Children younger than a year old are the ones most often found to be physically abused, neglected and killed by abuse in Missouri, according to the most recent numbers reported by the Department of Social Services. Missouri’s Child Abuse and Neglect annual report found that 32 children in the state died as a result of abuse or neglect in 2005. Of those, 47 percent were less than a year old. The greatest number of substantiated child abuse and neglect allegations — 585 of 8,158 total — also affected this age group.
Nationwide, infants accounted for 44 percent of child abuse deaths in 2003, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Story by Aisha Sultan, STLtoday.com]
