Let facts guide child neglect, abuse policies
Seventy percent of the roughly 1,600 children who die in the U.S. each year from abuse or neglect are under the age of three. Those most likely to die from neglect or at the hands of an abuser are infants not yet a year old. These and other statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And sadly, according to national officials, many more cases go unreported. Because of that, in 2014, the agency estimated that one out of every seven children will experience some form of abuse or neglect. This is the type of information Iowa lawmakers should use when considering new or expanded prevention laws. Instead, a well-intentioned update of Iowa’s Safe Haven law that allows infants to be voluntarily relinquished at hospitals and other…