child care - Digital Library Collections

CHAPTER
CHILDREN AND
FAMILIES IN CRISIS
or every child, the path to adulthood has
some rough patches and hurdles. Most children
manage to steer clear ofserious trouble
with help from families, friends, sympathetic
teachers, clergy, or other caring
adults. Sadly, some children confront overwhelming
obstacles they cannot overcome without special
help. Too many are the victims of abuse or neglect
or are left to drift for years in the foster care system.
More than half a million children are estimated
to be in foster care today, a 25 percent
increase from 1990. Estimates of the number of
children abused or neglected each year range as
high as nearly 3 million.
The past 25 years have brought increased capacity
to better meet the needs of the most vulnerable
children-those who are abused or neglected,
homeless, or have serious emotional disturbances-and
to support their families. But progress
has been curtailed by growing problems such as
drugs and domestic violence. The intractability of
such problems, combined with heavier demand for
services and a lack of adequate resources, has left
many child welfare systems beleaguered and children
and families unserved. Much more vigorous
efforts are needed to keep children safe and help
families in crisis.
Child Welfare: 1973 to 1998
More resources to meet children's needs. A national
framework for protecting children, aimed at
promoting permanence and more appropriate care
for those in need, has emerged over the past 25
years. Although federal support for child welfare
services and foster care existed much earlier, the
passage of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment
Act (CAPTA) in 1974 marked a significant
development. CAPTA heightened public awareness
of child abuse and neglect, which had been
brought to light in the early 1960s by Dr. Henry
Kempe's identification of the "battered child syndrome."
CAPTA required states to establish systems
for reporting child abuse and neglect, provide
appropriate representation and protection for children
in court proceedings, and put other safeguards
in place. CAPTA also created a child abuse
prevention and treatment demonstration program.
Four years later, CAPTA was amended to include
the flISt federal effort designed specifically to en-
CHI L D R EN'S D E FEN S E FUN D 63