At some point, we and our policymakers must recognize what a crisis 7.8 million children being reported every year to child protective services is. Research suggests the true number of abused children is likely twice as high due to the invisible nature of the epidemic. This life ruining crisis has been escalating for decades, making chronic generational child abuse and neglect one of the most misunderstood and under-addressed public health emergencies in our history.
The evidence is clear: childhood trauma not only breaks children and shatters individual lives but is fueling broader, destructive trends in American society—disrupting education systems, driving youth (and future adults they become) into crime, and contributing to the next generation of abusive families and bad outcomes.
America is reproducing parents with serious mental health and behavior problems and avoiding meaningful effort to help them, or their children avoid bad outcomes. This can’t end until at-risk children and families find the help they need to interrupt the cycle.
At present, only a fraction of child abuse is addressed with effective solutions. Our reliance on under-resourced group homes, overwhelmed CPS and foster families, and too-scarce mental health and life skills services ensures the cycle of harm continues.
Bold policy leadership and systemic reform are urgently required to reverse these devastating trends.
“What we do to our children, they will do to society”
(Greek Philosopher Pliny 2000 years ago)
KARA has been funding the Financial Literacy Project, INVISIBLE CHILDREN Campus Programs, public presentations, books, and social media for many years. We have had a really impactful 25 years thanks to our followers.
But here’s the reality-as we are an advocacy group not providing service we live on donations alone. We want to keep the momentum going but we need the funds to do so…
So, we are asking for your help as a way to support all our efforts going forward. Please consider a monthly donation of 5 or 25$ to sustain KARA’s ongoing efforts.
An additional choice, would be to sponsor a our new Spotify Social media platform for $500 and receive recognition for you or your organization Thank you to those who have sponsored a KARA projects in the past!
For stock and legacy donations contact mike@invisiblechildren.org with donations in the Subject line.
This post written by former CASA guardian ad litem volunteer Mike Tikkanen
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#publichealth
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#trauma
#aces
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#juvenilejustice
#bigotry
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#recidivism
#generationalresilience
#mentalhealth
#crime
