Lilly Manning was 15 when she escaped from a cramped closet in south Sacramento, after being stabbed and beaten and shoved into the darkness. This time, she said, she knew she would have to save herself. Government documents confirm she was right. Four different agencies visited the family at least 11 times on reports of suspected abuse or neglect in a five-year period but did not move to protect her or her siblings.

“ZERO TOLERANCE” Law: Mandatory Sentences for Child Abusers

“ZERO TOLERANCE” Law ProposalOUR GOAL: Petition the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and the President of the United States to pass the “Zero Tolerance” bill into Federal Law.

WHO: Dreamcatchers for Abused Children is an official non-profit 501(c)3 child abuse & neglect organization dedicated to educating the public on child abuse symptoms, intervention, prevention, statistics, reporting, and helping victims locate the proper resources necessary to achieve a full recovery. We need YOUR help to petition the government for mandatory sentencing for child abusers and pedophiles.

STARTED BY

DREAMCATCHERS FOR ABUSED CHILDREN©

PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION:

http://www.change.org/petitions/zero-tolerance-law-mandatory-sentences-for-child-abusers#signatures

In the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)’s new report, The State of America’s Children 2011, we give a comprehensive overview on the well-being of America’s children. But just who are America’s children and families today? Children make up almost one in four of the people living in the United States today. More than one-quarter of our nation’s children are young — infants, toddlers or preschoolers. They are the poorest age group in America. And the younger they are, the poorer they are — cheating them in the years of greatest brain development. In chapters on child population and family structure we take a closer look, and a national child and family portrait begins to emerge.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wright-edelman/a-national-family-portrai_b_913729.html

Many are getting upset over Facebook spy ware software for parents. I was looking at one, Spector Pro, the other day to understand what it was all about. The software allows you to secretly record emails, instant messages, and chats. It also prevents private information from being revealed (how is that possible) and can set restrictions like time allowed on the child. It also filters adult-related web chat and emails.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.nj.com/parenting/guest_bloggers/index.ssf/2011/07/spyware_for_parents_to_monitor.html

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Veronica Coriell expressed shock Friday that her ex-husband allegedly kidnapped, raped and tried to murder their 8-year-old daughter. She never saw it coming, she said. “Did something happen along the line that made him not be right in his head?” Veronica Coriell said Friday morning. “Maybe he snapped somewhere.”

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/126422163.html

A Hastings man has been arrested after authorities say he broke a 4-month-old’s leg when the infant would not stop crying and delayed taking him for treatment. Jay Louis Bergeron Jr., 21, was charged Thursday with aggravated child abuse and is in the St. Johns County jail on $500,000 bail. The state Department of Children and Families investigated after the child was hospitalized in February.

READ MORE HERE:

http://m.jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-07-29/story/infant-suffers-fractures-broken-leg-hastings-man-arrested

ALBERT LEA, Minn. – There may soon be harsher punishment laws on the books for child abuse cases in Minnesota. Recent cases in our area as well as across the country are prompting state lawmakers to take action. State Senator Dan Sparks from Austin is planning to meet with Mower County Attorney Kristen Nelsen next week. There they’ll discuss introducing legislation that would create harsher punishments for child abusers, a topic Sparks says he’s heard a lot about recently from constituents.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.kimt.com/content/localnews/story/Harsher-Punishments-for-Minn-Child-Abusers/eYhOT3ZnRE2A3aDI0WZMng.cspx

LAS CRUCES, N. M. — A Las Cruces father was arrested Thursday on child abuse charges after police said he struck his 9-year-old daughter multiple times.It all began Wednesday, when Las Cruces police said 26-year-old Reyes Francisco Perez was injecting himself with a hypodermic needle while his 9-year-old daughter was watching. That’s when police said Perez became angry and repeatedly hit the girl.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.kvia.com/news/28715537/detail.html

Cop: Suffocated Girl Was Locked in Box as Punishment for Taking Popsicle

PHOENIX, Arizona — Police have arrested four people in the death of a 10-year-old girl who suffocated inside a footlocker used to punish her for taking a popsicle without permission. The victim, 10-year-old Ame Deal, was found dead on July 12 in the home where she lived with an aunt, grandmother and two cousins following what police said at the time may have been the tragic ending to a game of hide-and-seek.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-suffocated-girl,0,7986405.story

DALY CITY — A Daly City man was convicted Monday of burning his 17-month-old son in a hot stove while trying to teach him that ovens are dangerous.Gregory Colver Jr., 21, was remanded into custody after a San Mateo County Superior Court jury convicted him of felony child endangerment and cruelty to a child. He faces 12 years in state prison when he is sentenced Aug. 16.
READ MORE HERE:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/18/BA0H1KBU2G.DTL#ixzz1Tc7FSAdq

20 Ways You Can Help Prevent Child Abuse

Unrealistic expectations of parenthood, differences between what we want and what we actually have, a strained relationship with our marriage partner, too much to do and too little time, financial problems, drug abuse, alcoholism, and a history of being abused as a child are examples of problems that can cause parents to take out anger and frustration on their children. Even very loving parents can lose control to the point of child abuse.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.childrensadvocacycenter.org/article_20WaysToPreventChildAbuse.cfm

We’ve all heard fantasy stories, or true events that are either too good to be true, rags to riches tales, or so full of suffering and unspeakable human misery that we have a hard time comprehending its reality. No wonder that some of the biggest blockbusters made in Hollywood come out of true stories of ordinary people doing the impossible, exemplifying the good in us and not the all-too-common tragically wasted potential and literal loss of life when it comes to horrific circumstances like those of Debra Luptak’s.

