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When I began writing this blog April 2009 I never anticipated where my journey would take me. Yet as I examine how I am feeling and thinking at THIS moment in time, and as I look back at my thinking process that has led me directly to this point, I realize that all the signposts were there along the way that I would get HERE sooner or later.
When I began to write in 2009 I did not in any way align myself with the ‘guilty’. Having been a victim of pervasive and horrible abuse without reprieve from the moment I was born until I left home at age 18 had certainly contributed to my blind-sightedness about how my own experience fit into the grand continuum of degrees of benevolent-malevolent treatment of infants and children. My layers of blindness have been peeling away until at this moment I believe I am very nearly at the core of what concerns me most.
When looking at the range of harm done by the intra- and intergenerational transmission of unresolved trauma (the overall topic of this blog) I now very clearly understand that suffering is suffering, trauma is trauma, overwhelming experiences of malevolent treatment all happen within the context of the society we live in. Infant-child suffering is happening all over the place around me, and I am left asking the same two questions of myself that I would have asked of anyone outside of my family who did absolutely nothing to help me when I was an infant-child: “Why are you not SEEING my suffering and why are you doing NOTHING to help me?”
There are days when I come very close to giving up ‘my work’ completely. The big picture is – well – exactly that – A VERY BIG PICTURE!
The undercurrent of this blog is a discussion of how early deprivation, neglect, trauma and malevolent treatment of ALL KINDS can and usually does alter human physiological development on all levels so that infant-children ESPECIALLY between ages 0-3 (the span of the most critical developmental body-brain windows of growth) has to CHANGE itself in degrees according to experiences in the environment that are NOT OPTIMAL. ALL experiences 0-3 profoundly determine directions of body-brain development FOR EVERYONE in accordance with degrees of safety and security of attachment or their absence with primary caregivers.
I understand now that no matter how horrible any individual early trauma survivor’s stories may be, the essence of what matters is how that person’s PHYSIOLOGICAL development was forced to change in response to their traumas. This process is happening to some degree for every single infant-child who is NOT optimally safe and secure during their most critical periods of body-brain development. Any lack of well-being experienced at the start of life will create ‘channels’ of lack of well-being PHYSIOLOGICALLY that will determine an adult’s life course.
It was inevitable that I would recognize myself (along with other adult severe early trauma survivors) in the river along with all the CURRENTLY SUFFERING little people within our nation. (I can’t begin to talk about lack of child well-being outside of our nation’s boundaries – the conditions for our own children are bad enough).
I have selected this one of our 50 states to focus on in this post concerning some of the lack of child well-being issues within our nation: Massachusetts.
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This report, available through searching the KIDS COUNT pages for ‘violence’ – “A State Call to Action: Working to End Child Abuse and Neglect in Massachusetts” – is reporting on information collected in the 1990s. Considering how damaging this ‘past’ information is I cannot begin to imagine what a similar report might contain that covers the current state of affairs in our recession.
According to KIDS COUNT data — KIDS COUNT overall rank – Massachusetts now rates #5 in the nation on overall indicators of child well-being. When this report was created In April 2001 the state ranked in the top 10%, yet, according to this 216 page report the problems in the state fall exactly along the lines the United Nations reported in their 2010 report card on child well-being among the globe’s 24 richest nations with the United States having very nearly the widest gap between rich and poor (Credit for all citations below to: Massachusetts Citizens for Children – Kids Count):
“However, contrast between the state’s overall progress and the incidence of child maltreatment is stark and confounding. In the decade from 1987 to 1997, Massachusetts saw an 98% increase in the number of children reported for abuse or neglect, compared to a national increase of 54% during the same period. Based on the latest data, roughly 46 of every 1,000 children in our state is involved each year in a child abuse or neglect report. Each year, thousands of newborn children in Massachusetts go home from hospital only to return later with unthinkable injuries – injuries that for most will be life-changing and for some will be life-ending.
“Although Massachusetts ranks consistently in the top three to four states in per capital income, we have been unable to translate this extraordinary wealth into reductions in childhood poverty, family violence or child maltreatment. States with fewer resources but clear vision are leading a national reform of child protection that is innovative, pro-active and effective.
