Protect Our Kids Act 2012

Protect Our Kids Act 2011

Thesis Statement

Write a 4 page paper on the legislation/policy “Protect Our Kids Act of 2011” also known as HR 3653 and S. 1984. Why is this issue important? What is its scope, its impact, its costs, its negative (or positive) outcomes? What is the status in becoming law, or in being implemented?

Introduction

The government provides Child protective services in order to safeguard children who are unable to defend themselves. Typically the government takes children who have suffered or are suffering sexual abuse, neglect, physical or psychological abuse under its protection. However many a times such incidents go unreported ad results in the death of a child. A number of legislation have been passed in the United States since 1875 when the first organization for preventing cruelty to children came into being. Later a number of acts were introduced and amended. It will reduce children fatalities and abuse in all ways and to improve the process of catching and punishing the wrong doers.

Discussion

Why is this issue important?

According to reports by National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), 1560 children have died due to neglect and abuse in 2010. (Child welfare, 2012). Furthermore, U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) developed a report based on its findings that NCANDS and Department of Health and Human Services failed to take into account a number of child fatalities occurring due to neglect and abuse (GAO, 2012).

The figure below (GAO, 2011) highlights the number of child fatalities reported in year 2009 by Department of Health and Human Services. As is evident 36.7% occur due to maltreatment while 35.8% due to neglect (GAO, 2011). This is an extremely high percentage despite the fact that it does not reflect the actual percentage as highlighted in the report by GAO (GAO, 2012). NCANDS further states that the number of deaths has increased by 22% from 2005 to 2009. The suggested reasons behind this increase are new legislation and better reporting methods. Furthermore, 16% perpetrators of this crime had a history of such maltreatment.

Source: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-599

Keeping these facts and figures in mind 'Protect Our Kids Act 2011 S.1984' was introduced in the Senate on 13th December, 2012 (library of Congress, 2012). This bill has been sponsored by Senator John Kerry and Senator Susan Collins among others. The aim of this Act is to introduce nationwide strategy to reduce the number of child injuries and fatalities occurring due to the negligence (library of Congress, 2012) .

Apart from these shocking revelations by GAO, other reasons also contributed to the introduction of this bill. One such incident was the Penn State scandal; where a university football coach Jerry Sandusky assaulted a number of underage boys. He was found guilty on 45 accounts of assaulting 10 boys between 15 and 24 years of age and has been imprisoned for life (Huffington Post, 2012) . Another such incident was the controversial Casey Anthony trial; where a mother failed to report her two year old daughter missing and ...