NCJ Number
162248
Journal
Future of Children Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer-Fall 1994) Pages: 233- 242
Date Published
1994
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Child abuse and neglect are discussed with respect to sources of national data, the number of cases reported, recent trends, issues of substantiation, victim characteristics, and child fatalities related to maltreatment.
Abstract
Some recent data suggest that the level of child abuse and neglect may be stabilizing after a long period of reported increases. However, the available data are based on allegations reported to child protection agencies, not actual cases of maltreatment, and these data include duplicate reports. Neglect is the most common form of reported and substantiated maltreatment. Thirty percent of reported cases and 25 percent of substantiated cases involve physical abuse, and 11 percent of reported cases and 15 percent of substantiated cases involve child sexual abuse. States vary widely in their classification of cases. About 53 percent of reported child victims are female. In 1992, an estimated 1,149 children died from abuse or neglect. Recent data present a mixed picture of society's response to the problem. Although funding for child protection services has increased, only 70 percent of reported cases are pursued by child protection agencies, and more than 40 percent of child fatalities from maltreatment had contact with child protection agencies before or near the time of their deaths. Increased efforts to detect and address maltreatment will probably lead to an increase in national incidence data, which will impede assessment of policies to address the problem. Table, figures, and 19 reference notes