Child maltreatment is a significant issue that can have long-term negative consequences for individuals. Child abuse is a complicated issue that stems from dysfunctional relationships and settings. To reduce child abuse, risk and protection must be addressed at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels. The change that I propose operates at a community level, which takes into account the contexts in which social connections occur, such as classrooms, companies, and neighborhoods. Namely, I suggest increasing family economic assistance and improving parenting abilities to encourage the healthy growth of children. These initiatives should be implemented after identifying risk groups of families that might resort to abuse currently or in the future (WHO, n.d.). The assessment should be done through the use of existing research on the topic and the application of regional trends. After the families at risk are identified, there should be developed specific policies to increase household financial stability and workplace practices that support families. Moreover, it is necessary to provide access to childhood home visitation to families at risk and those who plan to have children.
The resources needed to implement the mentioned change in a community include funding and staff. For budget, one can find stakeholders of the policy. As such, these might be local supporters who can donate money or even fund the initiatives. Furthermore, the community might use the help of the national organizations specializing in child protection and sustain available funds. The funds should help finance the work of people needed for the implementation, including the services of policy consultants, family experts, and childhood home staff. The initiative will help prevent violence, so it is reasonable to say that it will best support children at an early age.
Reference
WHO. (n.d.). Preventing violence against children.