Last week, I wrote a policy brief on the topic of child maltreatment. The bill I chose to discuss was "The Supporting Child Maltreatment Prevention Effort in Community Health Centers Act (S.54)" which was introduced by Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. The bill was introduced in 2011 and is currently being reviewed by the Committee of Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hopefully after its review in the committee, the bill will make its way to congress, senate, and President. 

The S.54 bill, if passed, would place government funded community health centers that would serve to promote family well-being. These health centers would develop different programs geared to the prevention of child maltreatment in communities by helping families develop better family dynamics. All people in a community would be able to receive services from such health centers despite their economic status. These health centers would provide adequate mental health screenings for parents with at risk of child maltreatment behaviors. The sole focus of this bill would be for the prevention of psychological, physical, and sexual abuse as well as neglect and other maltreatment of children. S.54 would implement programs targeting factors and behaviors that place children at risk of abuse, as well as treating those children who have already become victims of maltreatment and their families. 

For the most part, children see their parents or guardians as the absolute law and view the parent’s behaviors as acceptable. When parents abuse or neglect their children, these children don't necessarily view these behaviors as wrong but as "normal". Not only do children often think that the maltreatment is "normal", but they might even imitate these behaviors until adulthood. The point is that children cannot advocate for themselves. The reason for this is simple, children do not have the knowledge required to know that not all behaviors exhibited by adults should be deemed acceptable. Even when children are taught that their parent's behaviors are not the norm, the fear of the trauma lingers as a side effect of the abuse. 

The Supporting Child Maltreatment Prevention Effort in Community Health Centers Act (S.54) would give children the opportunity to seek treatment, receive counseling, become involved in programs with other children who have gone through similar experiences, and it would provide their parents with the right psychological help needed to fight learned behaviors. In order to fight a problem, we need to target the root of the problem. This bill would provide the help and resources needed in order to improve family dynamics in communities for the prevention of child maltreatment. Sure, the bill could implement a few other things, but the main focus is there... to promote wellness in the children of America.