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Preventive Services
Child abuse and neglect prevention programs are designed to
increase parental childrearing competence and knowledge of the
developmental stages of childhood.
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Nationwide, an estimated 1,397,000 children received preventive
services, 20 of every 1,000 children in the population.
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Referrals and Reports
As referrals of possible child maltreatment come to the attention
of the Child Protective Services (CPS), they are either winnowed
from consideration or transmitted further for investigation or
assessment—"screened out" or "screened in." The role of the
CPS agency includes deciding whether or not to take further
protective actions on behalf of a child.
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Of the estimated 2,806,000 referrals received, approximately
one-third (34.0 %) were screened out, and two-thirds (66.0%) were
screened in as warranting investigation or assessment.
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More than half (53.1%) of screened-in child abuse and neglect
reports were received from professionals. The remaining 46.7
percent of reports were submitted by nonprofessionals, including
family and community members.
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The average annual workload of CPS investigation and assessment
was 94 investigations per worker.
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Slightly fewer than one-third (29.2%) of investigations resulted
in a disposition of either "substantiated" or "indicated" child
maltreatment. More than half of investigations (57.2%) resulted in
a finding that child maltreatment was not substantiated. More than
a tenth (13.6%) received some other disposition.
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Child Maltreatment Victims
Victims of maltreatment are defined as children who are found to
have experienced or found to be at risk of experiencing a
substantiated or indicated maltreatment.
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There were an estimated 903,000 victims of maltreatment
nationwide. The 1998 rate of victimization,12.9 per 1,000 children,
decreased from the 1997 rate of 13.9.
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More than half (53.5%) of all victims suffered neglect, while
almost a quarter (22.7%) suffered physical abuse; 11.5 percent were
sexually abused. Victims of psychological abuse and medical neglect
accounted for six percent or fewer each. In addition, a quarter
(25.3%) of victims were reported to be victims of more than one
type of maltreatment.
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The highest victimization rates were for the 0-3 age group (14.8
victims per 1,000 children of this age in the population), and
rates declined as age increased.
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Victimization rates by race/ethnicity ranged from a low of 3.8
Asian/Pacific Islander victims per 1,000 children of the same race
in the population to 20.7 African-Americans. The victimization rate
for American Indians/Alaska Natives was 19.8, for Hispanics 10.6,
and for Whites 8.5.
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Services Provided for Child Maltreatment Victims
Some of the children referred to CPS agencies received services in
addition to investigation or assessment. Postinvestigative service
interventions are designed not only to prevent future occurrences
of child maltreatment, but also to remedy whatever harm might have
occurred. Data on services are likely to underestimate their
provision because of the complexities of recording such data.
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Nationally, an estimated 409,000 child victims received
postinvestigative services; an estimated additional 211,000
children who were subjects of unsubstantiated reports also received
postinvestigative services. The median response time from report to
start of postinvestigative services was 29.0 days.
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Nationally, an estimated 144,000 child victims were placed in
foster care. An estimated additional 33,000 children who were not
victims were placed in the care and supervision of child welfare
agencies, either in protective supervision or for a time during
investigation.
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Among the 12 States that capture these data, four-fifths of
victims who were the subjects of court actions received
court-appointed representatives.
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About one-fifth (21.8%) of victims had received family
preservation services within the previous 5 years, while 5.5
percent of victims had been reunited with their families in the
previous 5 years.
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Victims from families with financial problems, prior victims,
and victims of multiple incidents of maltreatment were more likely
to receive services than were victims without these
characteristics.
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Perpetrators
A perpetrator of child abuse and/or neglect is a person who has
maltreated a child while in a caretaking relationship to the
child.
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Three-fifths (60.4%) of perpetrators were female. Female
perpetrators were typically younger than their male counterparts,
as reflected by the difference in their respective median ages, 31
and 34.
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More than four-fifths (87.1%) of all victims were maltreated by
one or both parents. The most common pattern of maltreatment was a
child neglected by a female parent with no other perpetrators
identified (44.7%).
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Victims of physical and sexual abuse, compared to victims of
neglect and medical neglect, were more likely to be maltreated by a
male parent acting alone. In cases of sexual abuse, more than half
(55.9%) of victims were abused by male parents, male relatives, or
other males.
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Fatalities
Child fatality estimates are based primarily on fatalities of abuse
and neglect victims known to CPS agencies, as well as fatalities
not previously reported as abused or neglected.
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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.
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Children not yet a year old accounted for 37.9 percent of the
fatalities, and 77.5 percent were not yet 5 years of age.
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Perpetrators of fatalities were considerably younger than
perpetrators in general. Nearly two-thirds (62.3%) were younger
than 30 years of age, compared to the percentage of all
perpetrators who were younger than 30 (38.7%).
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Fewer than three percent (2.7%) of all fatalities were reported
to have occurred while the victim was in foster care.
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