Jackie Clegg Dodd Urges Increased Prevention Efforts Against Child Abuse
CHILDREN
New London Day
Erin Kutz
Boston University Washington News Service
April 9, 2008
WASHINGTON – Four children die each day in the United States because of abuse and neglect, a challenge to policymakers as well as a tragedy that could balloon in the current economic climate, Jackie Clegg Dodd said Wednesday.
The wife of U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., spoke at a legislative luncheon for Childhelp, an organization founded in 1959 that attempts to fight child abuse through programs such as a 24-hour abuse hotline, foster care services, an initiative that trains teachers in recognizing the signs of abuse and residential treatment facilities for abused children.
“We sort of have a triple whammy of things that could affect the stability in homes,” Clegg Dodd said after the event, pointing to the increase of abuse in homes facing posttraumatic stress from soldiers returning from war, stress from job loss and foreclosure and the incidences of drug abuse.
Each year Childhelp introduces a new initiative at the luncheon, called the National Day of Hope. This year’s initiative is a partnership with Crystal Darkness, a campaign that seeks to raise awareness of the increase of child abuse and violence caused by methamphetamine use.
Because of the potential that other types of stress have for triggering family violence, Clegg Dodd said Childhelp should be proactive in its efforts to prevent abuse “before the first hand is raised or the first unkind word is spoken.”
“I know how easy it is to get angry and frustrated with little ones,” Clegg Dodd said, telling the story of her youngest daughter, Christina, who has lately taken to saying a prayer for her “bad mommy” when she is put to bed.
The senator’s wife said she leaves her child’s room to laugh off her insolence, but that parents under stress may be likelier to respond with violence
Child abuse doesn’t get the same national attention and relief that very visible national disasters do, said Rebecca Cooper, a reporter for Washington’s ABC network affiliate, who was the emcee of the luncheon on Capitol Hill.
“Child abuse is a daily and insidious problem,” Cooper said, adding that abuse cases often have to reach large and catastrophic proportions before authorities step in.
Actor Rick Schroder, who’s actively involved in Childhelp, echoed Clegg’s calls for abuse prevention. He tearfully read a letter from a 6-year-old boy living in one of Childhelp’s residential treatment facilities who expressed anger at his mother for using drugs and leaving him to be abused by her numerous boyfriends.
“That’s a 6-year-old boy living in hell,” Schroder said. He urged men to step up their roles as sources of stability and protection.
Clegg Dodd pointed to the enhanced opportunity for protecting children, with the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act up for reauthorization this year. The law gives money to states and communities for services for abused children.
Sen. Dodd has a history in child advocacy as the chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families. “It comes naturally to him,” his wife said. “He got me involved.”
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