“Since May 1999, over 200 Massachusetts policymakers and advocates have participated with Massachusetts Citizens for Children in the “Summit Initiative on Child Protection and Family Support.” Motivated by a shared belief that overall current systems do not reflect our state’s deep and longstanding commitment to improving children’s lives, they collaborated to achieve a consensus for change. This State Call To Action [full report also available at this link] reflects their collective vision on how Massachusetts can successfully deal with child maltreatment and reclaim its historic role of leadership in meeting the essential needs of all its children. (page 9)”
Access full report here: A State Call to Action: Working to End Child Abuse and Neglect in Massachusetts
This report, which represents the combined hard work and dedication of a LOT of people, was generated in response to
“…the National Call To Action to End Child Maltreatment, initiated by Children’s Hospital and Health Center-San Diego at its January 1999 “Conference on Responding to Child Maltreatment.” This effort to end child abuse and neglect has now brought together over 30 of this country’s leading organizations in a coalition to address this national crisis.”
I want to know what the results of the intentions and the efforts this report represents are NOW a decade later. As far as I can tell, the most accessible current information is available HERE.
There is a link on this page to “Who’s For Kids and Who’s Just Kidding?” – This is a November 2010 citizen’s guide to candidates’ stands on these issues:
– Reducing Child Poverty
– Supporting Low-Income Working Families
– Providing Early Education and Care
– Improving Children’s Health
– Preventing Child Sexual Abuse
– Protecting Children In Foster Care
– Improving Juvenile Justice
These are among the questions posed to the candidates – good ones to be posed to ANY candidate for any position in America!
“Massachusetts boasts the third highest per capita income in the nation, yet 12%, or nearly 170,000 of our state’s children are living in poverty; 6% or 88,000 live in extreme poverty in households with annual earnings of only $11,000 for a family of four. What will you do to bridge this persistent economic divide and to ensure greater economic security to lift these children out of poverty?”
“What will you do to address the harmful impact of the growing gap between low and high income earners in Massachusetts?”
“What will you do to tangibly improve the conditions of poor children and their families in the Commonwealth’s poorest cities, such as Holyoke, Lawrence, Springfield and New Bedford?”
Taking a look at some of the issues presented in this Massachusetts ‘flyer’ makes me wonder what’s happening in the very poor and middle income states within our nation. Interspersed with this information being reported here are questions for the candidates:
PROVIDING EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE
– 43% of 3rd graders in the Bay State do not read at grade level, and two-thirds of these children are from low-income families. The impact of reading failure on these children and our state is enormous, with many likely to become our lowest income and least skilled citizens tomorrow.
– Science has never been clearer about the long-term effects of early environment and experience on a child’s brain architecture. Research confirms that providing high quality early education and care to children from low-income homes yields a 10% to 16% return on investment to the economy through better reading skills, greater high school graduation rates, college attendance, and healthier lives.
[me: not to mention the power of a little one 0-3 growing an optimal body-brain IN EVERY WAY in a safe and secure attachment within a VERY low stressor environment, which also includes its effects on preverbal-verbal development]
– Organizations and schools have worked tirelessly over the past decade to press the state to build a system of universal access to affordable, accessible, and high quality services with well-trained teachers. They have supported parents in playing a critical role in their child’s educational success. To meet those goals, Massachusetts formed the nation’s first Department of Early Education and Care in 2005.
FACTS ABOUT OUR KIDS:
– 61% of Massachusetts’ 480,422 children ages birth through 5 years old have parents who are in the labor force, and most of these parents have child care needs. 92%of children under age seven are cared for regularly by someone other than a parent. However, the quality of these arrangements varies enormously.
– Children from low-income families entering kindergarten are typically 12 to 14 months below national norms in language and pre-reading skills. [bolding mine] By 4th grade, many of these children will not be able to read or understand up to half of what is taught to them in the 4th grade curriculum, and most will continue to be poor readers even through high school.
– Only 32% of kindergarten and preschool teachers in Massachusetts hold a Bachelor’s degree versus 50% nationwide. And only 16% of child care workers have graduated from a four-year school.
