Welcome back students and teachers, administrators and staff. Westfield Public Schools are back in session. It’s going to be a great year. Next week, classes begin at Westfield State University. I wish everyone an excellent, productive, and educational school year.
Next week is also the Bay State’s Primary Election. But this year, Election Day is NOT on a Tuesday. The Primary Election will be held on Thursday, September 6, 2012. Republicans will take a Republican ballot. Democrats will take a Democrat ballot. Independent, unenrolled voters may choose to take either a Democrat or Republican ballot. After voting, they may request to change their party affiliation back to be an unenrolled voter.
I hope you will take a few minutes and go to the polls to vote in the Primary. It won’t take long but it is so important that you go and make your voice heard. The November election is less than 67 days away.
As I write my column this week the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, is on the television. I am getting ready to listen to the speech of my friend Governor Mitt Romney as he accepts his party’s nomination to become our Presidential candidate.
Political Conventions are largely for political junkies of both political parties. I don’t consider myself a political junkie but I guess many people would. I love working in the political arena. And I like politics as a hobby. So I’ve watched as much of it as I could.
I have to confess that I am ecstatic that a person I know, and who knows me, and have worked side by side with may become the next President of the United States.
I would rather keep talking politics than write about my chosen topic this week. There is no easy segue into the topic of this column: Child abuse.
Child abuse is an ugly topic; a dark, uncomfortable thing to talk about. Yet as a new parent to a young child I have found myself thinking more and more about it and wondering how any person could intentionally harm or abuse a child.
In Massachusetts the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is the state agency responsible for protecting children from child abuse and neglect. According to their website DCF receives reports on more than 100,000 children each year. Certain professionals are mandated to report child abuse and neglect. However, anyone can report. To report abuse or neglect, call the Child-at-Risk Hotline anytime of the day or night at 800-792-5200, or call the Westfield Police Department at 911.
I went to the DCF website (www.mass.gov/eohhs/consumer/family-services/) to get more information about the signs of child abuse and how to report it. See below:
There are often certain recognizable physical and behavioral indicators of child abuse or neglect. The following signs, by themselves, may not be conclusive evidence of a problem, but serve as indicators of the possibility that a problem exists.
Signs of Physical Abuse:
Bruising, welts or burns that cannot be sufficiently explained; particularly bruises on the face, lips, and mouth of infants or on several surface planes at the same time;
Withdrawn, fearful or extreme behavior;
Clusters of bruises, welts or burns, indicating repeated contact with a hand or instrument;
Burns that are insufficiently explained; for example, cigarette burns; and
Injuries on children where children don’t usually get injured (e.g., the torso, back neck buttocks, or thighs).
Signs of Sexual Abuse:
Difficulty walking or sitting;
Pain or itching in the genital area;
Torn, stained or bloody underclothing;
Frequent complaints of stomachaches or headaches;
Venereal disease;
Bruises or bleeding in external genitalia;
Feeling threatened by physical contact;
Inappropriate sex play or premature understanding of sex; and
Frequent urinary or yeast infections.
Signs of Emotional Injury:
Speech disorders;
Inability to play as most children do;
Sleeping problems;
Anti-social behavior or behavioral extremes; and
Delays in emotional and intellectual growth.
Signs of Neglect:
Lack of medical or dental care;
Chronically dirty or unbathed;
Lack of adequate school attendance;
Lack of supervision; for example young children left unattended or with other children too young to protect or care for them;
Lack of proper nutrition;
Lack of adequate shelter;
Self-destructive feelings or behavior; and alcohol or drug abuse.
While the Commonwealth has certain resources to help people identify and stop child abuse and neglect, there is also an organization called the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance (MACA) that I found to be helpful and very informative. Their website is www.machildrensalliance.org.
During this legislative session MACA sent legislators some information that got my attention and planted the seed for this column. They listed 10 signs of child abuse:
1. Unexplained injuries
2. Changes in behavior
3. Returning to earlier behaviors
4. Fear of going home
5. Changes in eating
6. Changes in sleeping
7. Changes in school performance and attendance
8. Lack of personal care or hygiene
9. Risk-taking behaviors
10. Inappropriate sexual behaviors
I wish it wasn’t necessary to have to write about this issue. God knows as your State Representative I’d rather talk about tax policy or infrastructure repair or immigration reform. But the Massachusetts government takes child abuse very seriously. There really is no higher calling than to protect the youngest and most innocent citizens in our society.
If this column can call attention to the problem and give readers some direction on where to go to get help then I am grimly satisfied. Thank you for reading this. I conclude by repeating: To report child abuse or neglect, call the Child-at-Risk Hotline anytime of the day or night at 800-792-5200, or call the Westfield Police Department at 911.
Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Maura Cassin may be reached at their Westfield District Office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA
Representative Don Humason may be reached at his Boston office, State House Room 542, Boston, MA, 02133, (617) 722-2803.
Email address: [email protected]
Website: www.DonHumason.org
