Welfare Watch - December 15, 2011 - Child Maltreatment Report Released

From the CWLA - The federal Department of Health and Human Services has release its report on data from the Nation Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (known as NCANDS) for federal fiscal year 2010 (October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010). According to a summary from the Child Welfare League of America, the rate of children who were found to be victims of abuse or neglect has been decreasing for a number of years.

The rate for 2010 was for every 1,000 children in the population. Previous years have been as high as 12.2 children for every 1,000 children. There continue to be a significant number of referrals to child protection services around the country; for 2010, there were an estimated 3.3 million such referrals. Less than two-thirds were accepted for an investigation or assessment, according to the summary.

The report notes that 436,321 children had substantiated abuse or neglect. The majority of these (78.3%) involved child neglect. The CWLA summary notes that of the substantiated cases, 38.8% of the child victims did not receive any services. "Reasons for this include the way in which data is collected, how states provide services, and in some instances the reluctance on the part of families to access services.

Still, the lack response for such a high and consistent percentage of maltreated children indicates that services are not being adequately provided at the front end of the child welfare system. "The youngest children are also at highest risk of death, according to the CWLA summary, "...with more than three-quarters (79.4%) of the children who died from maltreatment in 2010 being age 3 or younger." The total estimated number of children who died from maltreatment was 1,560.

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