Time Limit for Acting on Child Abuse

Elizabeth Shannon & Sarah Parrish

Before we talk about what we believe should be a law, lets go through some background information...

1 out of every 7 children are abused. Thats over 6 million in the United States.

A child abuse report is made every

seconds. Thats 6 reports every minute, 360 every hour, and 8,640 every day!

More than 4 children die every day as a result of child abuse.

of children that die as a result of child abuse are under the age of 4.

Approximately 30% of abused children will later abuse their own children.

In a study 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children had a psychological disorder.

Child Abuse

mental problems

Abused children are

times more likely to be involved in criminal activity.

There have been multiple incidents where child abuse has been reported but not acted on. These reports, that were not investigated, resulted in the deaths of many children.

What will we do about this?

We think that a law should be made in Georgia: That requires the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) to respond to reports within a certain amount of time. The amount of time DFCS has to investigate reports should depend on the type and urgency of the report.

What will this do?

It will cause reports to be acted on quickly. It can stop many child abuse related deaths from happening. It can save childrens lives and get them into a better environment sooner than later.

As you can see, it is important that this idea should become a law. If you would like to help us in trying to make this a law, you can write a letter to your local representative.

Thank You!
For more information please visit our website.