Child neglect by any definition is wrong Published April 25, 2008 By Staff Sgt. Chad Thompson 90th Space Wing Public Affairs F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- A once boisterous child now sits quietly in the back of the classroom. He no longer participates in discussions, rarely smiles, has become withdrawn and never plays with the other children anymore. The teacher also notices the boy's grades begin to falter and worries the boy might be having some problems at home with his family. When the question arises, she can see how nervous the boy is. She tries to comfort him, and he winces in pain. She asks if she can see his shoulder and the teacher is shocked when she sees a bruise in the shape of a fist. No matter the form, whether physical, emotional or sexual, child neglect and abuse are wrong, and the family advocacy office is here to help. Child neglect is a failure of a parent or guardian to provide necessary care to someone less than 18 years old, said Glenn Garcia, family advocacy outreach manager. Whether it's providing food, shelter, clothing, medical care or allowing the child to attend school, the child doesn't have the ability to make decisions on their own. So it's the parents responsibility to ensure these things are being provided, Mr. Garcia said. He said, neglect and abuse fall into two basic categories: physical and emotional. "In both cases, emotional effects last longer," he said. "Bruises and scars will fade with time, but a sustained emotional trauma is more of an internal injury and can affect the child well into adulthood." Warren hasn't had any severe cases of child neglect or abuse in the past few years and Mr. Garcia said its all due to education and other people seeing the signs of abuse or neglect early and seeking help. Some indicators a child may be abused or neglected are the child shows sudden behavioral changes, not receiving adequate medical attention, apprehensive, fearful of parents, and comes to school early, stays late, and doesn't want to go home. Parents may also show signs they are being abusive or neglectful, Mr. Garcia said. They could show little or no concern for their child's well-being, demand a level of physical or academic performance that a child cannot achieve, ask teachers or child care providers to inflict harsh physical discipline if the child misbehaves, or see the child as completely worthless. But it's not necessarily the parent's fault. Mr. Garcia said a lot of cases of neglect stem from the parent's own childhood. "The parents don't have the skills or knowledge to get out of the circle of abuse," he said "And they are just repeating patterns ... that were taught to them by their parents." In some cases people remember the effect the abuse had on them, and they vow to never treat their children the same way. The family advocacy staff offers classes in parenting, stress and anger management, and financial classes to help relieve unneeded pressures contributed to family issues, Mr. Garcia said. "Because Warren's child abuse and neglect cases have been so low over the years, it allows us to focus more on prevention and enrichment, and we can intervene before it becomes a serious problem," he explained. Military members that feel friends, colleagues or neighbors may be abusing their children need to call family advocacy office at 773-4228 or the Department of Family Services at 777-7921. "They don't have to be 100 percent sure that there is abuse, because it is our job to look into each case," Mr. Garcia said. "Seventy percent of the cases are not extreme. The parents may just be overly stressed about a situation in their life and just need some education or resources to help them get connected." Warren's numbers of child abuse and neglect cases are very low because families are using the wingman concept and looking out for each other, he said. Children are the future. "Take a stand and make the call," he added.