Photo credit: David Robert Bliwas, Flickr
All Montanans have the power to prevent child abuse. Each year, approximately 1,300 cases of child abuse or neglect are confirmed in Montana. A majority involve child neglect but they also include physical abuse and sexual abuse. Child abuse has a high cost to society. Children subject to abuse have higher rates of teen pregnancy, drug use, criminal behavior, lower earning potential and a generally decreased quality of life. The average lifetime cost to society per victim of child abuse based on the abuse is estimated by the Centers for Disease Control to be $210,012, including $32,648 in childhood health care costs, $10,530 in adulthood medical costs, $144,360 in productivity losses, $7,728 in child welfare costs, $6,747 in criminal justice costs and $7,999 in special education costs. Because of this high cost, preventing child abuse from occurring is cost-effective and also improves the fabric of our society.
You may have noticed an insert in your energy bill from NorthWestern Energy this past month describing a new child abuse prevention campaign, You Have the Power, that the Montana Department of Justice has begun. The Montana Department of Justice partnered with NorthWestern to spread awareness of the issue of child abuse and urge Montanans to call the state’s child abuse reporting hotline if they suspect abuse. My strong advocacy in the Legislature for the safety of children, working with the Montana Department of Justice and other legislators, helped make this program to protect Montana’s children a reality.
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