For Federal fiscal year 2004, an estimated 3 million children were alleged to have been abused or neglected and received investigations or assessments by State and local child protective services (CPS) agencies. Approximately 872,000 children were determined to be victims of child maltreatment.
NCANDS is a federally sponsored effort that collects and analyzes annual data on child abuse and neglect. The 1988 amendments to the Child Abuse and Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a national data collection and analysis program. The Children's Bureau in the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, collects and analyzes the data.
The data are submitted voluntarily by the States and the District of Columbia. The first report from NCANDS was based on data for 1990; the report on data for 2004 is the 15th issuance of this annual report.
Data are used for the annual report, Child Maltreatment, which is published each spring. In addition, data are used in several efforts by the Children's Bureau to measure the impact and effectiveness of CPS. Data from NCANDS are used in the Child and Family Services Reviews of the States, in the Annual Child Welfare Outcomes Report, and in the Program Assessment Rating Tool.
The NCANDS collects case-level data on all children who received an investigation or assessment by a CPS agency. States that are unable to provide case-level data submit aggregated counts of key indicators.
Case-level data include information on the characteristics of referrals of abuse or neglect that are made to CPS agencies, the children referred, the types of maltreatment that are alleged, the dispositions (or findings) of the investigations, the risk factors of the child and the caregivers, the services that are provided, and the perpetrators.
Restricted usage files of State case-level data are available for researchers from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect at www.ndacan.cornell.edu. In addition, aggregated counts of key indicators by State are available for 1990-2004.
The Child Maltreatment reports are available on the Internet at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm#can.
During the past 3 years, the rate of victimization and the number of victims have been decreasing. An estimated 872,000 children were determined to be victims of child abuse or neglect for 2004. The rate of victimization per 1,000 children in the national population has dropped from 12.5 children in 2001 to 11.9 children in 2004.
More than 60 percent of child victims were neglected by their parents or other caregivers. About 18 percent were physically abused, 10 percent were sexually abused, and 7 percent were emotionally maltreated. In addition, 15 percent were associated with "other" types of maltreatment based on specific State laws and policies. A child could be a victim of more than one type of maltreatment.
Children in the age group of birth to 3 years had the highest rate of victimization at 16.1 per 1,000 children of the same age group in the national population (figure S-1). Girls were slightly more likely to be victims than boys were.
African-American children, Pacific Islander children, and American Indian or Alaska Native children had the highest rates of victimization at 19.9, 17.6, and 15.5 per 1,000 children of the same race or ethnicity, respectively. White children and Hispanic children had rates of approximately 10.7 and 10.4 per 1,000 children of the same race or ethnicity, respectively.
Approximately two-thirds of referrals were accepted for investigation or assessment during 2004. One-third of referrals were not accepted. The screened-in referrals are called reports.
More than one-half of all reports (56%) of alleged child abuse or neglect were made by such professionals as educators, law enforcement and legal personnel, social services personnel, medical personnel, mental health personnel, child daycare providers, and foster care providers. Educators made about 17 percent of all reports, while law enforcement and legal personnel made about 16 percent, and social services personnel made 11 percent. Nonprofessionals, including friends, neighbors, relatives, etc., submitted approximately 44 percent of reports (figure S-2).
After conducting interviews with family members, the alleged child victim, and sometimes other people familiar with the family, the CPS agency makes a determination concerning whether the child is a victim of abuse or neglect or is at risk of abuse or neglect. This determination is often called a disposition.
Approximately 30 percent of the reports included at least one child who was found to be a victim of abuse or neglect. About 60 percent of the reports were found to be unsubstantiated; the remaining reports were closed for additional reasons(figure S-3).
Child fatalities are the most tragic consequence of maltreatment. For 2004, an estimated 1,490 children died due to child abuse or neglect.
More than 80 percent of children who were killed were younger than 4 years old; approximately 12 percent were 4-7 years old; 4 percent were 8-11 years old, and 3 percent were 12-17 years old (figure S-4).
Infant boys (younger than 1 year old) had the highest rate of fatalities, nearly 18 deaths per 100,000 boys of the same age in the national population. Infant girls had a rate of 17 deaths per 100,000 girls of the same age. The overall rate of child fatalities was 2 deaths per 100,000 children. More than one-third of child fatalities were attributed to neglect; physical abuse also was a major contributor to child fatalities (figure S-5).
Approximately 79 percent of perpetrators were parents. Other relatives accounted for 7 percent and unmarried partners of parents and "other" accounted for 4 percent and 5 percent of perpetrators, respectively. The remaining perpetrator relationship types accounted for less than 1 percent each (figure S-6).
Female perpetrators, mostly mothers, were typically younger than male perpetrators, mostly fathers. Women also comprised a larger percentage of all perpetrators than men, 58 percent compared to 42 percent (figure S-7).
Of the parents who maltreated children, less than 3 percent committed sexual abuse, while 63 percent committed neglect. Of the perpetrators who were friends or neighbors, nearly three-quarters committed sexual abuse, while 10 percent committed neglect.
CPS agencies provide services to some families and their children during, and as a result of, an investigation or assessment.
Approximately 60 percent of victims and 27 percent of nonvictims received services as a result of an investigation or assessment. Child victims who were reported with a disability were 70 percent more likely to receive services than children without a reported disability were.
Services included both in-home and foster care services. Approximately 19 percent of child victims were placed in foster care. About 4 percent of nonvictims also were removed from their home–usually a short-term placement during the course of the investigation (figure S-8).
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