NCJ Number
168336
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: (October 1997) Pages: 237-240
Date Published
1997
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Few studies have been conducted to assess the financial costs of providing services to protect children from abuse and neglect, and more research is needed on financial, social, and emotional costs of child abuse.
Abstract
One study estimated that 192,000 incidents of family violence in the United States in 1987 resulted in 21,000 hospitalizations, 99,800 hospital days, 28,700 emergency department visits, and 39,000 physician visits. This represented 175,500 lost days from paid work for the people involved and an estimated cost of $44 million to society as a whole. In England and Wales, a 1996 report by the National Commission of Inquiry into the Prevention of Child Abuse estimated the cost of child protection at 735 million pounds annually. In parallel with these expenditures, social policies in the United Kingdom between 1979 and 1991 resulted in increased disparities in the health and wealth of families. The authors believe community-based child abuse prevention projects need to have a broad perspective and take into account adverse childhood experiences. A first step in child abuse prevention involves public recognition that child abuse is a significant problem in society. Financial and economic costs of child protection, however, only represent part of the problem; social and emotional costs of child abuse to children must also be assessed. 9 references