-risk. The adults around them might get frustrated easily or not know how to help the child. We must be careful to remember this does not mean that the child causes the abuse and neglect. The child is never to blame. It also does not mean that only children in these categories are abused or neglected. Rather, we must remember to provide extra support to families whose children meet these characteristics.

Watch this video to learn why preschool children are vulnerable to child abuse and neglect. You will also learn about the long-term effects of abuse and neglect.

There are also some characteristics of families who are more at-risk for committing abuse or neglect. Adults with little knowledge of child development or a history of maltreatment as a child are at increased risk for committing child abuse or neglect. It is important to remember, though, that not all adults who were abused as children go on to abuse their own children. Adults with substance abuse, mental health issues, or a harsh approach to discipline may also be at risk.

滥用更可能发生在家庭socially isolated. A family might be socially isolated for many reasons: a recent move or deployment might separate them from extended family and friends, long or unpredictable work schedules might prevent them from having social opportunities, or they might not know how to reach out to others. Child abuse and neglect is also more likely to occur in families that have experienced other forms of domestic violence, like violence against a spouse or partner. Families experiencing stress (like unemployment, birth of a new child, marital conflict, or deployment), poor parent-child relationships, and negative interactions also are most at-risk.

Community risk factors include community violence, high levels of poverty, high levels of mobility and housing instability, high unemployment rates, and poor social connections. Community risk factors can add increased stress on families. Abuse and neglect is more likely to occur when stress is high or access to necessary resources is low.

What are Protective Factors?

Take a moment to reflect on the risk factors you just read about. If you could think of ways to counteract or cancel out those risk factors, what would they be? What types of characteristics minimize the risk for child abuse and neglect? Researchers and policymakers have spent a lot of time thinking about these questions. As a result, the Center for the Study of Social Policy has developed the Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework to prevent child abuse and neglect. It is important to understand this framework because it can help you see that the high-quality, family-centered work that you do everyday in your program makes a difference in the lives of children and families. Our job is not only to care for each child but also to provide care and support for the whole family. The Strengthening Families Protective Factors framework gives us tools and ideas to support families.

There is a resource in the Apply section for you to download and read to learn more about the Protective Factors Framework. Here is a brief overview of the five protective factors that help prevent child abuse and neglect in families. When these five factors are strong, families are better equipped with the skills and supports they need to protect their child from abuse and neglect.

See

学习更多关于Protectiv看这个视频e Factors Framework.

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What is My Role in Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect?

As a child development program staff member, you have a legal and ethical professional responsibility to protect children from harm. That is your most important responsibility and one that is highlighted in the National Association for the Education of Young Children code of professional ethics. Given this important ethical responsibility, it is also important to recognize that you have a legal obligation to act when you suspect a child is in harm’s way. As a child development staff member, you are a mandated reporter for suspicions of child abuse and neglect. This means you are legally required to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect. You will learn about reporting procedures in subsequent lessons. For now, it is important to recognize that you have an obligation to report your suspicions of child abuse and neglect.

在军事设施方面，领导人努力营造一种促进报道的氛围。你是一个被授权的记者，所有的安装执法人员，医生，护士，社会工作者，学校人员，家庭倡导计划和儿童，青年和学校人员，心理学家和其他医疗人员也是如此。在某些服务和某些装置上，所有服务成员都必须是报告员。

What is My Role in Strengthening Families?

Your main role is to learn all you can about families and to build strong relationships with them. You might be the first person a family member talks to about a problem or concern they are having. You might also work with your managerMILor T&Csto provide resources to families (i.e., tips about dealing with tantrums, community information). Thinking about the Protective Factors framework can help you understand simple ways you can support the families you see everyday. You will learn much more about this topic in the Child Abuse Prevention course and in the Families course. For now, take time to learn about the Strengthening Families Protective Factors framework and reflect on how it can guide your work. Make a commitment to build positive relationships with all of the families you work with. You can also continue to:

• Help build awareness about child abuse and neglect in your program and community.
• Participate in required trainings like this oneMILand others offered by your Family Advocacy Program. You will learn more about Family Advocacy Programs in the next lessons. The Family Advocacy Program works to prevent child abuse and neglect by offering programs to build and support families in building the protective factors all families need. If abuse does occur, the FAP has trained staff to assess reported incidents and respond accordingly to keep victims safe and to work with families to create safe, stable, and nurturing relationships for children.
• Learn about resources in your communityMILor on your installationthat you can share with families.
• Visithttps://cssp.org/our-work/projects/protective-factors-framework/了解更多关于保护因素框架方法的信息。

Completing this Course

For more information on what to expect in this course, the Child Abuse: Identification & ReportingCompetency Reflection, and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Preschool Child Abuse: Identification & Reporting课程指南.

Please note the References & Resources section at the end of each lesson outlines reference sources and resources to find additional information on the topics covered. As you complete lessons, you are not expected to review all the online references available. However, you are welcome to explore the resources further if you have interest, or at the request of your trainer, coach, or administrator.