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Justice Department Releases Findings of the Nature and Extent of Children's Exposure to Violence
ST. LOUIS (SLFP.com), October 11, 2009 - The Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs has announced the availability of Children's Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey, published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The survey measured the past-year and life-time exposure to violence for children age 17 and younger. The major categories covered in the survey are: conventional crime, child maltreatment, victimization by peers and siblings, sexual victimization, witnessing and indirect victimization, school violence and threats, and Internet victimization.
The survey findings conclude that:
- More than 60 percent of the children surveyed were exposed to violence
within the past year, either directly or indirectly.
- Nearly one-half of the children and adolescents surveyed were
assaulted at least once in the past year, and more than 1 in 10 were
injured as a result.
- Nearly one-quarter of the respondents were the victim of a robbery,
vandalism, or theft.
- One-tenth of respondents were victims of child maltreatment (including
physical and emotional abuse, neglect, or a family abduction), and 1
in 16 were victimized sexually.
The research reported in this Bulletin suggests further avenues of study into the long-term effects of violence on youth and ways to improve policies to meet the needs of youthful victims of violence. Among the ramifications of the research are the following:
- Because the survey tracked children's lifetime exposure to violence,
researchers can develop more accurate estimates on the total number of
children in a certain age group who have been exposed to a particular
form of violence.
- It illustrates more clearly the full extent of exposure and the
cumulative effects of multiple exposures to violence and how exposure
to one form of violence may make a child more vulnerable to other
forms of violence.
- The findings affirm that efforts should be made to reach across
disciplines to identify children who are at risk of exposure to
violence, such as witnessing domestic violence, and to coordinate the
delivery of services to these children.
- The study also demonstrates that there is a need for screening and
assessment tools to identify children who are suffering emotionally,
socially, physically, and developmentally from exposure to violence
and would benefit from services and treatment.
- The research also demonstrates that a more comprehensive, coordinated
approach is needed to address the fragmented way in which federal,
state, and local authorities presently respond to children who have
been exposed to violence.
H1N1 Flu Vaccine Begins Arriving in Missouri
ST. LOUIS (SLFP.com), October 11, 2009 - Vaccine to protect people from the new H1N1 flu began arriving in Missouri last week, as drug manufacturers ramp up production in an effort to stop the first worldwide flu pandemic in 41 years.
By Tuesday, some 17,000 doses of aerosol mist vaccine had arrived in Missouri and were making their way to doctors' offices, clinics and local health departments. Vaccine makers were expected to begin shipping as many as 365,000 additional vaccine doses to Missouri over the next two weeks.
The next shipments will include up to 250,000 doses of the injectable form of the vaccine, which can be used by pregnant women and children younger than 2 years old. Both groups are considered at high risk from the H1N1 virus, which has afflicted children and young adults more seriously than older adults.
Margaret Donnelly, director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the first week's shipment is relatively small because health officials were trying to make the vaccine available quickly.
Officials had to choose between waiting until large quantities were ready to ship or distributing smaller quantities of the vaccine as soon as they came off the production line.
"The decision was made to ship vaccine immediately so we could start protecting people against this disease as soon as possible," Donnelly said. "With the shipments expected in the next two weeks, we believe we will meet our goal of having significant amounts of vaccine available throughout the state by mid-October."
To get vaccines to the public as efficiently as possible, state health officials had vaccine makers ship vaccines directly to local public health agencies or to health care providers who signed up to give the vaccine to patients.
The mist version of the vaccine can be used to inoculate healthy children and adults from ages 2 through 49. However, it uses a live-virus formulation and therefore is not appropriate for pregnant women, children under 2 years old, or anyone with underlying health conditions, such as asthma. Those groups should wait until next week when the injectable version of the vaccine is available.
Pregnant women, children and young adults are the most at risk of contracting the H1N1 flu. Therefore, those groups will be given priority in receiving the vaccine first. Studies indicate that older persons appear to be at less risk for H1N1 flu, apparently because of some degree of pre-existing resistance to the virus.
To learn where to obtain vaccinations against both the H1N1 flu and the seasonal flu, call your local health department. For more information on the flu, check out the Web site of the Department of Health and Senior Services at www.dhss.mo.gov.
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