Abuse

Child abuse is the physical, emotional or sexual mistreatment of a minor. There are over 3 million reports of maltreatment made in the United States every year, according to research reported by the U.S. Children's Bureau in 2009. These reports involved about 6 million children. While the numbers are staggering, the majority of child abuse, about 78 percent, is related to neglect. Physical, sexual and psychological abuse comprise the rest of that quota.

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While these numbers are devastatingly high, the long term effects the abuse will have on these children can last a lifetime. Without the proper intervention or therapy, these children, statistically, have little hope. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported in 2006 that there is a relationship between maltreatment as a child and criminal behavior. According to the reports, it's suggested that 59 percent of these children will be arrested as a juvenile, are 28 percent more likely to be arrested as an adult and are just as likely to be arrested for a violent crime.

If someone suspects child neglect or abuse, he or she can file a report with the state's Child Protective Services or Department of Family Services, depending on where child welfare is handled by the particular state in which the child lives. Within the next 24 to 48 hours, a case worker will investigate the reported situation and may remove the child from the home in the event of evident maltreatment. The child will be placed in a foster home while the courts attempt to resolve parental irresponsibility and to reunite the family. Parents are usually given a court allotted time to reform or take parenting classes.

If the parents do not make the necessary changes to reunite with their child or children, then their parental rights will be terminated and their children will become adoptable through the state foster care system. These children will need ongoing counseling and therapeutic treatment so that they can heal from the abuse they have endured and develop coping tools so that the cycle of abuse can end with them. The statistics are not in their favor, but children are resilient and given the proper therapy and loving environments, they can heal and grow in successful and healthy relationships.