FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- Health care and childcare professionals from Fort Sam Houston and the local community attended a conference at the Army Community Service here April 12 to learn about the impact of deployment on Families.
The all-day conference, called Families and Military: Deployment, Families, Homecoming, Injury and Integration, was sponsored by Fort Sam Houston and the Laurel Ridge Treatment Center in honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Installation Commander Maj. Gen. Russell Czerw highlighted the importance of child abuse prevention efforts during his opening remarks.
"While physical injuries may or may not be visible, they have consequences for children, Families, society. And they don\'t just last a few weeks, days, months, they can last a lifetime; they can last for generations," Czerw said.
During his speech, Czerw presented statistics that demonstrated the extent of child abuse in the nation. "According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, nearly 899,000 children were found to be victims of child abuse in 2005," he said.
Even worse, Czerw said, some don't make it out. "Each year, children die from abuse and neglect," he said. In 2005, "an estimated 1,460 children died due to child abuse or neglect. And about three-quarters of these children were younger than 4 years old." Neglect was most common form of maltreatment, he said.
For military Families, the added stress of deployment can have a lasting impact on children.
"I don't care who you are, when you're put under the stress of having to leave your Family for six months, 12 months, 15 months and not knowing how long you're going to be gone and be back, that's a stress to anyone's Family," the general said.
The general said University of North Carolina studies illustrate how the stress of war extends beyond the Soldier to Families left behind.
"The rates of abuse and neglect among young children in military Families in Texas has doubled since October 2002, raising concerns about the impact of deployment on military personnel and their Families across the country," he said.
The sad fact, he said, is that 84 percent of the victims were abused by a parent acting alone or acting with another person.
"There's an added pain of betrayal. That scars right through to the deep portion, to the heart, to the spirit of that child." Czerw said the first step to reversing the "staggering" statistics is to teach children they are valued. "We have to think of each child as being our own and not just as a victim in a story; they are real; they have names; they are our neighbors and our friends. It begins with you and it begins with me."
The Army is committed to preventing abuse from occurring as well as intervening when a problem exists, he said. "Just like we do with individuals with substance abuse problems, it's not punitive action we go after first, it's getting those individuals help first. It's an illness, a sickness, and we are obligated to get them help."
Czerw said the Family Advocacy Program here has established external and internal partnerships to raise awareness and work toward the elimination of child abuse.
"Today's forum is the start of that," he said, thanking the people who took the time to attend the conference. Attendees included teachers, childcare providers, counselors and social workers, said Marjorie Loya, Fort Sam Houston Family Advocacy Program manager. T
he conference featured topics such as parental injury, the Texas Youth Suicide Prevention Project, Army Warrior Transition Organization, deployment impacts, and a testimony from a military spouse who has coped with three deployments.
Loya said she hoped attendees walk away with a greater sense of awareness of the children they care for daily. "It may look like the child is acting out or exhibiting bad behavior, but it may be a cry out for help and attention. We all need to be on the look out for signs of stress or abuse."
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