Too Many Children Die in America as a Result of Abuse and Neglect. We Can Do Better. UPDATE: 8/04/2010, We have just released a list of recommendations put forward by the Child Abuse and Neglect Summit hosted by Every Child Matters. Read more here. UPDATE: 1/20/2010, We've launched an ad campaign to urge Congress to address the fatalities that claim the lives of innocent children every day. Specifically, the ads ask Congress to hold hearings and provide emergency funds to stop state cuts in child protective services. Read more here.
Each year our country fails to protect thousands of children in desperate circumstances, circumstances which sadly end for many only with their deaths. Too many children die from abuse and neglect each year and the number is growing. Three-quarters of the children are under four. The current systems of child protection are stretched too thin to protect these children. And now a harsh economy combined with a steadily weakened safety net in many states threaten to place ever more children at risk. Additionally, several studies have concluded that the actual number of child abuse and neglect deaths is believed to be significantly higher than official statistics indicate. There are a variety of reasons, including different state definitions of what constitutes a child abuse and neglect death, data collection methodologies, inconsistent record-keeping across the country, and who it is that actually determines the cause of death. Children at grave risk of being killed require protection from their national government. Because of the heavy toll child abuse and neglect exacts from the nation--thousands killed, millions of lives ruined, costs of more than $100 billion a year-- a national strategy and initiative are needed to protect children. Read more... download the report today
Note: The first printing of We Can Do Better, a report released on October 21 by the Every Child Matters Education Fund regarding child abuse and neglect fatalities in the United States, contains two charts ranking states on child welfare expenditures. The data for these charts were drawn from 2004, which were believed to be the most recent available for all the states. More recent figures have been brought to our attention and updated in the report posted above.
Regardless of the relative numbers, the clear fact remains that in every state the current system of child protection is stretched too thin in comparison to the need. Questions should be directed to ECM’s research director, Steve Clermont, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.
Child Abuse and Neglect in the News
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