Root Causes: Child Maltreatment

Why is this Trend Important?

• Child maltreatment has devastating effects upon the child victims, their families and their communities, and costs society close to $4 billion annually.[1]
• Young children are more likely than older children to be victims of child maltreatment, reported maltreatment rate is highest for infants birth to one year old.
• Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, and Pacific Islander children have the highest rates of reported child maltreatment. 
• Neglect is the most frequently reported type of child maltreatment.[2]  

What are the Forces and Influences at Work?

• Child abuse and neglect is not restricted to any socioeconomic class, race or ethnicity, or religion. Research shows that certain risk factors are consistently correlated with maltreatment and interact with protective factors in complex ways.[3] Strategies and approaches related to both family strengths and risk factors are important. 

• Child death. In 2008, approximately 1,740 children died as the result of abuse or neglect. [4]

• Child injury and emotional impairment. Child maltreatment is associated with physical injuries, delayed physical growth, impaired brain development, and psychological and emotional problems, such as aggression, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.[5] Long-term consequences include severe health and mental health complications[6], [7], juvenile delinquency and adult crime.[8]

• Child maltreatment rates fell in 2007 and 2008 after remaining fairly unchanged from 2000 to 2006. An estimated 772,000 children were determined to be victims of abuse or neglect in 2008. Of these, nearly one-half of all victims were White (45.1 percent), 16.6 percent were African-American, and 20.8 percent were Hispanic.[9] The decline in maltreatment from 2006-2008 may be attributed to a number of possible influences: reduction in child poverty , fewer unwanted births and births to teens, and lower unemployment.

• There are economic forces at work that states must confront if they intend to emphasize prevention-specific programs.
• The economic recession that began in 2008 has put added stresses on families.
• Rising foster care spending are tapping budgets dry leaving little political will for prevention-based funding.
• Children in foster care are needing more costly, high end services.
• Increased social worker caseloads translates into less time spent with clients.
• More diverse populations and family structures means that child welfare policies need to be more adaptive and targeted.
• Federal/state spending on the service consortium cannot keep pace with clients’ needs.