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This factsheet presents excerpts
from Child Maltreatment 2003,
a report based on data
submissions by the States for
Federal Fiscal Year 2003. The
National Child Abuse and Neglect
Data System was developed by the
Children's Bureau of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services in partnership with the
States to collect annual
statistics on child maltreatment
from State child protective
services (CPS) agencies.1
The press release announcing
these data is available on the
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services website at
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2005.html.
The full Child Maltreatment
2003 report is available on
the Children's Bureau website at
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/cmreports.htm.
Limited print copies are
available from the National
Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and
Neglect Information.
Victims
An estimated 906,000 children
were determined to be victims of
child abuse or neglect in 2003.
The rate of victimization per
1,000 children in the national
population has dropped from 13.4
children in 1990 to 12.4
children in 2003.
More than 60 percent of child
victims experienced neglect.
Almost 19 percent were
physically abused, 10 percent
were sexually abused, and 5
percent were emotionally
maltreated. In addition, 17
percent were associated with
"other" types of maltreatment,
based on specific State laws and
policies. 2
Children ages birth to 3
years had the highest rates of
victimization at 16.4 per 1,000
children of the same age group.
Girls were slightly more likely
to be victims than boys.
Pacific Islander, American
Indian or Alaska Native, and
African-American children had
the highest rates of
victimization when compared to
their national population. While
the rate of White victims of
child abuse or neglect was 11.0
per 1,000 children of the same
race, the rate for Pacific
Islanders was 21.4 per 1,000
children, the rate for American
Indian or Alaska Natives was
21.3 per 1,000 children, and the
rate for African-Americans was
20.4 per 1,000 children.
Reports of Child Abuse and
Neglect
In 2003, an estimated 2.9
million referrals concerning the
welfare of approximately 5.5
million children were made to
CPS agencies throughout the
United States. Of these,
approximately two-thirds (an
estimated 1.9 million) were
accepted for investigation or
assessment; one-third were not
accepted.
More than one-half (57
percent) of all reports that
alleged child abuse or neglect
were made by such professionals
as educators, law enforcement
and legal personnel, social
services personnel, medical
personnel, mental health
personnel, child daycare
providers, and foster care
providers. Such nonprofessionals
as friends, neighbors, and
relatives submitted
approximately 43 percent of
reports.
Approximately 30 percent of
the reports that were
investigated included at least
one child who was found to be a
victim of abuse or neglect.
Fifty-eight percent of the
reports were found to be
unsubstantiated (including those
that were intentionally false);
the remaining reports were
closed for additional reasons.
Fatalities
Child fatalities are the most
tragic consequence of
maltreatment. For 2003, an
estimated 1,500 children died
due to abuse or neglect. More
than three-quarters (79 percent)
of children who were killed were
younger than 4 years old; 10
percent were 4 to 7 years old; 5
percent were 8 to 11 years old;
and 6 percent were 12 to 17
years old.
Infant boys (younger than 1
year) had the highest rate of
fatalities, with nearly 18
deaths per 100,000 boys of the
same age in the national
population. Infant girls
(younger than 1 year) had a rate
of 14 deaths per 100,000. The
overall rate of child fatalities
was 2 deaths per 100,000
children. More than one-third of
child fatalities were attributed
to neglect. Physical abuse also
was a major contributor to
fatalities.
Perpetrators
Approximately 80 percent of
perpetrators were parents. Other
relatives accounted for 6
percent, and unmarried partners
of parents accounted for 4
percent of perpetrators. The
remaining perpetrators included
persons with other (camp
counselor, school employee,
etc.) or unknown relationships
to the child victims.
Female perpetrators, who were
mostly mothers, were typically
younger than male perpetrators,
who were mostly fathers. Women
also comprised a larger
percentage of all perpetrators
than men: 58 percent compared to
42 percent.
Of all parents who were
perpetrators, fewer than 3
percent were associated with
sexual abuse. More than
three-quarters of perpetrators
who were friends or neighbors
committed sexual abuse.
Services
Approximately 57 percent of
victims and 25 percent of
nonvictims received services as
a result of an investigation or
assessment. Additional analyses
indicated that children who were
prior victims of maltreatment
were 52 percent more likely to
receive services than first-time
victims. Additionally, children
with multiple types of
maltreatment were 73 percent
more likely to receive services
than children who were victims
of physically abuse only.
Services included both
in-home and foster care
services. Approximately 15
percent of child victims were
placed in foster care. About 3
percent of nonvictims also
experienced a removal-usually a
short-term placement during the
course of the investigation.
1 CPS agencies
respond to referrals regarding
harm to children caused by
parents or primary caregivers.
Incidents of harm to children
caused by other people, such as
acquaintances and strangers, are
not included in these data.
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2 These numbers add
up to more than 100 percent
because some children were
victims of more than one type of
maltreatment.
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