Young children enter foster care in disproportionately high numbers. In 2009, 5% of children in the United States who received child care subsidies were also under the guardianship of protective services.
Some quick facts about infants and toddlers in child welfare:
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231,940 children ages 3 and younger had substantiated reports of maltreatment, accountingfor 33.4% of all substantiations in FY 2009. Of those children, 87,612 were under the age of 1.
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Infants comprise a disproportionately large percentage of first-time admissions to out-of-home care.
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Almost 1 in 4 children admitted to out-of-home care for the first time is under the age of 1. This proportion keeps rising.
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Children under 3 who have been neglected are at a significantly higher risk of later experiencing developmental problems when compared to those who do not experience abuse.
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While children who are maltreated at a young age are likely to develop a variety of problems across domains, they are also more amenable to effective intervention.
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Compared to children who experience maltreatment in their teens, children who experience maltreatment in early childhood do better over the long term.
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