Child Fatalities Due to Abuse and Neglect Decreased in FY 2020, Report Finds

The 31st edition of The Child Maltreatment Report is released

January 21, 2022

Today, the Children’s Bureau at HHS' Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the 31st Child Maltreatment Report. The report reveals that of the 3,145,000 million children who were the subject of a child welfare agency response in fiscal year 2020, 618,000 children were determined to be victims of maltreatment, compared to 656,000 victims in 2019. A total of 76.1 percent of these victims suffered from neglect alone or in combination with other maltreatment types, while 16.5 percent of victims suffered from physical abuse either by itself or in combination with other maltreatment types.

"While the data in today’s report shows a decrease in child maltreatment, there is still work to do,” said ACF Acting Assistant Secretary JooYeun Chang. “One thing hasn’t changed - the vast majority of children come to our attention because of neglect — we must do more to provide services and supports to families before problems, often related to or exacerbated by poverty become crisis.  ACF will continue to work with our partners to put practices in place to ensure the safety and well-being of all children across the country.”

When states submit their data to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, they have the opportunity to provide additional context on the data that will be published in the report. The additional context suggests that decreases in referrals of alleged maltreatment may have contributed to the changes noted in the 2020 metrics. This is especially true between March and June 2020, when many states experienced lockdowns due to the pandemic, were able to resolve investigation or assessment backlogs, and had changes to state legislation and child welfare policies and practices.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted children and families involved in the child welfare system, as well as the professionals working with these families. Disparities that were present before the pandemic were intensified, and COVID-19 exposed gaps in our human services delivery system,” said Aysha E. Schomburg, Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau. “During this period, there was an overall decrease in the number of children determined to be victims of abuse and neglect likely due to the fact that children had less contact with mandated reporters. During this time, many child welfare agencies reported that with the help of federal funding and flexibilities, they were able to address some long-standing cross-system challenges and explore more comprehensive supports to meet the needs of vulnerable children and families.”

The maltreatment categories of sex trafficking and infants with prenatal substance exposure were introduced in the fiscal year 2018 data cycle. According to the 2020 data, there were 953 victims of sex trafficking in the 35 states that were able to report this relatively new field. Forty-nine states reported that 42,821 infants with prenatal substance exposure were referred to child welfare agencies for fiscal year 2020. This is an increase from the 38,625 infants with prenatal substance exposure that were reported in 47 states during 2019.

The number of child fatalities reported as due to child abuse and neglect decreased in fiscal year 2020. The number and rate of fatalities have fluctuated during the past five years. An estimated 1,750 children died from abuse and neglect during fiscal year 2020 compared to an estimated 1,830 children whose deaths were determined as due to maltreatment during fiscal year 2019.

The Child Maltreatment Report presents fiscal year 2020 data, which is the latest data available, and can be found at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/report/child-maltreatment-2020.

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Quick Facts

  • Of the 3,145,000 million children who were the subject of a child welfare agency response in fiscal year 2020, 618,000 children were determined to be victims of maltreatment, compared to 656,000 victims in 2019.
  • 76.1 percent of victims suffered from neglect alone or in combination with other maltreatment types
  • 16.5 percent of victims suffered from physical abuse either by itself or in combination with other maltreatment types
  • According to the 2020 data, there were 953 victims of sex trafficking in the 35 states that were able to report this relatively new category.
  • Forty-nine states reported that 42,821 infants with prenatal substance exposure were referred to child welfare agencies for fiscal year 2020.
  • An estimated 1,750 children died from abuse and neglect during fiscal year 2020 compared to an estimated 1,830 children whose deaths were determined as due to maltreatment during fiscal year 2019.

Quotes

"While the data in today’s report shows a decrease in child maltreatment, there is still work to do.”
— JooYeun Chang, ACF Acting Assistant Secretary
“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted children and families involved in the child welfare system, as well as the professionals working with these families. Disparities that were present before the pandemic were intensified, and COVID-19 exposed gaps in our human services delivery system."
— Aysha E. Schomburg, Associate Commissioner, Children’s Bureau
“During this period, there was an overall decrease in the number of children determined to be victims of abuse and neglect likely due to the fact that children had less contact with mandated reporters. During this time, many child welfare agencies reported that with the help of federal funding and flexibilities, they were able to address some long-standing cross-system challenges and explore more comprehensive supports to meet the needs of vulnerable children and families.”
— Aysha E. Schomburg, Associate Commissioner, Children’s Bureau

Contact

Administration for Children & Families
Office of Communications
330 C Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201

Phone: (202) 401-9215
Fax: (202) 205-9688
Email: media@acf.hhs.gov

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