New Report Shows the Crippling Cost of Child Abuse

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This month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report quantifying the costs of child maltreatment in the United States. The report underscores that child maltreatment is a serious public health issue with financial impacts comparable to a stroke and Type 2 diabetes. What the report does not quantify is the loss of a child’s innocence. What is the price of the smile on a baby’s face when he takes his first steps, or on the 8-year-old who scores her first goal, or on the 12-year-old who wins his class spelling bee? What about the joy and love brought into the lives of family and friends by that child?

Karen Worthington: If you Want to Prevent Crime, Work to Prevent Child Abuse

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Downtown Atlanta workers may not see pinwheels in the parks this April. The brightly colored children’s toys have twirled in the wind for many Aprils, each representing one of the thousands of children who are abused in Georgia each year. Just two weeks before the start of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Prevent Child Abuse Georgia (PCAG), an affiliate of Prevent Child Abuse America, abruptly closed its doors. The closure of PCAG presents an opportunity for Georgia to redesign and revitalize our child abuse prevention work. Child abuse prevention activities, such as public awareness, home visitation programs, parent education and early identification of risk factors, are essential components of a safe, healthy, prosperous community.

Barton Center Appoints Melissa Carter as New Director

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Melissa D. Carter is the new director of The Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University, starting December 1.  She replaces Karen Worthington, the founding director, who recently left the Barton Center after ten years. Carter has a rich history as a child advocate.  She is currently Director of Georgia’s Office of the Child Advocate, and served as Deputy Director of the agency until last February, when Governor Perdue tapped her for the top post. Carter has worked as a private practice adoption lawyer, and chaired the State Bar’s Juvenile Law Committee.  While in law school, she worked as a student case manager with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and as a legislative assistant for the Children’s Rights Council in Washington, D.C.  Carter knows the work of the Barton Center well, since she served as a Post-Graduate Fellow in Law at the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic. Read more about Melissa Carter in this news release.