The Children’s Bureau, Office of the Administration for Children and Families recently released its latest annual report on child abuse and neglect. Child Maltreatment 2013 is the 24th edition of the report which includes national and state level findings about investigations and assessments, perpetrators of maltreatment, and prevention and post investigation services. The report is based on federal fiscal year 2013 data submitted by 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Key findings in this report include:
■ From 2009 to 2013, overall rates of victimization declined, from 9.3 to 9.1 per 1,000 children in the population. This results in an estimated 23,000 fewer victims in 2013 (679,000) compared with 2009 (702,000).
■ Since 2009, overall rates of children who received a CPS response increased from 40.3 to 42.9 per 1,000 children in the population. This results in an estimated 145,000 additional children who received a CPS response in 2013 (3,188,000) compared to 2009 (3,043,000). States provide possible explanations for the increase in Appendix D, State Commentary.
■ Nationally, four-fifths (79.5%) of victims were neglected, 18.0 percent were physically abused, 9.0 percent were sexually abused and 8.7 percent were psychologically maltreated.
■ For 2013, a nationally estimated 1,520 children died of abuse and neglect at a rate of 2.04 children per 100,000 children in the national population.