READ MORE HERE:

http://westsidetoday.com/s9-3112/the-true-story-of.html

Action to help at-risk kids needs urgency

Releasing a Green Paper for Vulnerable Children, Paula Bennett talked of “the single most important debate this country can have”. Given New Zealand’s appalling child abuse statistics, she has a point. Unfortunately, however, the contents of the document come nowhere near to matching the Social Development Minister’s rhetoric. Supposedly controversial ideas smack of the obvious, and the Government’s planned path involves a process that belies the urgency of the problem.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10741256

Investigators: Going Mobile Can Be Dangerous For Kids

Snow Camp, NC — After a 13-year-old North Carolina girl ran away with a man she met online, investigators warn that its easier for kids to keep their online lives secret, than parents might think. Thirteen-year-old Alexandria was reported missing on Monday. Investigators said she met 18-year-old Tyler Cole online. He drove to North Carolina from West Virginia, stole thousands of dollars from Cagle’s house, and the pair drove off.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/184619/57/Investigators-Urge-Parents-To-Monitor-Kids-Online-Lives

A Philadelphia man at the heart of a groundbreaking criminal case against the Philadelphia archdiocese has filed a related civil suit, charging that the church let two priests and a teacher serially rape him as a young altar boy. The 23-year-old man accused the Roman Catholic church in Philadelphia of “callous indifference” to his suffering as a 10-year-old schoolboy.

A 17-month-old baby girl’s brutal death is being blamed on her father’s girlfriend, who police believe also ruthlessly raped the child. Little Maleeya Marie Murley died after suffering a severe brain injury last week in the town of Bells, in western Tennessee, according to The Jackson Sun. Police believe the fatal impact occurred when Molly Jane Roe threw the baby, causing her to hit her head, court documents said. She was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, but died on Saturday.

READ MORE HERE:

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-06-16/news/29687607_1_baby-girl-child-abuse-vaginal-area

RED HILL — During what prosecutors described as “monstrous” acts, a Schwenksville area man allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted four little girls and videotaped the acts which he called “sleep assaults” to share with others on the Internet. “This is one of the most disgusting, most egregious cases of sexual crimes that I have ever prosecuted,” said veteran Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Samantha Cauffman, who leads the district attorney’s sex crimes unit.

READ MORE HERE:

http://pottsmerc.com/articles/2011/07/27/news/doc4e30cb07d5019806578443.txt

SYCAMORE – Authorities have exhumed the body of a 7-year-old Sycamore girl who was kidnapped and murdered more than 50 years ago, and the man accused of killing her is on his way to Illinois to face charges. Monique Bond, spokeswoman for Illinois State Police, said this morning while in Elmwood Cemetery in Sycamore that the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office had a court order to exhume the remains of Maria Ridulph. The girl was abducted from a Sycamore street Dec. 3, 1957, and her remains were found nearly five months later in Jo Daviess County.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.nwherald.com/2011/07/27/childs-body-exhumed-in-connection-with-decades-old-case/aa7qk92/

BESSEMER CITY, N.C. – 32-year-old Shanna Lanham is behind bars on charges including involuntary manslaughter and felony child abuse for the death of her two-year-old daughter, Addison. Lanham is already on three years probation for a felony drug conviction in 2009.  Her family tells FOX Charlotte they blame Lanham for the little girl’s death but they also blame the Department of Social Services.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/nc-news/Family-Blames-Toddlers-Mom–DSS-for-2-Year-Olds-Death-126298143.html

The Hawkins County Sheriff said Wednesday he knows who is responsible for the child abuse death of a three-year-old girl, but charges have not yet been filed against that woman. Sheriff Ronnie Lawson said Emily Barnard died Monday after she was found unresponsive by deputies on Saturday.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.wbir.com/news/article/177544/2/Hawkins-Sheriff-Woman-caused-childs-death

Say you’re a child welfare investigator. You get numerous reports that children in a particular family are being abused. Most recently, you hear they are being tied up and confined to a bathtub. How can you tell if these allegations are true? This is where your skill, training and experience as a professional investigator comes in. You go to the house and ask the parents if they are abusing their children. They say no. And that’s that. Case closed. No need to see the children. Why would their parents lie?

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.parentdish.com/2011/07/27/florida-child-welfare-investigators-criticized-for-imcompetance/