Working together to prevent child abuse

One in six boys in the United States has experienced sexual abuse before turning 18. With few recovery options in real life, more of them are going online for support.

Girls Court brings an all-hands-on-deck approach to the lives of vulnerable girls, linking them to social service agencies, providing informal Saturday sessions on everything from body image to legal jargon, and offering a team of adults in whom they can develop trust.

New Mexico has been among the eight states with the highest number of per-capita child abuse and neglect deaths for four of the past five years. There’s no simple solution for addressing the complex factors that lead to child abuse, but expanding home visiting programs to better educate parents is where New Mexico is starting.

Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services arose from the need to improve the outcomes of drug addicted parents and their children, such as increasing reunification statistics. STARS employs case workers who have previously been drug addicted, and can provide immediate support and services such as meeting with the participant, accessing treatment options, and drug screening.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, a domestic violence court offers funnels perpetrators into programs that offer counseling and other services to address the root causes of their behavior. Its two tracks focus on first-time offenders to short-circuit any escalation into chronic abuse, as well as those with multiple domestic violence charges. Judges work closely with participants to encourage them and call them out when they aren't meeting their obligations, and recidivism rates among those who complete the programs are far lower than those who do not.

Esparanza, a non-profit located in New York, provides comprehensive services for teenagers who are in the justice system. The intensive family counseling has been a successful alternative to incarceration since 2002, and research shows that the approach and other restorative justice practices are well suited for helping children who have been involved with the justice system lead healthy lives.

In Colorado, a state law requiring the use of a screening tool is being used to combat sex trafficking at the individual level. The screening tool identifies and offers support and protection to victims of sex trafficking – many of whom are runaways from the foster care system – and has led to multiple prosecutions of sex traffickers.

Vermont is the first state to pass comprehensive legislation that requires schools to include child sexual abuse prevention into their curriculum. Many schools have taken this new legislation and built their prevention curriculum around understanding consent and creating a space where children feel as though they can report their experiences. While Wyoming has similar legislation in place, they’re looking to Vermont as a model for taking a more inclusive, direct approach.

Truckers are ideally placed to spot and report sex trafficking. “They’ve been trained to be vigilant and they’re on the city streets, pulling into areas and being put up in hotels where this happens,” says Kylla Lanier, deputy director for Truckers Against Trafficking.

A new Utah law prevents residents who are more than $2,500 behind on child support payments from obtaining a hunting or fishing license, a strategy lawmakers say provides an incentive without legal ramifications that would affect parents' ability to care for their children in the future. Though the law only applies to a small portion of parents who owe child support, the state saw 494 individuals come into compliance after their hunting and fishing licenses were blocked, with payments increasing by nearly $2 million the year after the new law went into effect.