The power inside

Last week I attended an Obama rally.
This is not a blog about my support for Obama, which I do.
Rather it is a reflection on a take away statement he made, "there is incredible power in the potential for our own responsibility."
I thought about that is relation to the latest statistics on perpetrators of abuse on children.

The roadmap to a safer Oregon for Oregon kids:

In Oregon, the greatest threat to a child's safety is that child's family. Ninety-five percent of abuse and neglect against children is committed by family members – mostly parents.
Governments can reduce child abuse by assisting Oregon families become independent, healthy and safe.
It is a goal that becomes attainable when shared by policy makers, business, foundations, community leaders – and ultimately families themselves.
Government programs can support and educate families. It can even remove children from families when it is no longer safe for the children to remain at home. But no government will ever be as powerful a force in ensuring the safety of children as responsible parents.
Parental substance abuse was cited as a factor for 60 percent of the Oregon children who entered foster care in 2006. Substance abuse can diminish parents' capacity to protect children, leading to abuse or neglect either by the parent or another person.
Untreated mental illness by a parent also poses a risk factor to children as does abuse in the parent's own childhood. Other risk factors include poverty, unemployment and lack of health care.
Sixty thousand times a year, various Oregon governments receive reports of alleged abuse against children. That's once every ten minutes.
Police and child welfare caseworkers respond to and investigate these reports. Unfortunately, by the time anyone receives a report, the abuse already has occurred.
When a child is abused or neglected, citizens ten to look to government to protect that child from further abuse. The law says to keep families together when it is safe to do so.
If a child cannot remain safely at home, he or she is placed in foster care while the parents work ..s that will allow their child to return home safety. In 2007, 12,000 children were served in family foster care.
But we are asking too much of government to do it all. And we are not asking enough of ourselves, parents and families. When parents are not capable of making good choices, the safety and welfare of children becomes all of society's responsibility.