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Section 2 1996 National Findings
This section presents the analyses of data on reports, dispositions, victims, services, and perpetrators collected through the Summary Data Component (SDC) for 1996. Analyses of selected 1996 Detailed Case Data Component (DCDC) case-level data from 11 States (Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, and Washington) are presented to elaborate on key topics. The section also includes comparisons of some data from 1990, the first year of the SDC, in order to highlight changes over time. In addition, an analysis of data from the Armed Services is provided.
2.1 Report Data
The SDC findings presented in this section include the number of reports of alleged abuse and neglect, the number of children in reports, and the distribution of sources of reports.
Reports of Alleged Maltreatment
Child protective services agencies received and referred for investigation over 2 million reports of alleged child abuse and neglect in 1996. Of the 2,025,956 reports, incident-based reports from 40 States and the District of Columbia made up 1,729,630 and the remaining 296,326 reports were child-based reports received from 10 States and the Virgin Islands. An incident-based system counts each alleged maltreatment incident as one report, regardless of the number of children involved. A child-based system counts each child who is alleged to be a victim of maltreatment as a single report.
Children in Reports
Just over 3 million children were reported as alleged victims of maltreatment and referred for investigation. The national rate of children who were the subjects of reports was 44 children per 1,000 children younger than 18 years of age in the general population. This rate has increased from 41 children per 1,000 in 1990. Some children may have been reported and counted more than once during the year.
The rate of children reported and referred for investigation varied considerably from State to State, ranging from 8 to 110 children reported per 1,000 children in the general population. However, for about two-thirds of the States the range was between 30 and 59 children reported per 1,000 children younger than 18 years of age in the general population.
Several factors may influence the variation in rates. These factors include differences in State definitions of maltreatment and agency policies and procedures related to receiving and investigating reports. For example, the Pennsylvania child abuse registry does not collect data on general neglect cases. State policy addresses cases of neglect through a general protective services investigation rather than through a child protective services investigation. In Vermont, the lack of supervision of a child, classified as neglect in many States, is not legally defined as maltreatment. On the other hand, States that have broader definitions of maltreatment may have higher rates of reports accepted for investigation.
Sources of Reports
Professional reporters, including educators, law enforcement and justice officials, medical professionals, social services personnel, and child care staff, accounted for about 52 percent of all reports of alleged maltreatment that were referred for investigation in 1996 (see figure 2-1). Educators provided the largest proportion of reports (16 percent), followed by law enforcement personnel (13 percent). Parents, other relatives of the victims, and victims themselves made up about 18 percent of the report sources. The distribution of sources of reports has remained virtually the same since 1990.
2.2 Disposition Data
The findings discussed in this section include the dispositions of investigated reports of alleged maltreatment and of children involved in these reports. DCDC data were used to look at the relation between dispositions and sources of reports. Data from 1990 were used to examine changes in the distribution of dispositions.
Investigations of Reports
Forty-eight States were able to provide data on both substantiated and unsubstantiated investigation dispositions. These 48 States reported that about 1,625,000 investigations of alleged abuse or neglect were conducted in 1996. Figure 2-2 shows that about 34 percent of the investigations resulted in a disposition of either substantiated or indicated child maltreatment. More than half of all dispositions resulted in a finding that child maltreatment was not substantiated. In most of the six jurisdictions that identify intentionally malicious or false reports, such reports constituted about 1 percent of unsubstantiated investigations. All other investigation dispositions, including "Unknown," "Closed Without a Finding," and "Other" accounted for 8 percent of all dispositions.
Report Sources and Dispositions
Based on case-level data from 11 States, 62 percent of all reports that were substantiated or indicated were referred by law enforcement, medical, social services, or education professionals (see table 2-1). Only two groups of professionals, law enforcement and medical, had more than half of their reports substantiated or indicated, 61 percent and 56 percent, respectively.
Children in Investigated Reports
Forty-three States were able to provide data on both substantiated and not substantiated dispositions of children. (Because of expungement practices, some States were unable to provide the number of children for whom maltreatment was not substantiated.) Thirty-four percent of children were victims of substantiated or indicated maltreatment, 59 percent of the children had investigations resulting in unsubstantiated dispositions, and 5 percent of the children had investigations resulting in dispositions of "Other." For 2 percent of the children, dispositions of either "Closed Without a Finding" or "Unknown" were made.
Dispositions for 1990 and 1996 were able to be compared in 33 States (see figure 2-3). The proportion of children with substantiated or indicated dispositions decreased from 38 percent to 33 percent. While the proportions of children with unsubstantiated dispositions remained about the same, the percent of children with "Other" or "Unknown" dispositions increased from 1 percent to 5 percent.
2.3 Victim Data
This section analyzes the characteristics of victims of substantiated or indicated maltreatment. Topics include numbers and rates of victims, types of maltreatment, and victim demographics such as age, sex, and race/ethnicity.
