Too Many Children Die in America as a Result of Abuse and Neglect. We Can Do Better.

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. 

Click here to download a copy of "We Can Do Better: Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths in the U.S." The following is excerpted from our new report, released on October 21, during a public rally at the U.S. Capitol.

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