http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_3e66af4601016udh.html

Protecting the weakest
保護(hù)最弱勢(shì)群體
The recession may hurt America’s vulnerable children
經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)可能會(huì)危害美國(guó)弱小的兒童

OVER the past few years,?a growing number of?America’s parentless children have found homes. In 2008 there were 463,000 children in foster care, a system where the government places orphans and children with parents who are?abusive?or unable to take care of them in the care of?guardians. That is 11% down since 2002, and great news. But experts worry the?trend?might now go into?reverse.

過(guò)去幾年里，美國(guó)越來(lái)越多的沒(méi)有父母的兒童找到了家。政府通過(guò)寄養(yǎng)體系為孤兒以及受父母虐待或沒(méi)有得到應(yīng)有照顧的兒童提供監(jiān)護(hù)人，2008年，46萬(wàn)3千名兒童得到妥善安置。該數(shù)字比2002年減少了11%，這是個(gè)好消息。但是專家們擔(dān)心這一趨勢(shì)如今可能會(huì)逆轉(zhuǎn)。

Some welfare?advocates?fear?that the bad economy may cause parents with frayed nerves to abuse andneglect?their children, and even cause some to abandon them. Already, several hospitals across the country have reported an increase in the frequency and?severity?of?injuries?from child abuse.?

一些福利倡導(dǎo)者擔(dān)心，經(jīng)濟(jì)疲軟可能引起精神崩潰的父母忽視、虐待，甚至拋棄他們的孩子。美國(guó)幾家醫(yī)院已經(jīng)報(bào)告，受虐兒童入院越來(lái)越頻繁，傷勢(shì)也有所加重。

The most recent national data on?child welfare?available dates from September 2008, before the?recession?was in full throttle; data from 2009 won’t be reported until later this year. But there is some question about whether the data, when reported, will even be?accurate. Many states and counties, in an attempt to cope with their?fiscal straits, are considering cutting down on child-welfare services, such as?benefits?for foster parents and the number of social workers they employ. The average workload of caseworkers had already increased by 7% between 2006 and 2007, says Mary Hansen, of American University in Washington, DC. With more?budgetcuts, there will be fewer caseworkers to take notice of abuse and neglect, she says, and it will be more difficult to find someone to report problems to, potentially skewing the collection data.?

關(guān)于美國(guó)兒童福利的最新數(shù)據(jù)截止到2008年9月，那時(shí)經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)還未全面上演；2009年的數(shù)據(jù)今年晚些時(shí)候才會(huì)公布。但即將公布的數(shù)據(jù)的準(zhǔn)確性遭到質(zhì)疑。許多州縣正考慮削減在兒童福利服務(wù)上的開支，比如減少給養(yǎng)父母津貼、削減雇傭社工的人數(shù)，以便應(yīng)對(duì)財(cái)政困難。華盛頓區(qū)美國(guó)大學(xué)的瑪麗?漢森稱，2006年至2007間，社會(huì)工作者的平均工作量就已增加了7%。她說(shuō)，預(yù)算進(jìn)一步減少，關(guān)注受忽視和受虐兒童的社會(huì)工作者也會(huì)減少，更難找到人負(fù)責(zé)受理問(wèn)題，這可能會(huì)影響收集的數(shù)據(jù)的準(zhǔn)確性。

In the meantime, more parents are trying to keep their families?intact. New York Foundling, an agency in New York, runs a crisis centre, where parents can leave their children for up to three weeks. Requests for beds increased 20% in the last year. Safe Families, a non-profit outfit that places children in temporary homes with volunteer families until jobless parents can get back on their feet, saw the number of children it serviced triple in 2009, and it expects that number to double again in 2010.

與此同時(shí)，越來(lái)越多的父母努力使他們的家庭保持完好無(wú)缺。紐約一家名為紐約棄兒的機(jī)構(gòu)，旗下經(jīng)營(yíng)一個(gè)危機(jī)中心，可以允許父母把孩子寄留在那，限時(shí)不超過(guò)三周。去年，對(duì)床位需求量增長(zhǎng)了20%。一家名為安全家庭的非營(yíng)利機(jī)構(gòu)把孩子們暫時(shí)安置在志愿家庭中，直到他們失業(yè)的父母振作起來(lái)。得到該機(jī)構(gòu)服務(wù)的兒童數(shù)量在2009年增長(zhǎng)至三倍，并且它估計(jì)2010年會(huì)再增加一倍。

Most people are asking for help from Safe Families, says the organisation’s founder, David Anderson, because they don’t want to risk losing?custody, as they would if they put their kids into?foster?care. Thankfully, therecession?has actually?spurred?more volunteers to come forward, says Mr Anderson.?

安全家庭的創(chuàng)始人大衛(wèi)?安德森稱，大部分父母來(lái)此尋求幫助是因?yàn)樗麄儾幌朊爸ケO(jiān)護(hù)權(quán)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)把孩子送到寄養(yǎng)機(jī)構(gòu)那里。他說(shuō)，謝天謝地，經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)實(shí)際上促使了更多的志愿者自告奮勇。

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