Hospital to Develop Program on Child Abuse for Marines

Children’s Hospital has received a $3.2-million Defense Department grant to establish a child abuse prevention program for new parents at the Marine Corps’ 18 bases worldwide, hospital officials announced Monday.

The program will teach child-rearing skills to families of Marine Corps personnel, reserves and Department of Defense employees stationed at the bases. The program will also offer counseling to prevent and intervene in child abuse.

Children’s Hospital has operated a pilot program at Camp Pendleton since 1989 and this month will begin administering the program at other bases, said Dr. David Chadwick, director of the hospital’s Center for Child Protection. The programs are expected to be operating by the end of 1994.

Social workers and medical staff at the Center for Child Protection will be assigned to each site, where they will work with staff members on base, who will in turn train “home visitors,” or women role models for young mothers.

The home visitors offer emotional support and intervene in crises, Chadwick said. At the invitation of young mothers, the visitors go to homes to give counseling on infant hygiene, nutrition and education. The visitors are also available by phone to offer counseling, advice or comfort, Chadwick said.

The program was established at the Marine base, Chadwick said, because of the added stress on military families when parents are forced to move frequently or live separately or away from extended family. Surveys of those who have not re-enlisted in the Marines have given family problems as one of the top three reasons for disillusionment with military life.

Chadwick said lack of parental role models and child-raising education for many of the young, disadvantaged military personnel also contribute to disillusionment.

About 400 families have participated in the pilot program since 1989, said Donna Montegna, project coordinator. It was started with an $85,000 grant from the Marine Headquarters Family Advocacy Center in Washington. More than half the women were 20 years old or younger, Montegna said.

About 4,700 Marine families live at Pendleton, and more than 200 babies are born monthly on base or in nearby community hospitals.

The Navy operates a family support program, and the Army has expressed interest in developing a similar program, Children’s Hospital officials said.

The recent $3.2-million grant will cover the expanded program’s first-year expenses, Chadwick said. The money was earmarked in the Defense Department budget in legislation authored by former U.S. Sen. John Seymour (R-Calif.) and Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii). Continuation of the program is pending renewal of the grant, Chadwick said.

Col. Bobbi Weinberger, Pendleton’s assistant chief of staff overseeing personnel, said that although the pilot program has proven successful, it will take time as the military’s attitude toward family services evolves.

“This is so embryonic,” Weinberger said.