National Statistics for Abused and Neglected Children
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2023.
The following numbers are from 2018.
“Maltreatment” here means child abuse or neglect.
ANNUAL Estimated Reports
of Child Abuse or Neglect Nationwide ~
4,000,000
Some of
those have overlap.
ANNUAL Estimated Number
of Children with Investigations or Responses ~
3,500,000
Some of
those have overlap.
ANNUAL Estimated Number
of Children Classified as Maltreated ~ 700,000
o This approaches the range of 1% of U.S. children in
any given year.
o About two-thirds of these (470,000) were first-time
victims.
o ~ 52.5% of these were girls vs. ~ 49% of girls in the
US child population.
ANNUAL Estimated Number
of Perpetrators (most but not all are adults) ~ 550,000
o This approaches the range of 0.25% (~ 1 in 400) of
U.S. adults in any given year.
BREAKOUT of Maltreatment
(the victims have single-type abuse unless shown otherwise):
Physical Abuse ~
10.7 %
Psychological
Abuse ~ 2.3
%
Sexual
Abuse ~ 7.0 %
Sex
Trafficking (limited data, based on 18 states)
~ 0.05
%
Neglect ~
60.8 %
Multiple Types of Maltreatment (most commonly physical
+ neglect) ~15.5 %
ANNUAL Estimated Number
of Child Fatalities from Maltreatment ~ 1,770
·
About 1 in 5 of
those are under 1 year old.
·
~ 56.7% are boys,
vs. ~51% in the population.
·
Almost
three-quarters were neglected; almost half were physically abused (overlap).
Estimated
Amount of Unreported Child Maltreatment Up to 70%
Average
# of Times a Child Tells Adults of Maltreatment Before It is Reported
~ 7
For more information, see:
Anonymous,
“Child Maltreatment 2018” (Children’s Bureau, of the Administration on
Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children & Families, of
the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). Data is from the National
Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS).
This document provides legal information, not legal advice.
F. Russell Denton, Ph.D., Esq.
ISBN No. 979-8-9886484-0-6
©️ Pinion Feather Press, LLC, 2020, 2023.