Resource Library

Prevention services are crucial in helping families meet their needs and offer a wide variety of support for families caring for their children. As prevention encompasses a broad array of services and interventions for families, the following resources are specialized for children and families who are at risk of being involved within the public child welfare system.

Parental substance use is generally recognized as a risk factor for child maltreatment; however, it is difficult to obtain precise, current statistics on the number of families affected by substance use issues in the absence of an ongoing, standardized, national data collection on the topic.

Associations and organizations throughout the United States work to promote the safety, well-being, and permanency of families by empowering parents to be engaged in family life through education, support, advocacy, and outreach activities.

Individuals and families involved with the child welfare system and juvenile and family courts often need and benefit from legal representation; however, navigating the judicial system and retaining the services of an attorney can be confusing and costly. There are many resources available to individuals who may be unable to afford legal representation.

If you are worried that a friend may be abused or neglected, please contact Childhelp , a national organization with a 24-hour crisis hotline number (1.800.422.4453). Childhelp's staff consists of trained counselors that can listen to your concerns and connect you to the appropriate local child protection agency or other helpful services in your community. Childhelp now offers text and chat-based support for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.

Children can be victims of sex and/or labor trafficking. Under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000  (PDF), child sex trafficking is defined as "the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, patronizing, soliciting a child for commercial sex, including prostitution and the production of child pornography." Child labor trafficking refers to "the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining a child for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery." Child trafficking is a crime under federal, international, and state law.

If you viewed disturbing images depicting child abuse on the internet, please contact your local child protective services or law enforcement agency so that professionals can assess the situation and intervene as needed. If you are able to determine the video's filming location, it is important to alert local authorities in that jurisdiction so they can respond. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline (1.800.4.A.CHILD) offers immediate assistance. Staffed by trained counselors, Childhelp operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All calls are anonymous.

Each year, the Children's Bureau releases a detailed Child Maltreatment report, which includes data submitted by child protective services agencies in the United States.

The report answers questions such as the following:

• How many children are the subject of child abuse and neglect reports each year?
• What types of maltreatment are reported?
• What are the ages, genders, and other characteristics of child victims?
• How many children die each year from child maltreatment?
• What services were provided to children who were maltreated—or are at risk of maltreatment—and their families?

It is important to keep in mind that these reports and other statistical publications often are released a few years behind the current year because it takes time to collect, analyze, and release the data.

Child Welfare Information Gateway, a service of the Children's Bureau, maintains a comprehensive list of statistical sources of child welfare data on its website.

This document provides frequently asked questions about the AFCARS final rule.

Adoption statistics are very limited. Although data on the number of adoptions from the child welfare system (foster care) and intercountry adoptions are available, data from private agencies is currently not being systematically collected.