Parents count on daycare centers in Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville, and across Arkansas to provide their children with adequate care. They place a lot of trust in these centers. When that trust is violated and a child is harmed, the parent needs to explore all their legal options. Through legal action, you may be able to recover the money spent on childcare, as well as medical expenses, cost of therapy, etc. Most importantly, taking legal action can help prevent future incidents of child abuse by forcing the daycare provider to make significant safety changes.
Daycare centers are not the safe havens that we sometimes take them to be. According to statistics, close to 900,000 children are abused in the United States every year. Child abuse is also rampant in Arkansas daycare centers due to various reasons (which we’ll take a look shortly). It’s also important to note that abuse comes in various forms, including emotional abuse.
Background Checks
Arkansas childcare centers are required to carry out extensive background checks on their employees. This weeds out individuals who have a history of abuse. That being said, this doesn’t always happen, and the negligence arising out of not checking an employee’s history could lead to multiple cases of child abuse. Management can also play a huge role in the promotion of child abuse. Lack of proper monitoring procedures can leave a vacuum in the system, exposing children to malicious individuals who could pose a risk to their well-being.
Child abuse can be:
- Sexual
- Physical
- Psychological
- Neglect
All these forms of abuse have markers that you as a parent need to watch out for. It’s important to make sure that you teach your child the difference between appropriate and inappropriate conduct when it comes to their interaction with adults. Additionally, you should always keep an open line of communication between them and yourself and encourage them to come to you if they have any problems or suspect that an adult is showing signs of inappropriate behavior towards them.
Here are a couple of red flags to watch out for if you suspect that your child is being abused:
- Bruises that never seem to go away.
- Behavior change and extremes such as withdrawal and aggression.
- Newfound interest in sexuality and genitalia.
- The child starts walking with an unusual gait.
- The child contracts an STD.
- Your child starts having night terrors and nightmares.
- Unexplained bouts of crying and insubordination.
- The child suddenly develops speech impediments such as stuttering.
- Clinginess.
All these signs may point to some kind of abuse. Neglect can be thought of as abuse if it happens in a daycare environment. For instance, if your child comes to you saying that he or she was continually denied food or drinks during designated lunch or snack times, you may have grounds to sue for child abuse. Additionally, if the daycare center doesn’t adhere to safety standards put forward by the state, you may have a child abuse situation that warrants investigation.
If you’ve experienced any form of child abuse in the Arkansas area, please first call the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline on 1-800-482-5964 or the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. Immediately after that, contact Rasansky Law Firm at 1-877-403-9378 (toll-free) today.