CECANF’s Recent Report Outlines Recommendations to Prevent Child Abuse
Recently, the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF) released its final report: Within Our Reach: A National Strategy to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities. CECANF is a federal agency established by legislation to study and make recommendations on eliminating child abuse and neglect fatalities. Over the course of two years, CECANF reviewed issues related to child abuse and neglect, and heard testimony from researchers, government leaders, and public and private organizations in the field of child welfare.
Within Our Reach outlines a proactive approach to child safety by emphasizing stronger collaboration among relevant agencies, more informed decision-making based on better data and resources, and a public health approach that reiterates the importance of prevention.
We hope this report is thoughtfully acknowledged by state and local policymakers. While disagreements may arise surrounding methods and approaches to implement these recommendations, one fact remains the same: we should not accept fatalities as inevitable. Any preventable deaths of children should not be pushed aside. The report notes that if nothing changes in an approach to prevent child abuse and neglect fatalities, between 1,500 and 3,000 U.S. children will die from maltreatment in 2016, 2017, and beyond. The awful fact that an estimated four to eight children a day die from abuse or neglect is unacceptable. We hope that this public health-focused approach paves the way for future changes, prevents crises from occurring, and increases protection and support for vulnerable children.
Continue reading about the report’s key findings.