Too often, the simple joys of a child’s life in Spokane that many of us take for granted in our own families are far beyond the reach of even our closest neighbors.

Tragically, thousands of children die each year in the U.S. at the hands of family members or others living with them. A report out this month from the Every Child Matters Education Fund shows that more than 10,000 children in the U.S. died from abuse and neglect from 2001 to 2007. Experts say that number could be as much as 50 percent higher because of varying definitions of abuse and neglect in the states, as well as inconsistent record-keeping and data-collection methodologies. Child abuse prevention leaders say this makes it almost impossible to know the real number of children experiencing abuse and neglect in America.

What we do know is that occurrences of child abuse and neglect in Washington state are all too common. Our community was personally affected when Summer Phelps, the 4-year-old who died in Spokane in 2007 at the hands of her father and stepmother, made headlines across the state and the nation. Summer became the featured case for Washington state in this national report. We know firsthand that this nation needs to focus more on protecting its children.

Despite the fact that our state ranks in the top 10 when it comes to the lowest ratio per capita of child abuse and neglect cases, Washington ranks 24th in the nation on per capita spending to prevent child abuse and neglect from occurring in the first place. In 2001, there were 16 child-abuse-related deaths in Washington state. By comparison, that number soared to 27 in 2007 – an astonishing increase of nearly 70 percent in just six years.

The budget for the Council for Children & Families, the state’s lone child abuse prevention agency, was cut by 30 percent in the last legislative session to help meet the state’s budget shortfall – and the agency will continue to face the possibility of further reductions or potential elimination in the next session. As the nation’s economy and our state’s budget challenges erode our most vital resources, we must focus on how to do much, much better for Washington’s children.

It’s painfully clear that our current systems of child protection are stretched too thin to adequately protect these children. And now a harsh economy combined with a steadily weakened safety net in many states threaten to place ever more children at risk. While there is no funding level or formula that guarantees a reduction in child deaths, states that invest in a strong social safety net for children – including evidence-based home visiting services, community-based parent education and support programs and strengthened networks of children’s advocacy centers – experience far fewer child abuse- and neglect-related cases and deaths.

We already know a great deal about how to prevent abuse and neglect and stop future fatalities. When families are provided with prevention-based services and appropriate supports, the vast majority of potentially abusive parents can learn to safely care for their children. And many abused children who get help are resilient enough to overcome their history. But for many, the outcome is predictable: When childhood goes wrong, adulthood goes wrong, and the sad story of abuse, including death, repeats itself from one generation of Washington families to the next.

We can overcome inadequate funding and wide variations in capacity among states by enacting federal policy committed to protecting children no matter where they live.

Child abuse and neglect are national concerns that deserve national solutions. To protect America’s children is to safeguard the future of the country. It will take a forward-thinking president and Congress to again make it a national priority. People here in Washington state need to speak up to make sure the other Washington knows just how important this problem is – including raising it with our own elected officials. Together, we can turn these numbers around, prevent needless tragedy, and give children the safe, healthy future they deserve.

Washington state can do better. And when we can do better, our children will do better.