Chapter 7 Child Maltreatment Fatalities

Child fatalities are the most severe consequence of maltreatment. Special attention is given to these occurrences in order to learn how to prevent them.

In this chapter, national estimates of the number and rate of child maltreatment fatalities per 100,000 children are provided, based on data submitted to the SDC. These estimates are followed by a discussion of the characteristics of maltreatment fatality victims, including age, sex, type of contributing maltreatment, and relationship of the victim to the perpetrator, based on illustrative case-level data from the DCDC. Aggregate reporting by the States on prior contact of fatality victims with CPS agencies is also summarized.

7.1 Number of Child Fatalities

In 1998, an estimated 1,100 children died of abuse and neglect, a rate of approximately 1.6 deaths per 100,000 children in the general population.¹ These deaths are those that have been reported to CPS agencies and, in some instances, may include deaths that have been identified by other agencies, such as coroners' offices or fatality review boards.

Because of the lack of investigative coordination and information sharing in many communities among law enforcement agencies, medical professionals, and child welfare agencies, these estimates may be an undercount of the number of deaths attributable to child maltreatment.

7.2 Characteristics of Child Maltreatment Fatality Victims

Most maltreatment fatality victims were very young. As illustrated in figure 7-1, children of both sexes not yet a year old accounted for 37.9 percent of the fatalities; 77.5 percent were not yet 5 years of age. Only 7.3 percent of the children who were victims were older than 10.

More of the fatality victims were male (53.8%) than were female (46.2%). However, this pattern was not consistent for all age groups. For example, fatality victims between the ages of 6 and 9 were more likely to be female (63.0%) than male (37.0%).

Many child deaths (36.0%) were associated with more than one type of maltreatment (table 7-1). Nearly two-thirds (59.0%) of deaths were associated with physical abuse, more than half (57.3%) were associated with neglect, and a quarter (25.2%) were associated with both physical abuse and neglect.

As illustrated in figure 7-2, maltreatment fatality victims most frequently were maltreated by one or both of their parents (80.6%). However, this percentage is somewhat lower than the percentage of parental involvement reported overall for children who were maltreatment victims (87.1%), represented in figure 6-3. Furthermore, only 44.3 percent of the deaths were attributed to either the male or female parent acting alone, compared to that percentage overall (60.8%) of maltreatment attributable to the actions of one parent.

7.3 Characteristics of Perpetrators of Maltreatment Fatalities

Perpetrators of maltreatment fatalities were considerably younger than maltreatment perpetrators in general (table 7-2). Nearly two-thirds (62.3%) were younger than 30 years of age, compared to the overall percentage of maltreatment perpetrators who were younger than 30 (only 38.7%). One likely explanation for this difference is that fatality victims, younger than other maltreatment victims, are more likely to have younger parents. Of maltreatment fatalities, that percentage (59.7%) perpetrated by females was nearly equal to the percentage (60.2%) overall of maltreatment perpetrators who were female.

7.4 Prior Contact With CPS

Aggregate statistics on prior contact with CPS agencies are provided by the States to the SDC. Nearly a fifth (18.7%) of the families of child fatalities were reported to have received family preservation services in the 5 years prior to the deaths. However, few (3.9%) of the children who suffered child maltreatment fatalities were reported to have been returned to the care of their families prior to their deaths, and fewer still (2.7%) were reported to have been in foster care at the time of their deaths.

¹ See table G7-1. return