1) Investigating child abuse requires identifying warning signs in a child's behavior and asking questions if something seems off. Child abuse includes physical, emotional, sexual, and neglect. 2) Technology has advanced investigation methods, but the system needs to be more attentive to abuse claims from children. Initial visitations with an abusive parent should be supervised. 3) In the past, children were not considered credible witnesses, but laws have changed to extend more protection and allow past victims more time to report abuse. Evidence gathering looks at physical injuries, psychological signs, and the child's knowledge of right and wrong.

1. 250 words each agree or disagree each questions
Q 1.
I think for most people this subject is hard to talk about but for
parents it’s even worse. The idea that something could happen
to your child scares that life out of you. For this week’s post we
focus on someone would investigate child abuse and the signs
and warnings that may not seem clear but are sitting right in
front of the eye. Child abuse can be considered any intentional
harm or mistreatment to a child under 18 years old is considered
child abuse(mayoclinic.gov) Child abuse can physical, mental,
emotional, sexual, medical or even neglect. Symptoms can vary
and be wide in range from being withdrawn, to constant crying
or acting out. In the realm of the criminal justice aspect, how
can things change? How does one stop a child abuse act or even
begin to create new ways and processes to fix the situation? The
1st step in changing this would be to identify the warning signs
in the child and ask questions. Keep vigilant and if something
seems off that most likely it is. According to Hunyl Kim and
Christopher Wilderman, 37% of children receive an
inverstigation by Child protection services by there 18.(Kim. Et
al) The conclusion is simple that, most people do not realize
how bad child abuse and maltreatment is in the world today.
The outcomes from child abuse are linked to child maltreatment
include degraded neurologic capacity to deal with stress,
worsened general physical health,, elevated levels of risky
health behaviors,, mental health problems ,impaired intellectual
and cognitive development.
In juvenile cases where there is an offender convicted, states
differ in how they see things.(Sandler et al) ) Policies and acts
that are passed such as the The Wetterling Act or The Adam

2. Walsh act are possible long term solutions to a problem but
again are different in every state. Wetterling Act was focused
on adult offenders and did not require the application of
registration and notification policies to youth adjudicated as
minors. The Adam Walsh child and protection safety act guided
law makers to hat all convicted sex offenders be placed into one
of three different risk tiers that would be based upon the level
of the crime committed(Sandler,et al.) ) Some states pose an
attitude of a rehabilitative mindset awhile other states look to
throw the hammer at the offender.According to Sandler,
Letorneau, and Vandiver there is a study extends research
efforts by evaluating the association between juvenile sex
offender registration and notification policies and juvenile
reports for sexual crimes using data from four states: Idaho,
South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. For some of the states the
juvenile processing of a sex crime has been pleaded down to a
lesser charge. Does this help the convicted out in the long run
or just hurt the essence of society by doing this? In Idaho,
South Carolina, and Utah youth are required to register as sex
offenders if charged with a sex crime. In Virginia youth are not
required to register right away(Sandler et.al) but the court may
deem it necessary to register.
Sandler, J. C., Letourneau, E. J., Vandiver, D. M., Shields, R.
T., & Chaffin, M. (2017). Juvenile sexual crime reporting rates
are not influenced by juvenile sex offender registration policies.
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
,
23
(2), 131–140. doi: 10.1037/law0000118 Kim, H., Wildeman, C.,
Jonson-Reid, M., & Drake, B. (2017). Lifetime Prevalence of
Investigating Child Maltreatment Among US Children.
American Journal of Public Health
,
107
(2), 274–280. doi: 10.2105/ajph.2016.303545 Child abuse.

3. (2018, October 5). Retrieved from
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/child-
abuse/symptoms-causes/syc-20370864
Q 2.
gain I apologize for not participating as I should be but my
internet has been horrible since March. While I fully understand
we should have a backup plan that can be nearly impossible
when you live in remote areas where internet is limited
especially during the hours I can study. At least I am here
trying.
This weeks discussion concerns investigating child abuse.
Before I proceed into what the lesson states I would like to
share an experience with you concerning the subject.
When I filed for a divorce a few years ago and made the claim
that my children were being abused and therefore should not be
permitted to live half time with their father the courts fought
me. I hired a guardian ad Litem and even though the children
finally spoke a little about the abuse their
statements were ignored and the findings of the court was to
share the children 50/50 with the father and his new wife having
the extra day and the school jurisdiction. I was so angry the
system had failed my children. One day not long after, I picked
up the boys and when we got home the youngest called 911 and
reported his father and his wife were being mean to him. The
officer that came to the home spoke to my son alone and was
very sympathetic. The officer ordered I take the child
immediately to his physician. Once there she brought out a
black light type of device and she could see fingerprints and
marks under his skin so of course, she immediately contacted
DCF and immediately the father signed away his rights to me to

4. keep from being investigated further. Technology has advanced
and that makes it easier to investigate child abuse but I feel the
system needs to be more attentive to claims of abuse from
children despite their age. When there is a concern of abuse it
would benefit the child if initial visitations were supervised and
the interaction was closely observed. Investigators need to be
more observant of the emotional signs displayed by children
being abused.
Sadly, sexual abuse was overlooked during the first half of the
20th century when children were not credible in the eyes of
those in authority. It was not until around 1975 that more
sympathy was extended to victims. (Meyers 1999) Even then a
child was considered to be an unsworn witness and without
evidence, there was no conviction. I can understand this because
without evidence an innocent person could face charges. It was
also damaging to the case when the child was too afraid to
testify.
Sometime in the late 1980’s certain legal aspects of child abuse
changed. Those changes are still effective today. In 2013
twenty-three states removed the statute of limitations of child
abuse and eleven other states are being pushed to do the same.
This allows the victim time they may need to feel confident
enough to reveal what they experienced.
To investigate child abuse the investigator must gather evidence
which includes photos. The investigator will also observe signs
of psychological or emotional abuse. The child's ability to know
right from wrong is also taken into consideration. A child
unable to remember various events may not see his day in court.
The investigator will be able to determine the time of abuse by
the color of bruises on the child but they are only visible two
weeks. There may be pattern bruises which identify the object
the child was hit with, holding patterns or bite marks. The
investigator will also look for evidence of the shaken baby

5. syndrome
Additionally, the investigator may come across Munchausen
which is usually a form of abuse carried out by the mother. The
mother will cause the child to experience illnesses in an attempt
to get attention. Sometimes the mother will even poison her
children.
References
Connolly, D. A., Coburn, P. I., & Chong, K. (2017). Twenty-six
years prosecuting historic child sexual abuse cases: Has
anything changed?
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
, Vol. 23, Iss. 2, 166-177. DOI:10.1037.
Gosselin, D. K. (2010). Heavy hands: An introduction to the
crimes of family violence. 5th ed., Pearson College Division.
(Investigating Abuse & Adolescent Perpetrators)