NCJ Number
159850
Date Published
1994
Length
8 pages
Annotation
The Crisis Nursery at New York Founding Hospital was set up in April 1982 in response to child abuse to offer parents needed resources, including money, child care, health care, and other social services.
Abstract
The Crisis Nursery is an emergency refuge for children at risk of being abused by their parents, parents desperately in need of relief from stress. Children brought to the Crisis Nursery seldom need medical care; what they do need is a respite from their troubled parents, just as their parents need a respite from them. When a parent calls with a problem, immediate family needs are assessed and either the child is admitted to the Crisis Nursery or the parent is referred to a variety of support services. Some parents simply lack information on child growth and development and expect far too much from their children. For example, many young parents do not know that a child of a certain age cannot pick up a glass of milk without spilling it or that children go through a stage in which it seems natural to decorate the walls with crayons or finger paints. The Crisis Nursery recognizes that child abuse occurs in cycles and that such abuse can be prevented. The authors recommend that crisis or respite nurseries be established in every large hospital in the United States and in public housing projects where child abuse and neglect are endemic.