Child Neglect
Fact Sheet
Child Maltreatment, Child Abuse and Neglect
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Note: Child maltreatment statistics are generally confined to episodes involving offenders who are relatives and caretakers. This excludes physical and sexual assaults by peers, adult acquaintances, or strangers.
Large numbers of children are abused and neglected.
- The estimated number of victims of child maltreatment in 1999 was 826,000.
- The estimated rate of child maltreatment in 1999 was 11.8 per 1,000 children.
- Approximately two additional children are reported for suspicion of child abuse and neglect for every allegation that is substantiated.
- The total number of children reported for suspicion of child abuse and neglect in 1998 was 3,154,000. This is a rate of 45 per 1,000 children.
National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. 1999. Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The results of the 1998 Annual Fifty State Survey. Chicago, IL: National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse.
http://www.childabuse.org/50data97.html
After growing dramatically between 1976 and 1992, rates of child maltreatment reports and substantiations have been at a plateau since 1992.
- Trends in Reporting Rates (per 1,000)
| 1976: 10
1977: 13 1978: 13 1979: 15 1980: 18 1981: 19 1982: 20 1983: 24 1984: 27 1985: 31 1986: 33 |
1987: 34
1988: 35 1989: 38 1990: 41 1991: 41 1992: 43 1993: 43 1994: 43 1995: 43 1996: 44 1997: 42 (nearly 3 million children) |
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. 1993 and 1999. Child Maltreatment (1993,1997): Reports from the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
- Trends in Substantiated Child Abuse Cases: Numbers and Rates per 1,000
Year |
Number of Children |
Rate per 1,000 |
1990 |
989,430 |
15 |
1991 |
966,000 |
15 |
1992 |
1,018,000 |
16 |
1993 |
1,009,000 |
15 |
1994 |
1,010,000 |
15 |
1995 |
1,025,000 |
15 |
1996 |
998,000 |
14 |
1997 |
1,034,000 |
15 |
1998 |
1,009,000 | 14 |
National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. 1990 through 1999. Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The results of the (1990-1998) Annual Fifty State Survey. Chicago, IL: National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse.
http://www.childabuse.org/50data97.html
The National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3) showed child abuse had increased by 67% in 1993 compared to 1986.
- The number of children abused or neglected in 1986 was 931,000; in 1993 the number of children was 1,553,800. (This is a two point estimate that does not reflect the flattening trend since 1992. The NIS-3 number for 1993 is higher than the number reported in the Annual Fifty State Survey because it included cases not known to child protection agencies.)
Sedlak, A., & Broadhurst, D. 1996. The Executive Summary of the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
http://www.calib.com/nccanch/pubs/nis3.txt
Only a small proportion of child maltreatment victims are removed from their homes.
- Placement occurred in 16% of child maltreatment substantiations in 1997.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. 1999. Child Maltreatment 1997: Reports from the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
