The Kempe Foundation Continues Its Fight against Child Abuse and Neglect
The Kempe Foundation is a nonprofit organization that tackles child abuse and neglect in the United States. The foundation works to raise awareness, advocate for children, and secure resources and funding for the work of the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect.
The Kempe Center is affiliated with the Colorado University School of Medicine in Denver. It focuses on clinical treatment of abuse victims, advocacy, research, and education to prevent child abuse and neglect.
History of the Kempe Foundation
The Kempe Center was founded in 1972 by Dr. C. Henry Kempe, who a decade earlier had published, along with his colleagues, a pioneering paper called “The Battered Child Syndrome.” The paper is regarded as one of the most significant studies in child abuse and neglect and has given doctors and medical professionals a foundational understanding of how to identify and treat abuse and neglect in children.
Four years after the Kempe Center was opened, the Kempe Foundation was formed to work within the community to raise awareness and lead fundraising efforts for the Center.
Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States
Statistics pertaining to child abuse and neglect in the US make for harrowing reading. According to a 2017 report by the Children’s Bureau of the US Department of Health and Human Services, 674,000 children in the US suffered from abuse and neglect that year. The majority—around 75 percent—were victims of neglect, while 18.3 percent suffered physical abuse and 8.6 percent were victims of sexual abuse. Some of these children suffered multiple forms of abuse.
The same report indicated 1,720 children died from abuse or neglect in 2017, for an average of about five children per day.
Staying consistent with the wider figures, nearly 75 percent of fatalities were caused by neglect, while physical abuse either exclusively or combined with neglect or other forms of abuse were apparent in nearly 42 percent of cases.
The same study showed that of the children who died from abuse and neglect, the vast majority—almost 72 percent—were under three years old and nearly 50 percent were under the age of one.
The long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect for the individual child and society as a whole are obviously damaging. According to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children, 30 percent of people who were abused and/or neglected as children will inflict similar abuse on their own children.
The psychological effects are also evident: around 80 percent of victims will suffer from at least one psychological disorder, while 14 percent of all men and 36 percent of women in prison were victims of child abuse. This rate is higher than that in the general population.
The Kempe Foundation Work
The Kempe Foundation focuses its efforts in three key areas: support, advocacy, and collaboration. Support in the form of fundraising and advocacy for the Kempe Center has been a constant since the foundation’s launch, although there has been a shift to include support for programs developed by other organizations and agencies.
These programs include the Safecare program at the Colorado Department of Human Services, which provides support for at-risk families, home safety, child health, and parent-child interactions. The Kempe Foundation also partners with the state Department of Human Services in its Child Welfare Training System, an advanced adult learning system used by child welfare workers, foster parents, and other relevant professionals.
Other programs the foundation works closely with are Fostering Healthy Futures, an evidence-based intervention for preadolescent children in out-of-home care; and Project ECHO, which gives health professionals the opportunity to share knowledge and experience through technology. Kempe is the Subject Matter Expert on the “Issues in Child Maltreatment” ECHO, focusing on pediatric physical and sexual abuse assessments in primary care.
Kempe also provides the Child Protection Team at Children’s Hospital Colorado. The team’s purpose is to offer consultations, assessments, treatments, and referral services for children who may have been the victims of abuse or neglect.
Advocacy for the Kempe Foundation revolves around working with lawmakers at the state and federal levels to champion laws that protect children and provide measures to help heal those affected by abuse and neglect. Many of the foundation’s legislative wins can be found in full on the Kempe website.
Meanwhile, the Kempe Foundation’s collaboration efforts are focused on working directly with the community to raise awareness and organize fundraisers for the Kempe Center. The Kempe Foundation supports Child Abuse Prevention Month, provides support and resources to Kempe Ambassadors in the community, and hosts Uniting Communities For Kids, a series of events that bring together community partners.
Kempe Foundation Events and How to Get Involved
To provide support—time, resources, or otherwise—to the Kempe Foundation and Kempe Center, there are several events and initiatives the public can participate in, like the Annual Luncheon, Kempe TopGolf Challenge, Child Abuse Prevention Month, and Uniting Communities for Kids.
Additionally, there are many different donation options available on the Kempe website: one-off donations, True Blue (for monthly or quarterly donations), Kempe Society (for those who incorporate the foundation into their will or estate plan), Corporate Giving, and Closings For Kempe, which allows people to offer a percentage of any professional deals they close to the Kempe Foundation. This can be attractive option for people who work in sales, such as real estate brokers or insurance agents.
