Preparing our Faith Communities to End Child Abuse and Neglect

Jodi Gabel, Stephanie Huckins, Erin O'Neill, MSW students

Jeanette Harder, CMSW, PhD, Assistant Professor

University of Nebraska at Omaha, School of Social Work

January 2008

Research Objective:

1) To determine the role of faith communities in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. 2) To explore the potential collaborative roles of faith communities and service providers in the common goal of protecting children and strengthening families.

Relevant Research:

Child abuse and neglect is prevalent in today's society. In 2005, 13.5 million children were suspected of being abused and neglected, with 900,000 of these children report confirmed as victims (Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, 2005). Acts of child abuse and neglect result in physical, mental, spiritual, and economic harm. Victims of child abuse and neglect and their families often need many public and private services, including child protection services, medical care, counseling, special education, and substance abuse treatment. Both perpetrators and victims also incur great costs to our public justice system as the cycle of violence and delinquency is perpetuated. Child abuse affects not only victims and their families, but also the larger society, which pays an estimated $94 billion annually for these vital services. (Fromm, 2001).

Although child abuse and neglect is prevalent, communities can institute a variety of preventative measures including child abuse and neglect education, safe and affordable childcare, mentoring, parental education and support, and the reduction of unplanned pregnancies (Thomas, et al., 2003). In President George W. Bush's April 2007 proclamation, he stated that, "Family members, educators, public officials, faith-based and community organizations all play important roles in helping to ensure that children are safe and can grow surrounded by love and stability." Similarly, in the State of Nebraska, a Governor's task force investigating child abuse and neglect prevention and response declared, "Child protection is a community's responsibility. Community includes the child's family, friends, neighborhood, school, church and doctors and lawyers" (The Governor's Children's Task Force, 2003).

Faith communities have a great deal to offer to families and communities. Couture (2002) presented a model in which faith communities comprise one of many layers of a child's protective "nest." The first layer is the immediate family, with the second layer being the extended family, and the outside layer being that of the child's community, potentially including a community of faith. Research, according to Couture, has often indicated that it is this third layer that plays the most valuable role in the safety and development of the other two layers, which are vital for the protection of children.

From a political perspective, Nason-Clark (2000) argues that the Church is, and will continue to be, responsible for service provision in the present environment of limited public money and great need. Past studies have found that church attendance and participation is a great resource for individuals who are faced with stressful situations, including parenting. Not only can one's religiosity assist individuals in recovering from trauma, but it is also a significant factor in preventing abuse (Carothers, Borkowki, Burke Lefever, & Whitman, 2005; Webb & Otto Whitmer, 2001).

Although faith communities have the potential to play a strong role in strengthening families, minimal research has been completed on faith communities and their actual role in preventing child abuse and neglect in our communities today.

Data and Methods:

In this qualitative research study, three researchers completed 36 structured interviews (IRB#225-07-EX). Of the 36 participants, 19 were leaders from Christian faith communities and 17 were service providers in the area of child abuse and neglect. Christian faiths included Baptist, Catholic, Evangelical, Lutheran, Methodist, nondenominational, and Pentecostal. Service providers included both secular and faith-based providers. Participants were sampled using convenience and snowball sampling methods from urban, suburban, and rural areas, primarily in the eastern third of Nebraska. Protocol for interviewing was established, and all interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions were then coded and categorized with multiple checks and balances utilized.

Findings:

Researchers identified several common roles for faith communities in preventing child abuse and neglect. Faith communities overwhelmingly saw their role as being one of spiritual guidance and support. Faith communities were primarily concerned with their mission to teach morality in the church and protect children while in church programs. They also understood their duty to create awareness on abuse in their community and to report suspected abuse, but expressed concern over the lack of time they are able to spend with children and families and their overall lack of knowledge, skills, and time.

Service providers, on the other hand, wanted to see faith communities take a more active role in prevention efforts by intentionally speaking on the topic and see faith communities as having significant access to families. Providers also wanted to see faith community prevention efforts go beyond their congregants and into the wider geographic community. Providers were concerned that faith community leaders' actions in response to child abuse were not sufficient, specifically in the areas of reporting and counseling.

There was much agreement on the role faith communities can play in preventing child abuse and neglect. Both generally agreed that: 1) Faith communities could create awareness of abuse and neglect; 2) Suspected abuse and neglect needs to be reported; 3) The faith community's primary role is to provide support for families, primarily in their own faith community; and 4) Both were genuinely concerned for the well-being of the children. Overall, there was an awareness of mandatory reporting and a focus on all types of abuse from both faith communities and service providers.

Challenges to faith communities' prevention efforts were also identified. These included faith communities' lack of time, knowledge about child abuse and neglect and few connections between faith communities and service providers. Reasons for few connections or barriers to collaboration were: mistrust, extreme views, deciding whose responsibility it is, protecting children outside of the faith community, and time. While service providers believed faith communities had greater access to children, faith communities felt that schools had greater access to children. Both also believed that the other had greater resources. Despite these barriers both faith communities and service providers overwhelmingly welcomed collaboration.

Implications:

Great potential exists for increased collaboration between faith communities and service providers through Faith Based and Community Initiatives. Thus far, a grant has been awarded to take further action on collaboration and prevention efforts. Future activities will include trainings and networking opportunities that bring together faith communities and service providers. One example of an emerging initiative that builds on the strengths of faith communities and is collaborative is The Halo Project. In The Halo Project, faith communities adopt a Child Protective Services case manager and help to meet identified needs for foster care children. The researchers hope that such efforts will urge researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to consider creative collaborative efforts among faith communities and service providers for future prevention efforts. If these collaborations are nurtured, both secular and faith based providers will be better equipped to build upon the monumental strengths of faith communities to end child abuse and neglect.

Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (2005). Child Maltreatment 2005, (DHHS Publication) Retrieved June 5, 2007 from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/

Carothers, S. Borkowski, J.G., Burke Lefever, J., & Whitman, T.L. (2005). Religiosity and the socioemotional adjustment of adolescent mothers and their children. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 263-275.

Couture, P.D. (2002). The fight for children: Practical theology and children's rights. The New York Times.

Fromm, S. (2001). Total Estimated Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States, (DHHS Publication) Retrieved June 5, 2007 from http://www.preventchildabuse.org \

The Governor's Children's Task Force (2003). A Roadmap to Safety for Nebraska's Children. Retrieved May 25, 2007 from www.pcanebrasoka.org.

Thomas, D., Leicht, C., Hughes, C., Madigan, A. & Dowell, K. (2003). Emerging Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. (DHHS Publication) Retrieved June 5, 2007 from http://www.childwelfare.gov/.

Webb, M., & Otto Whitmer, K.J. (2001). Abuse history, world assumptions, and religious problem solving. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40, 445-453.