Stop Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) helps children learn about abuse and how to prevent it; here’s a list of child abuse and neglect resources.
Safety skills and proactive tools to combat neglect are helpful to learn. But because of COVID-19, SCAN will not actively be within schools in Southeastern Wisconsin. This means children will lose instruction time, including lessons from SCAN.
But not even COVID-19 will stop SCAN from equipping children with education. Officials say adults should also have an understanding of what signs to look for. By knowing the signs, you can implement lessons to those around you.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Abuse of a child is the intentional harm and mistreatment of someone who is 18 years or younger. Child Abuse can occur in different ways.
Types of child abuse and neglect resources
According to the Mayo Clinic, these are the types of abuse/neglect.
- Physical Abuse– Purposefully injured or put at risk of harm
- Sexual Abuse- Any sexual activity with a child
- Medical Abuse– Giving false information about an illness that requires a child to have medical attention, putting a child at risk or injury that requires medical attention unnecessarily
- Neglect– Failure to provide adequate food, shelter, affection, supervision, education or medical care
- Emotional Abuse- Injuring a child’s self esteem or emotional wellbeing
What are the signs of child abuse and neglect?
Per the Mayo Clinic, these are the signs and symptoms.
- Anxiety, depression, unusual fears
- Withdrawal from typical activities
- Loss of self-confidence
- Self-harm/suicide
- Running away or attempting to
- Reluctant to leave places
- Defiant behavior
- Unexplainable injuries
- Pregnancy
- Broken bones, bruises
- Sexually transmitted infections
- Statements saying abuse occurs
- Inappropriate sexual contact with others
- Emotional delays
- Poor hygiene
- Hiding food
- Excessive attention to medical care
- Overweight/underweight
Suspect Child Abuse?
If you suspect child abuse, get help. If the situation is emergent, call 911. Now, this is a difficult circumstance to experience. Getting help as quickly can help put an end to the problem. Depending on the situation, contact the police department, a child protective agency, or a medical establishment.
The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline is available at 1-800-422-4453 to assist with concerns or questions.
Child Protective Services in Racine County is located at 1717 Taylor Avenue can help you file a report about the abuse. The office number is 262-638-7720. If you need to use the services after hours, contact 262-638-7720. FAX 262-638-6369 if you prefer that method.
Child abuse Support Services
If you are currently experiencing abuse or have in the past, support is available for you. Friends or parents of a survivor, have options as well for support. Aiding the healing process can help by connecting through these resources below.
- SCAN
- Racine County Child Advocacy Center through Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin
- University of Wisconsin-Extension Family Living Programs
- Guardians of the Children-Belle City Chapter
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse-City of Racine
- Kinship Care
- NAMI of Racine
The Racine County Eye has a mental health resource guide that can help too, that you can view here. If you have questions about this post, contact us here. Please consider donating to the Racine County Eye so that we can continue to share valuable information.
