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Resolution on the Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities
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Policy Statement
(Maltreatment includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and neglect.)
Adopted by the APA Council of Representatives, February 2003
Whereas children with disabilities are a distinct high-risk group for abuse and neglect, and are on average two to three times more likely to be maltreated than are children without disabilities in their homes and in institutions (Sullivan & Knutson, 2000a);
Whereas an estimated 175,000 to 300,000 children with disabilities are maltreated each year (Westat, 1993);
Whereas disability includes mental retardation and
developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, chronic
conditions such as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS,
and diabetes, speech and language difficulties, physical and
orthopedic disabilities, deafness and hearing impairment,
visual impairment, and autism (Sullivan & Knutson, 2000a);
Whereas the knowledge base on maltreatment of
children with disabilities is limited because of the small
number of studies, and even more so with regard to the
differential impact of race and ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, or immigration status (Robin et al., 1997; Sedlak
& Broadhurst, 1996; Sullivan & Knutson, 1998; Urquiza
& Goodlin-Jones, 1994);
Whereas disability status was not included in the
most recent congressionally mandated National Incidence Study
of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3), even after the second
National Incidence Study (NIS-2) reported that children with
disabilities were at increased risk of both abuse and neglect
(Westat, 1993);
Whereas states are not required to collect data on
disability status under the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA; Department of Health & Human
Services, 2001), and only 19 states currently collect it in
their Central Registries of child abuse and neglect cases
(NCCAN, 2001);
Whereas data on disability status in state Central
Registries, and in national incidence studies of child abuse
and neglect, would facilitate research on maltreatment of
children with disabilities (Sullivan & Knutson, 1998);
Whereas parents of children with disabilities are
more likely to report high levels of stress, depression and
anger (Little, in press-a);
Whereas children with multiple disabilities are at
higher risk of abuse and neglect than children with single
disabilities (Benedict, White, Wulff, & Hall, 1990;
Sullivan & Knutson, 2000a);
Whereas children with schizophrenia, affective
disorder, anxiety disorder, conduct disorders, and autism are
at particularly high risk, being seven times more likely to be
abused and neglected than their non-disabled counterparts
(Council on Children with Behavioral Disorders, 2000; Sullivan
& Knutson, 2000a);
Whereas support for parents of children with
disabilities has been found to facilitate attachment, and
lessen parental stress, anger, and depression (Capuzzi, 1989;
Kendall-Tackett with Kantor, 1993);
Whereas there is an increased need for accessible,
culturally competent, scientifically-proven services that are
sensitive to youth and family strengths and needs (Report of
the Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health,
2000);
Whereas there is currently little coordination
between child protective services and organizations that
provide services to children with disabilities (Goldson,
1998);
Whereas this lack of coordination results in
critical gaps in the provision of services to maltreated
children with disabilities (Oregon Institute on Disability and
Development, 2000).
Whereas all children, including those with
disabilities, are entitled to care and out-of- home placement
that takes into account their culture, ethnicity and
disability status (Council for Children with Behavioral
Disorders, 2002; Indian Child Welfare Act);
Whereas formal partnerships among federal agencies,
professional associations, and families and caregivers would
facilitate the transfer of knowledge among research, practice,
and policy related to children's mental health (Report of the
Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health,
2000);
Therefore be it resolved that the American Psychological Association:
Recommends the inclusion of disability status in the Child
Abuse Registry of all states, and in all national incidence
studies of child abuse and neglect;
Recommends support services for families aimed at
addressing anger, stress and depression, especially for those
families with children at particularly high risk;
Strongly encourages research to clarify the current state
of knowledge, identify risk factors, identify the
multiple-service needs of children with disabilities and their
families, and to track these children as they move through the
foster care system (i.e., from family-to-family and from
school-to-school);
Strongly encourages collaboration between professionals in
the child maltreatment and disability communities (e.g.,
lawyers, child advocates, mental health professionals), and
dissemination of research on the special needs of maltreated
children with disabilities to both of these groups and to
education and training programs in psychology;
Strongly encourages the development of culturally relevant
prevention and treatment models that provide comprehensive
child protection and care for maltreated children with
disabilities, and dissemination of these models to education
and training programs in psychology.
References
Benedict, M.I., White, R.B., Wulff, L.M., & Hall, B.J.
(1990). Reported maltreatment of children with multiple
disabilities. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 207-217.
Capuzzi, C. (1989). Maternal attachment to handicapped
infants and the relationship to social support. Research in
Nursing and Health, 12, 161-167.
Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders. (2000).
Position paper on terminology and definition of emotional or
behavioral disorders. www.ccbd.net. (Retrieved
4/25/02).
Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders. (2002).
Council for Children with Behavior Disorders Fact Sheets on
Overrepresentation of Ethnic Minorities in Special Education.
www.ccbd.net. (Retrieved 4/25/02).
Goldson, E. (1998). Children with disabilities and child
maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22,
663-667.
Indian Child Welfare Act. U.S. Code Title 25, Chapter 21.
Legal Information Institute.
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode. (Retrieved 4/23/02).
Kendall-Tackett, K.A. & Kantor, G.K. (1993).
Postpartum depression: a comprehensive approach for
nurses. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Little, L. (submitted for publication). Maternal stress,
maternal discipline, and peer victimization of children with
Asperger-Spectrum Disorders: Building ecological
frameworks.
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect
Information (2001). The risk and prevention of maltreatment of
children with disabilities.
www.calib.com/nccanch/pubs/prevenres/focus.cfm.
Oregon Institute on Disability and Development. (2000).
Every child special-every child safe: Protecting children with
disabilities from maltreatment: A call to
action. http://www.ohsu.edu/cdrc/oaks/.
Robin, R.W., Chester, B., Rasmussen, J.K., Jaranson, J.M.,
& Goldman, D. (1997). Prevalence, characteristics, and
impact of childhood sexual abuse in a Southwestern American
Indian tribe. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21, 769-787.
Sedlak, A., & Broadhurst, D.D. (1996). Third
National Incidence Study of Child Abuse andNeglect: Final
Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human
Services.
Sullivan, P.M., & Knutson, J.F. (1998). The association
between child maltreatment and disabilities in a
hospital-based epidemiological study. Child Abuse &
Neglect, 22, 271-288.
Sullivan, P.M. & Knutson, J.F. (2000a). Maltreatment
and disabilities: A population-based epidemiological study.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 1257-1274.
Sullivan, P.M. & Knutson, J.F. (2000b). The prevalence
of disabilities and maltreatment among runaway children.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 1275-1288.
Urquiza, A.J., & Goodlin-Jones, B.L. (1994). Child
sexual abuse and adult revictimization with women of color.
Violence and Victims, 9, 223-232.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2001). CAPTA Required Data
Items. www.acf.dhhs.gov
U.S. Public Health Service (2000). Report of the Surgeon
General's Conference on Children's Mental Health: A National
Action Agenda. Washington DC: U.S. Dept. of Health and
Human Services.
Westat, Inc. (1993). A report on the maltreatment of
children with disabilities. Washington, DC: National
Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.
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