The case of little Emma Thompson has grabbed headlines, and with them, outpourings of anger and sorrow. Emma was just one of three children under the age of four whose deaths made headlines in the past few months. But less than a year ago, the headlines, anger and sorrow were focused on the case of Baby Grace, identified as Riley Ann Sawyers, in Galveston. In fact, three children die in Harris County on average each month from child abuse and neglect.  

Unfortunately, some have been part of an investigation and in those cases, we have even less understanding of how such a horrible thing could occur. But like Baby Grace, many of the children who die from abuse or neglect are not part of any investigation by Children’s Protective Services. 

While we cannot make definitive judgments on individual cases, much damage caused by abuse and neglect is preventable. A 2009 research brief by Child Trends showed that children in both lower and upper income families had good outcomes when the family had certain strengths: close and caring parents, including providing for the child’s needs;parental supervision and engagement, including ensuring their children get enough sleep and eat healthy foods; being involved in their child’s education and positive role modeling.  

The key is to address the needs of the entire family unit. The national Nurse Family Partnership home visitation program, which we are now piloting in Houston to low-income first-time mothers, has been proven to reduce family risks and reduce child abuse. In controlled trials, results of the program included a 48 percent reduction in child abuse. Our Healthy Families Houston home visitation program for high-risk families has had a 99 percent success rate in preventing child abuse and neglect. Building Strong Families helps parents strengthen their own relationship while building parenting knowledge and skills. 

As effective as these are, no single program is a solution and not enough services are available in the community to meet the needs. No agency can anticipate every potential case of abuse – it takes every one of us, every community, to embrace wanting to eradicate this tragedy. As a community, we must take responsibility.

- Marianne Ehrlich