National Numbers and Rates of Victims
In 1996, approximately 970,000 children were found by child protective services agencies to be victims of maltreatment. This number reflects a national rate of 15 victims per 1,000 children younger than 18 years of age in the population.
Victim rates are influenced by State laws and policies relating to the classification of dispositions. Some States use a two-tier system that classifies an allegation as substantiated or unsubstantiated. Other States use a three-tier system that includes the third category of indicated. Indicated is used when there is sufficient reason to suspect that the child may have been maltreated or is at risk of maltreatment, but the allegation cannot be substantiated to the level of evidence required by State law. In the 36 States that use a two-tier system of dispositions, there were 13 victims per 1,000 children younger than age 18 in the population, compared to a rate of 21 victims per 1,000 children in the 13 three-tier States.
Trends in Victimization
Nationally, the number of victims increased between 1990 and 1996. Based on a comparison of 44 States that provided data on victims in both years, an overall increase of 18 percent was observed. However, as shown in table 2-2, the national pattern of growth in the number of victims over the 7-year period was not seen in all States. Twenty-five States had increases ranging from under 1 percent in Utah to 231 percent in Idaho. Nineteen States had decreases ranging from under 1 percent in Tennessee to 91 percent in North Dakota.
In comparing these changes, it is important to note that State maltreatment rates are influenced by different policies for accepting cases for investigation and classifying dispositions. For example, the change from a three-tier system to a two-tier system tends to decrease the number of children classified as victims. Changes in other policies also affect the number of victims. Some States are implementing diversified response systems that classify some families and children as "in need of services." Such children may no longer be classified as victims. Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, and South Dakota are examples of States that have recently incorporated diversified response systems. Still other States may have revised the standard of evidence used to substantiate maltreatment or may have changed methods of data collection.
Types of Maltreatment
For 1996, 48 States reported that there were 500,032 substantiated or indicated victims of neglect; 229,332 victims of physical abuse; and 119,397 victims of sexual abuse. In 41 States, there were 55,473 victims of emotional maltreatment. Child victims are counted for each type of maltreatment they experience.
Based on the number of victims in these States (968,748), more than half of all victims
(52 percent) suffered neglect, while almost a quarter (24 percent) suffered physical abuse. About 12 percent of the victims were sexually abused. Children suffering medical neglect and emotional maltreatment accounted for 3 percent and 6 percent of all victims, respectively. Approximately 16 percent of victims were subjected to "Other" types of maltreatment, such as "abandonment," "congenital drug addiction," and "threats to harm the child." (These numbers add to more than 100 percent because some children suffered more than one type of abuse.)
Data from 31 States were used to compare types of maltreatment suffered by children in 1990 and in 1996 (see figure 2-4). The proportion of victims who suffered neglect increased by 3 percentage points. The proportion of those who were sexually abused declined by 3 percentage points and those who were physically or emotionally abused declined slightly. The proportion of victims of "Other" types of maltreatment increased by 4 percentage points.
Age of Victims
The age distribution of victims was available for 42 States. A general pattern was observed of a decreasing proportion of victims as age increases (see figure 2-5). Each single-year age group up to age 9 had 6 to 7 percent of all victims. Each single-year age group between 10 and 15 had about 5 percent of all victims.
Based on case-level data from 11 States, table 2-3 shows that type of maltreatment had some relation to age. The percent of victims of neglect and medical neglect decreased with child age. Slightly over half of medical neglect victims were children younger than age 4. Only 13 percent of medical neglect victims were age 12 or older. In contrast, the percent of victims of physical, sexual, and emotional maltreatment increased with child age. While only 10 percent of all sexual abuse victims were under 4 years of age, 36 percent were age 12 or older.
Sex of Victims
Based on data from 43 States, about 48 percent of the victims of maltreatment were male, and about 52 percent were female. The sex for 1 percent of the victims was not reported. The distribution of sex of victims has remained stable over the 7 years of the SDC data collection.
Findings from case-level data in the 1996 DCDC suggest that there were some differences in the types of maltreatment experienced by male and female children. Girls were 77 percent of all sexual abuse victims, while boys were 23 percent. Victims of emotional maltreatment were more likely to be girls (53 percent) than boys (47 percent). Victims of other types of abuse were slightly more likely to be boys than girls (see table 2-4).
Race/Ethnicity of Victims
Forty-one States provided data on race/ethnicity. More than half (53 percent) of all victims were white. African American children represented the second-largest group of victims (27 percent). Hispanic children were about 11 percent of victims, American Indian/Alaska Native children were about 2 percent of victims, and Asian/Pacific Islander children about 1 percent of victims. "Other" and "Unknown" categories accounted for 2 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
Figure 2-6 shows there were disproportionate numbers of African American and American Indian/Alaska Native victims, almost twice their proportions in the national child population. White and Asian/Pacific Islander children were a lower proportion of victims than their representation in the population, while Hispanic children were about the same proportion of victims as their representation in the total population.
