Child Abuse Prevention

DAPE does abuse prevention 12 months a year! Every year hundreds of thousands of children are abused in this country. Child abuse is a national epidemic that forever changes children. You can make a difference!

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month symbolized by a blue ribbon. The history of the blue ribbon campaign is one with a heartbreaking story. A grandmother who lost a grandson to child abuse, used a blue ribbon to symbolize his bruises. She started the blue ribbon campaign to bring awareness to the realities of child abuse with the hopes of preventing needless death and suffering.

DAPE is on the front lines of abuse prevention. Statistics show that the one of the best ways to prevent abuse is education. Since 1959 DAPE has been providing community based low cost parenting classes.

“Parent education works! When services such as parent education are offered and are of the appropriate quality, several studies indicate that outcomes for children and families improve, parents feel greater competence, and are less likely to abuse and neglect children” (Reppucci, N.D., Britner, P.A., Woolard, J.L., 1997).

Dape has also been recognized as an organization making a difference. In 1998, DAPE was nominated for the Best Practices by the Community Council of Greater Dallas. Dape is committed to the families in our community. We know that education makes a difference. Starting with pre-natal education and continuing educational opportunities until the child reaches 12, we have assisted families in getting the best start possible. Often parents don’t understand child development and that leads the ineffective and sometimes abusive behavior.

Consider some of the following statistics and remember that Child Abuse is Everyone’s Problem!!

In 2001, about 3,844,000 children were reported as possible victims of child abuse and neglect in the United States.
Of those cases confirmed, 54 percent were neglect, 19 percent were physical abuse, 10 percent were sexual abuse, 3 percent were emotional maltreatment, and 14 percent were due to other forms of maltreatment.
Nationally over 94 billion dollars are spent as a result of child abuse (direct and indirect costs).
For every dollar spent on quality Early Childhood Education the community benefits with a return of seven dollars.
Over 3 million children are reported as abused ( 2001) and of those reports, around 1 million are confirmed.
Every 2 hours a child is a victim of homicide.
In 2001 around 2,000 children died as a result of abuse and neglect.

Child Abuse and Neglect in Texas

4 children die from child abuse or neglect every week
183 children are confirmed victims of child abuse every day
8 children are abused or neglected every hour

In FY 2010:

288,080 alleged victims of child abuse
66,897 confirmed victims of abuse
227 children died from abuse of neglect in Texas
Estimated measurable cost of child abuse and neglect is $6.2 billion annually

There are thousands of reasons to make child protection a top priority for the state of TEXAS!

Click here to read about recognizing the signs of abuse and how to report abuse.

SO HOW CAN YOU HELP

Please make a donation to DAPE . Every dollar that you donate goes directly to our educational programs. Here are some of the ways that we can put your dollars to work right now in our community.

$15.00 – pays for 1 week’s phone bill for the Warmline for Parents

$60.00 – pays for Parenting Classes for 1 parent/ $100.00 pays for 2 parents

Contributions can also be made toward Pre-natal education or Baby Care classes.

In addition to DAPE’s classes in Childbirth, Baby Care Basics, and Positive Parenting, DAPE provides educational services to many at-risk families,community based orginazations and teens through the following programs:

Child Care Provider Training including SIDS/Shaken Baby prevention training

Speakers for Parenting groups

Warmline for Parents and many more!