Communities must work together to address child abuse, neglect in S.C.

Thriving communities rely on the effective nurturing of their residents, especially in childhood, where establishing a strong foundation for development is crucial.

This foundation is built upon responsive relationships and supportive environments. The formation of healthy attachments and human development is significantly influenced by the reciprocal interactions, known as "serve and return," between young children and their caregivers. These interactions shape the neural connections and circuitry of the developing brain, profoundly impacting individuals' quality of life, health, and well-being.

The absence of responsive relationships poses a significant threat to a child's development. Perceiving threats triggers biological stress responses, and chronic activation of these systems can have adverse effects on a child's developing brain and body.

April is recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time when A Child’s Haven (ACH), alongside other child and family advocacy partners, endeavors to raise awareness about child maltreatment in South Carolina. The aim is to engage community members in combating this public health crisis.

Child welfare systems are strained due to the high number of children removed from caregivers following substantiated reports of maltreatment. Child maltreatment encompasses various forms of abuse and neglect, such as physical and emotional mistreatment, sexual abuse, negligence, and exploitation, leading to potential harm to a child's well-being, survival, development, and dignity.

"Neglect" emerges as the predominant type of maltreatment, constituting around 80% of confirmed cases. Poverty and neglect frequently intertwine, forming difficult cycles to overcome. Families find themselves trapped due to limited resources and inadequate access to them.

Annually, nearly 600,000 children in the United States encounter maltreatment. In Greenville, approximately 1,100 children under age 5 are confirmed victims of neglect or abuse each year, with more than 10,000 statewide. South Carolina faces considerable challenges regarding education and healthcare outcomes, ranking among the 10 states with the poorest results nationally. As responsible adults, it is imperative to take action to reverse these trends.

Child maltreatment often affects young children in families lacking financial resources, social support, and the capacity to provide a nurturing environment conducive to healthy social, emotional, and relational development. By supporting families within their communities and ensuring access to preventive and early intervention services, caregivers and families receive education, connection, and assistance with evidence-based approaches, services, and tools that significantly reduce the risk of maltreatment, developmental delays, and child-care expulsions.

Now more than ever, collaboration is essential among organizations, governmental agencies, businesses, communities, faith-based groups, and individuals to align systems and services to cater to the diverse needs of children, especially those involved in the child welfare system due to maltreatment. These individuals, facing numerous barriers to accessing opportunities, require support to mitigate the trauma they have endured.

In response to the challenges hindering low-income families from accessing affordable, high-quality childcare and early intervention services, A Child’s Haven is adapting to meet evolving family needs. With community support and grants, ACH is launching and evaluating a "hub-and-spoke model" to expand the reach of mental health-focused child-care services at no cost to families.

ACH aims to deploy trained and endorsed therapists and social workers to early childhood centers in Greenville to prevent family displacement and child maltreatment. Community members are encouraged to learn more about our nonprofit organization by visiting our website, following us on social media, or participating in upcoming events.

Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Month serves as an opportunity to garner sustained support for the ongoing mission of supporting parents and building communities to enable families to readily access the resources needed for their children's healthy growth and development throughout the year. You can also help others understand that we all have a role to play in preventing child maltreatment.

We encourage you to connect with advocates and stakeholders to help build a strong network to support children and their families. You can assist families with connecting to local programs, support and resources through events and outreach and share family-focused materials to help parents know where to find help.

Children’s Trust is South Carolina’s prevention leader and the state chapter for Prevent Child Abuse America. It supports a network that shares our belief that all children should thrive, live in secure families, and be surrounded by supportive communities. We are proud to partner with these leaders in our community.

We ask that everyone join with us to cultivate the relationships, connections and places that help every child thrive and visit achildshaven.org to learn more about how you can engage in the important work of A Child’s Haven. The children in our Greenville community are depending on us.

Tanya Camunas is CEO/executive director of A Child’s Haven. Elizabeth Ross is the organization's board chairperson.