Table 2-5, based on the DCDC, presents types of maltreatment by race. While white victims were 55 percent of maltreatment victims in the 11 States, they were 65 percent of sexual abuse victims and 69 percent of victims of emotional maltreatment. However, white children represented a disproportionately low percentage of medical neglect victims (41 percent). For African American children a different pattern was seen. While they were 31 percent of all maltreatment victims, they were a disproportionately low percentage of victims of sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment (both under 20 percent). However, African American children accounted for 44 percent of all medical neglect victims.
2.4 Service Responses
Based on the findings of the investigation of maltreatment, the State agency often provides services to victims and their families, including placing children in protective custody, instituting court action, and offering additional services such as parenting classes, counseling, and in-home services. The following discussion addresses data submitted by the States in some of these service areas.
Victims Removed From the Home
Based on data from 36 States, about 16 percent of the victims of maltreatment were removed from their homes. In many States, the linkages between child protective services data and foster care data are not well defined. With the implementation of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), more comprehensive data on the children who are removed from their homes are becoming available.
Court Actions
Twenty-six States reported that court actions were initiated for about 14 percent of maltreatment victims in 1996. The ability to report on court actions varies from State to State. Reported court actions may include the State filing for temporary custody of the victim, filing for guardianship, or filing a dependency petition. In some States, reported court actions may also include criminal proceedings. Because court data are maintained in judicial information systems, child protective services agencies may have incomplete data on court actions.
Victims and Families Receiving Additional Services
Data from 24 States revealed that 205,981 families received postinvestigative child welfare services. Twenty-three States reported that 381,411 child victims received such services. Fewer than half of the States provided these data, and only 17 States were able to provide data for both victims and families. Data about reports of maltreatment and data about the provision of services may be contained in different and unlinked information systems. Also, information systems in some States are not able to distinguish between services provided to victims and services provided to their siblings. These issues are being examined by States that are redesigning their child welfare information systems.
2.5 Child Fatalities
This section discusses the findings about child fatalities. Fatality figures include primarily those victims known to the State child protective services agencies and may not include other victims not reported to the agencies.
Forty-one States reported that 917 fatalities resulted from child maltreatment in 1996. It is estimated that there were 1,077 fatalities in the 50 States and the District of Columbia.
The rate of child fatalities in the 40 States that reported in both 1990 and 1996 was 1.9 child fatalities per 100,000 children younger than 18 years of age in the general population in 1990 compared to 1.6 child fatalities per 100,000 children in 1996.
There were 307 fatalities reported by the 11 States in the DCDC (see table 2-6). These fatalities represent about one-third of all fatalities reported to the SDC. The DCDC data suggest that death due to child abuse and neglect was found mostly among very young children. Children younger than age 4 accounted for 76 percent of all fatalities.
2.6 Perpetrator Data
Data on the types of perpetrator relationships to victims are discussed in this section. In addition, case-level data from the DCDC are used to describe the age and sex of perpetrators.
Based on data from 43 States, 77 percent of perpetrators of child maltreatment were parents and an additional 11 percent were other relatives of the victims. People who were in other caretaking relationships to the child victims made up only 2 percent of perpetrators (e.g., foster parents, facility staff, and child care providers). About 10 percent of all perpetrators were classified as noncaretakers or "Unknown." In many States, perpetrators of maltreatment by definition must be in a child caretaking role.
Based on data from the DCDC, perpetrators tended to be young-81 percent of all perpetrators were under age 40 (see table 2-7). They were most likely to be between 30 and 39 years of age (the 10-year age group with the highest frequency of perpetrators, 39 percent) and least likely to be 50 years of age or older (only 6 percent of perpetrators). They were more likely to be female (61 percent of all perpetrators) than male.
Data from the DCDC also provide information on type of maltreatment by perpetrator gender (see table 2-8). An estimated three-quarters of neglect and medical neglect cases were associated with female perpetrators, while almost three-quarters of sexual abuse cases were associated with male perpetrators.
2.7 Armed Services Data
Data were received on reports of maltreatment that occurred worldwide in 1996 in the four branches of the Armed Services (the Air Force, the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Navy). Personnel in the services' Family Advocacy Programs are required to report all cases of child maltreatment to the child abuse registry in the State in which the child resides, and reports on children in the continental United States are included in State totals.
There were 16,673 reports of alleged maltreatment in 1996. Investigations of 48 percent of the reported children resulted in dispositions of substantiated maltreatment, while allegations of maltreatment were found to be unsubstantiated for 52 percent of the children.
Forty-two percent of child victims in the Armed Services suffered from neglect and 36 percent suffered from physical abuse. About 17 percent suffered from emotional maltreatment and another 14 percent suffered from sexual abuse. The proportion of neglect victims was lower than the national proportion, while the proportion of physical abuse victims was higher than the national proportion.
U pdated on January 17, 2001