These highlights are based on responses from the States to the
1999 National Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting System (NCANDS).
Data were collected in aggregate by the Summary Data Component
(SDC) survey and at the case level through the Detailed Case Data
Component (DCDC). Highlights denoted with an asterisk (*) are the findings whose inclusion in annual
State data reports to the Secretary of Health and Human Services is
required by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) as
amended.
Referrals and Reports
As referrals of possible child maltreatment come
to the attention of child protective services (CPS), they either
are winnowed from consideration or transmitted further for
investigation or assessment-"screened out" or "screened in." For
those reports screened in, a further determination is made about
whether to investigate. The role of the CPS agency includes
deciding whether to take further protective actions on behalf of a
child.
Of the estimated 2,974,000 referrals received,
approximately three-fifths (60.4%) were transferred for
investigation or assessment and two-fifths (39.6%) were screened
out.
More than half of child abuse and neglect
reports (54.7%) were received from professionals. The remaining
45.3 percent of reports were submitted by nonprofessionals,
including family and community members.
Most States have established time standards for
initiating the investigation of reports. The average response time
to initiate investigating reports was 63.8 hours. *
Slightly less than one-third of
investigations (29.2 %) resulted in a disposition of either
substantiated or indicated child maltreatment. More than half
(54.7%) resulted in a finding that child maltreatment was not
substantiated. *
The average
annual workload of CPS investigation and assessment workers was 72
investigations. *
Child Maltreatment
Victims
Victims of maltreatment are defined as children who are
found to have experienced a substantiated or indicated maltreatment
or are found to be at risk of experiencing
maltreatment.
There were an estimated 826,000 victims of maltreatment
nationwide. The 1999 rate of victimization, 11.8 per 1,000
children, decreased from the 1998 rate of 12.6. *
Almost three-fifths of all victims (58.4
%) suffered neglect, while one-fifth (21.3%) suffered physical
abuse; 11.3 percent were sexually abused. More than one-third
(35.9%) of all victims were reported to be victims of other or
additional types of
maltreatment.
The highest victimization rates were for
the 0-3 age group (13.9 maltreatments per 1,000 children of this
age in the population), and rates declined as age
increased.
Rates of many types of maltreatment were
similar for male and female children, but the sexual abuse rate for
female children (1.6 female children for every 1,000 female
children in the population) was higher than the sexual abuse rate
for male children (0.4 male children per
1,000).
Victimization rates by race/ethnicity
ranged from a low of 4.4 Asian/Pacific Islander victims per 1,000
children of the same race in the population to 25.2
African-American victims per
1,000.
Children who had been victimized prior to
1999 were almost three times more likely to experience recurrence
during the 6 months following their first victimization in 1999
than children without a prior history of
victimization.
Perpetrators
A perpetrator of child abuse and/or
neglect is a person who has maltreated a child while in a
caretaking relationship to that
child.
Three-fifths (61.8%) of perpetrators were
female. Female perpetrators were typically younger than their male
counterparts-41.5 percent were younger than 30 years of age,
compared to 31.2 percent of male
perpetrators.
Almost nine-tenths (87.3%) of all victims
were maltreated by at least one parent. The most common pattern of
maltreatment was a child victimized by a female parent acting alone
(44.7%).
Female parents were identified as the
perpetrators of neglect and physical abuse for the highest
percentage of child victims. In contrast, male parents were
identified as the perpetrators of sexual abuse for the highest
percentage of victims.
Fatalities
Child fatality estimates are based on
data recorded by CPS agencies and/or other
agencies.
An estimated 1,100 children died of abuse
and neglect, a rate of approximately 1.62 deaths per 100,000
children in the general population. *
Slightly more than 2
percent (2.1%) of all fatalities occurred while the victim was in
foster care. *
Children
younger than a year old accounted for 42.6 percent of the
fatalities, and 86.1 percent were younger than 6 years of
age.
Maltreatment deaths were more often associated with
neglect (38.2%) than with any other type of
abuse.
Slightly
more than one-tenth (12.5%) of the families of child fatalities had
received family preservation services in the 5 years prior to the
deaths, while only 2.7 percent of the child fatality victims had
been returned to the care of their families prior to their deaths.
*
Services
CPS agencies provide services to prevent future instances
of child abuse and neglect and to remedy harm that has occurred as
a result of child maltreatment. Preventive services are provided to
parents whose children are at risk of abuse or neglect. Remedial or
post-investigative services are offered to families that have
experienced a child maltreatment
episode.
Nationwide, an estimated 1,563,000 children, 22.3 out of
every 1,000 children in the population, received preventive
services. *
The average time from the start of
investigation to provision of service was 47.4 days. *
Nationally, 55.8 percent
of child victims (an estimated 461,000) received post-investigative
services, and an additional 14.2 percent of children with
unsubstantiated reports (an estimated 217,000) also received
services. *
Nationally, an estimated 171,000 child victims were
placed in foster care. An estimated additional 49,000 children who
were not victims (i.e., children with unsubstantiated reports) were
placed in foster care. *
About one-fifth (21.2%) of victims had received family
preservation services within the previous 5 years, while more than
5 percent (5.1%) of victims had been reunited with their families
in the previous 5 years. *
Court actions were initiated for an
estimated 26.1 percent of maltreatment victims. Four-fifths of
these victims (79.3%) were provided with court-appointed
representatives. *