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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2008)
TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS [ TICC Board ANNOUNCEMENT: Résumés are being accepted for the Tenas Illahee Childcare Center Board of Director’s positions. There are cur rently two vacant positions. Appointments are to be made at the Regular Tribal Council meet ing in November. Please submit your résumé to Attn: Tami Miner, Executive Sec retary to Tribal Council, P.O. Box 549, Siletz, OR 97380-0549. v_________________________________ ) Planning Department’s Transportation Survey On Aug. 12, we mailed a survey to 1.000 randomly selected Tribal house holds in the 11-county service area to ask about your transportation needs. We asked questions about your driving habits, use of the Tribal trans port service, opinion of the Tribal trans port service, use of the Veterans Administration's transport service and other comments you wished to give. The survey data is being gathered to assess the transportation needs and desires of Tribal members. Once the data is analyzed, the information will be used to identify unmet transportation needs, enhance services and programs, and prioritize transportation resources. We have received 196 survey re sponses and have drawn the names for the winners of the gift cards. The win ner of the $50 gift card is Jean Garrett and the winners of the $20 gift cards are Dennis Varner and Dennis Lucas. Jr. Although the deadline for the gift card drawing has passed, we still wel come your input. Please send your sur vey in if you have not already done so. If you did not receive a survey and wish to offer input on your transporta tion needs, please call Pam Lind. Tribal transportation planner, at 800-922- 1399, ext. I 361, or 541-444-8361. October Notes from Healthy Family Healthy Child Project The subject for this month is child neglect, which is the most common form of child abuse. To begin, it’s prob ably best to refer to a section of last month’s article. “Of all the forms of child abuse and neglect, neglect is the most fre quently reported form of child abuse among American Indian families. Nationally, of 879.000 reports of child abuse that were confirmed, 62.8 per cent suffered from neglect, 19.3 per cent were physically abused. 10.1 per cent were sexually abused and 7.7 per cent were psychologically maltreated. “Nationally, in child abuse cases that resulted in the death of a child, 34.9 percent were associated more often just with neglect more than any other single type of abusive maltreatment. “What is neglect? It’s the failure to meet a child's basic needs for physi cal, social and emotional development. “Neglect is failure to follow medi cal instructions or to seek medical care, which can also mean dental care. Ne glect is also a lack of age-appropriate supervision and guidance.” Definitions of Neglect In an effort to understand the term neglect, it's best to look at some defi nitions. The dictionary defines neglect, in part, as “habitual lack of care.” The Federal Child Abuse Prevention Act defines neglect, in part, as being “an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm." The Siletz Tribal Juvenile Code states that a neglected child is “a child whose parent or custodian fails or is unable to carry out their parental or custodial duties to the extent that the child's physical or emotional health, safety, welfare or intellectual develop ment are harmed or threatened, includ ing the failure of such parent or other custodian to take advantage of reason ably available public assistance and service programs designed to furnish such needs where the parent or custodian cannot provide such needs on their own." The Siletz Tribal Juvenile Code fur ther defines this as, “A parent or cus todian who, with criminal negligence, leaves a child under 10 years of age un attended. or in any place, for such pe riod of time as may be likely to endan ger the health or welfare of such child.” Abandonment, which is a form of extreme neglect, also is addressed by the Siletz Tribal Juvenile Code, which defines abandonment as “a child whose parent or custodian has left the child without reasonable arrangements for care and supervision such that the physical or emotional health of the child is affected or threatened, or a child who has no parent or other cus todian able, willing and available to fulfill parental duties." The first step in helping abused or neglected children is learning to rec ognize the signs of child abuse and neglect. The presence of a single sign does not prove child abuse is occur ring in a family; however, when these signs appear repeatedly or in combi nation, a person should take a closer look at the situation and consider the possibility of child abuse. It should be stressed that the follow ing are warning signs only and that a single occurrence of a sign does not mean that a child is a victim of abuse. But when this is seen with a combination of signs, it could signal that abuse is possible and the situa tion should be watched. A. The following signs may, when com bined with others, signal the presence of child abuse and/or neglect. The child: I. Shows sudden changes in be havior or school performance 2. Has not received help for physical or medical problems brought to the attention of the parent 3. Has learning problems (or dif ficulty concentrating) that can not be attributed to specific physical or psychological causes 4. Is always watchful, as though preparing for something bad to happen 5. Lacks adult supervision 6. Is overly compliant, passive or withdrawn 7. Comes to school or other ac tivities early, stays late and does not want to go home The parent: 1. Shows little concern for the child 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Denies the existence of - or blames the child for - the child's problems in school or at home Asks teachers or other caretak ers to use harsh physical disci pline if the child misbehaves Sees the child as entirely bad, worthless or burdensome Demands a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve Looks primarily to the child for care, attention and satisfaction of emotional needs The parent and child: I. Rarely touch or kx>k at each other 2. Consider their relationship en tirely negative 3. State that they do not like each other Specifically, neglect should be con sidered as a possibility when the child: I. Is frequently absent from school 2. Begs or steals food or money 3. Lacks needed medical or dental care, immunizations or glasses 4. Is consistently dirty and has se vere body odor 5. Lacks sufficient clothing for the weather 6. Abuses alcohol or other drugs 7. States there is no one at home to provide care An observer also should consider the possibility of neglect when the par ent or another adult caregiver: I. Appears to be indifferent to the child 2. Seems apathetic or depressed 3. Behaves irrationally or in a bizarre manner 4. Is abusing alcohol or other drugs Studies show that boys and girls are neglected at approximately the same rates. The ages of the neglected children, however, differ. It has been found that the highest rales of neglect arc found in children ages 0-3, but con tinue to be high through age 6 and de crease for those children older than 6. Other studies show the lowest- income families (those earning less than $15.000 per year) have the high est rates of neglect. It’s estimated that 27 out of every 1.000 children are ne glected in these families, while the rate of neglect for children living in fami lies that earn more than $30.000 per year is less than I in 1.000 children. Additionally, neglect occurs more of ten in single-parent families and in families with four or more children. Substance Abuse is Contributing Factor The primary contributing factor in child neglect, however, is substance abuse. Whether it's drugs or alcohol, substance abuse is a factor in as much as 70 percent of all reported cases of child neglect. It has been found that substance abusing parents may divert money needed for basic necessities to buy drugs and/or alcohol. Parental sub stance abuse can interfere w ith the abil ity to maintain employment, further limiting the family's resources. The substance-abusing behaviors can expose children to criminal behav iors and dangerous people. Substance- abusing parents can be emotionally or physically unavailable to parent their children or to properly supervise their children, risking accidental injuries. Children living with substance-abusing parents are more likely to become in toxicated themselves, cither deliber ately or by accidental ingestion of the abused substances. Heavy parental drug use can inter fere with the parent s ability to provide the consistent nurturing and care giv ing that promotes a child's develop ment and self-esteem. It's important to remember that it's a combination of the above signs that, if they give you cause for concern, should be reported to the Department of Human Services. 541-757-5019. or to Tribal Child Welfare. But if it's hap pening now', right this minute, call 91 I and make the report. Next month. Notes from Healthy f amily Healthy Child Project will look at domestic violence and child neglect, the consequences of child neglect and begin to talk about the influence of methamphetamine on the family. October 2008 • Siletz News • 5
