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Statistics You Should Be Aware Of
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Over
3 million children are victims of abuse and they are
ONLY the ones that are reported |
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It
is estimated that 3 times the number of child abuse
reports are actual child abuse victims |
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Over
98,000 of those 3 million plus victims are treated just
for sexual abuse |
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Children
who have witnesses abuse or been abused themselves are
six times more likely to abuse a spouse or child when
they become adults.
97% of individuals institutionalized for violent crimes
were themselves abused as children.
One in five children will be sexually abused by the
age of 18. |
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Child
abuse kills more than 3 children in America everyday |
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In
1996-97, 10 percent of all public schools reported at
least one serious violent crime to police or law enforcement
(Bureau of Justice Statistics and Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department
of Justice). |
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Gunshot
wounds to children ages 16 and under have increased
300 percent in major urban areas since 1986. |
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According
to FBI reports, 2,900 juveniles were arrested for murder
in 1996. |
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Estimates
indicate that as many as 5,000 children die each year
as a result of mistreatment and abuse from parents or
guardians. |
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Everyday
in America 16 children and youths are killed by firearms
(Children's Defense Fund, 1998). |
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Nearly
a million U.S. students took guns to school during 1998
(Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education).
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Each
year 123,400 children are arrested for violent crimes
in the U.S. (Office of Juvenile Justice and Juvenile
Delinquency Prevention, 1997). |
The
FBI estimates 2300 children are reported missing everyday.
According to the National Institute of Justice Research:
Victims of child abuse are more likely to engage in criminality later in life
Over two-thirds (68%) of youths arrested have a prior history of abuse
and neglect
Childhood abuse increases the odds of future delinquency and adult
criminality by 40%
Abused and neglected youths are more likely to be arrested one year
earlier, to commit twice as many offenses and to be arrested more
frequently than youths who were not abused or neglected
Earlier childhood sexual and physical abuse have been found to increase the
risk of arrest as a juvenile for being a runaway 1999 National Clearinghouse On
Child Abuse and Neglect (NCANDS) collected the following data:
Referrals
and Reports
As
referrals of possible child abuse and maltreatment come to the attention of
child protective ervices(CPS), they either are screened from consideration or
considered for further investigation or assessment --"screened out"
or "screened in." For those reports screened in, a further
determination is made about whether to investigate. The role of the CPS agency
includes deciding whether to take further protective actions on behalf of a
child.
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Of
the estimated 2,974,000 referrals received, approximately three-fifths
(60.4%) were transferred for investigation or assessment and two-fifths
(39.6%) were screened out.
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More
than half of child abuse and neglect reports (54.7%) were received from
professionals. The remaining 45.3 percent of reports were submitted by
nonprofessionals, including family and community members.
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Most
States have established time standards for initiating the investigation of
reports. The average response time to initiate investigating reports was 63.8
hours. |
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Slightly
less than one-third of investigations (29.2 %) resulted in a disposition
of either substantiated or indicated child maltreatment. More than half
(54.7%) resulted in a finding that child maltreatment was not substantiated.
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The
average annual workload of CPS investigation and assessment workers was
72 investigations. Child Maltreatment Victims of abuse and maltreatment
are defined as children who are found to have experienced a substantiated or
indicated abuse or maltreatment, or are found to be at risk of experiencing
maltreatment. |
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There
were an estimated 826,000 victims of maltreatment nationwide. The 1999 rate of
victimization, 11.8 per 1,000 children, decreased from the 1998 rate of 12.6.
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Almost
three-fifths of all victims (58.4 %) suffered neglect, while one-fifth (21.3%)
suffered physical abuse; 11.3 percent were sexually abused. More than one-third
(35.9%) of all victims were reported to be victims of other or additional types
of maltreatment.
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The
highest victimization rates were for the 0-3 age group (13.9 maltreatments per
1,000 children of this age in the population), and rates declined as age
increased. |
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Rates
of many types of maltreatment were similar for male and female children, but
the sexual abuse rate for female children (1.6 female children for every 1,000
female children in the population) was higher than the sexual abuse rate for
male children (0.4 male children per 1,000).
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Victimization
rates by race/ethnicity ranged from a low of 4.4 Asian/Pacific Islander victims
per 1,000 children of the same race in the population to 25.2 African-American
victims per 1,000. |
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Children
who had been victimized prior to 1999 were almost three times more likely to
experience recurrence during the 6 months following their first victimization
in 1999 than children without a prior history of victimization. |
Perpetrators
A
perpetrator of child abuse and/or neglect is a person who has abused or
maltreated a child while in a caretaking relationship to that child.
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Three-fifths
(61.8%) of perpetrators were female. Female perpetrators were typically younger
than their male counterparts -41.5 percent were younger than 30 years of age,
compared to 31.2 percent of male perpetrators.
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Almost
nine-tenths (87.3%) of all victims were maltreated by at least one parent. The
most common pattern of maltreatment was a child victimized by a female parent
acting alone (44.7%). |
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Female
parents were identified as the perpetrators of neglect and physical abuse for
the highest percentage of child victims. In contrast, male parents were
identified as the perpetrators of sexual abuse for the highest percentage of
victims.
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Fatalities
Child fatality estimates are based on data recorded by CPS agencies and/or
other agencies.
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An
estimated 1,100 children died of abuse and neglect, a rate of approximately
1.62 deaths per 100,000 children in the general population. |
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Slightly
more than 2 percent (2.1%) of all fatalities occurred while the victim was
in foster care.
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Children
younger than a year old accounted for 42.6 percent of the fatalities,
and 86.1 percent were younger than 6 years of age.
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Maltreatment
deaths were more often associated with neglect (38.2%) than with any other
type of abuse.
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Slightly
more than one-tenth (12.5%) of the families of child fatalities had received
family reservation services in the 5 years prior to the deaths, while only 2.7
percent of the child fatality victims had been returned to the care of their
families prior to their deaths.
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Services
CPS agencies provide services to prevent future instances of child abuse and
neglect and to remedy harm that has occurred as a result of child abuse and
maltreatment. Preventive services are provided to parents whose children are at
risk of abuse or neglect. Remedial or post-investigative services are offered
to families that have experienced a child maltreatment episode.
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Nationwide,
an estimated 1,563,000 children, 22.3 out of every 1,000 children in the
population, received preventive services.
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The
average time from the start of investigation to provision of service was 47.4
days. |
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Nationally,
55.8 percent of child victims (an estimated 461,000) received
post-investigative services, and an additional 14.2 percent of children with
ubunsubstantiated reports (an estimated 217,000) also received services.
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Nationally,
an estimated 171,000 child victims were placed in foster care.
An estimated additional 49,000 children who were not victims (i.e.,
children with unsubstantiated reports) were placed in foster care. |
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About
one-fifth (21.2%) of victims had received family preservation services
within the previous 5 years, while more than 5 percent (5.1%) of victims
had been reunited with their families in the previous 5 years. |
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Court
actions were initiated for an estimated 26.1 percent of abuse and maltreatment
victims. Four-fifths of these victims (79.3%) were provided with
court-appointed representatives.
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Information Resources
The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and
the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, office ofChildren's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . http://www.acf.hhs.gov/index.html
Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, US Department of Justice
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/
American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI)
http://www.ndaa-apri.org/apri/
Health and Human Services Statistics
www.hhs.gov/news
Center for Victims of Violent Crime
www.cvvc.org
© All rights reserved. Love Our Children USA 1999 - 2018
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