– By the end of fiscal year 2009, state funding for Universal Pre-K declined from $12 million to $7.5 million while funding for full-day kindergarten programs declined from $33.8 million to $22.9 million.
IMPROVING CHILDREN’S HEALTH
– Thanks to the expansion of health care coverage under Massachusetts law, the state has some of the best child health outcomes in the country. In fact, Massachusetts ranks among the top three best states on key indicators of child health, including infant mortality, the death rate for children and the rate of births to teen moms, according to the latest KIDS COUNT data.
– Currently, only 2% of children are officially uninsured in the state. Furthermore, 80% of children on Medicaid receive an annual health screening and 91% of our two-tear-olds are immunized. Massachusetts is one of only six states where at-risk children are eligible for early intervention, special education and preventive health and mental health services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
– Despite these accomplishments, Massachusetts is still a tale of two states with regard to physical, dental and mental health outcomes for children living in the poorest communities.
FACTS ABOUT OUR KIDS
[lists double or more increases in percentages between low-income and the state percentages for child problems with infant mortality, teen births, environmental poisoning such as lead]
– Dental decay is the most common chronic childhood disease and is at epidemic levels among many low-income Black and Hispanic children. It often leads to speech, nutrition and learning difficulties. [low-income counties affected are listed]
– Mental health care needs in children are more prevalent than leukemia, diabetes, and AIDS combined. However, parents of children with mental illness report serious issues ranging from long waits for services and inadequate training of school personnel to high out-of-pocket expenses. [also states that state Medicaid only covers an inadequate amount of only $250 a year for child prescriptions – also lists questions for candidates]
– Nearly 37,000 Massachusetts children were confirmed abused or neglected in 2008. Cases of child sexual abuse rose 16% from the previous year, physical abuse rose 12% and neglect 10%.
– Child sexual abuse is “a silent epidemic,” according to the American Medical Association. Surveys of adults indicate that one in four women and one in six men have experienced some for of sexual abuse before the age of 18. Many victims suffer into adulthood with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders, relationship problems and further sexual or physical victimization. Among sexual abuse survivors, 70% to 80% report excessive drug and alcohol use and are more likely than their non-abused peers to develop psychiatric disorders and to attempt suicide. Girls who report childhood sexual abuse are three times more likely to become pregnant before age 18.
– An estimated $23 billion dollars are spent each year as law enforcement agencies, courts, child protection, health and mental health systems, and social service programs struggle to deal with the aftermath of this epidemic. Prevention and early identification of victims and abusers hold the best promise of reducing the human and economic costs. Despite this, most communities have not been mobilized for prevention, most adults are not protecting children from people who might abuse them, and most parents are not communicating to their children about a major health and safety risk.
– 50% of 650 Massachusetts citizens polled ranked “safety from abuse” as most important to a child’s well-being with quality education, medical care, economic security and child care compromising the remainder 50%
– 90% of Massachusetts residents polled believe that child sexual abuse is a serious problem in the Commonwealth, 85% believe child sexual abuse can be prevented, and 67% said they were interested in local trainings to learn how – up from 48% in a previous survey.
– Since 2002, a coalition of over 20 Massachusetts organizations has been working through the Enough Abuse Campaign to develop and test innovative programs to prevent child sexual abuse. Hailed as a “trailblazing effort” by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the Campaign operates in a dozen communities across the state.
[Information included here about foster care placements and kinship care needs]
On Juvenile Criminal Issues:
– Black youth are more than nine times as likely to be held in secure confinement as white youth – yet there is no evidence that black youth commit more crimes, or more serious crimes, than white youth.
– Massachusetts is one of only 12 states that consider 17-year-olds adults under the criminal law.
– Massachusetts has the 11th highest rate of juveniles sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in the country.
– The stark racial disparities in the Massachusetts juvenile justice system call into question the fundamental fairness of the system and represents one of the foremost civil rights challenges of our time.
– Massachusetts does not collect basic juvenile justice system data, e.g. what types of crimes youth are being prosecuted for. This lack of data makes it impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention and intervention efforts. [questions for the candidates here includes those on probation and rehabilitation issues]
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Stop the Storm 