New Federal Report Shows Drop in Child Abuse Rates-The Editors from ABC are asking For more Information on this Topic

New Federal Report Shows Drop in Child Abuse Rates
New federal report shows decrease in number of US children suffering abuse, neglect
The Associated Press
Post a Comment By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer
NEW YORK April 1, 2010 (AP)
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Chart shows decrease in the number of children abused in the U.S.
(AP)
The rate of child maltreatment in the U.S. dipped in 2008 to its lowest level since 1990, but the number of abuse-related child fatalities continued to rise, according to new federal figures.

The annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services, issued Thursday, said the estimated number of victimized children had dropped sharply, from 903,000 in 2006 to 772,000 in 2008. However, there were 1,740 reported fatalities, up from 1,330 in 2000.

Carmen Nazario, HHS assistant secretary for children and families, said she was encouraged by the decrease in maltreatment, but sounded a note of caution.

"The results show too many children still suffer from abuse and neglect, and we have not yet experienced the full impact from the economic situation," she said.

The HHS data was for the 2008 fiscal year, ending Sept. 30, and did not reflect the recession that took hold in the final months of that year.

The report did not explain the decrease, but child-welfare experts — spotting the trend in some previous studies — have suggested that increased awareness and intolerance of child abuse has had an impact over the past decade.


According to the HHS report, the rate of child victimization was 10.3 per 1,000 children in 2008. That's down from a peak rate of 15.3 in 1993 and is the lowest since the congressionally mandated survey — titled the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System — began in 1990.

Of the victims, 71 percent suffered neglect, 16 percent were physically abused, 9 percent were sexually abused and about 7 percent suffered psychological maltreatment.

Regarding fatalities, the worst rates were for infant boys. Children under 4 accounted for 80 percent of the estimated 1,740 fatalities.

The recent increase in fatalities might be due, in part, to changes in how data is collected and reported by the states, the report said.

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