Child abuse and neglect hurt children and our country.

  • Child abuse and neglect are common. At least one in seven children have experienced child abuse or neglect in the past year. Some, but not all, of these children enter foster care.

  • In 2019, 1,840 children in the United States died of abuse and neglect.

  • Child abuse and neglect are considered Adverse Childhood Experiences, which can dramatically impact a person’s life experience and health.

  • Poverty is associated with increased rates of child abuse and neglect. Providing simple supports to families - such as in-home and other supportive services as well as concrete and economic supports - are powerful interventions for preventing child abuse and neglect.

  • Child maltreatment is costly. In the United States, the total lifetime economic burden associated with child abuse and neglect was approximately $428 billion in 2015. This economic burden is on par with that of other public health issues such as type 2 diabetes.

Child abuse and neglect are preventable.

The CDC has identified five evidence-based strategies for preventing and treating child abuse and neglect.

  1. Strengthen economic supports to families, by strengthening household financial security and implementing family-friendly work policies.

  2. Change social norms to support parents and positive parenting, through public engagement campaigns and legislative approaches to reduce corporal punishment.

  3. Provide quality care and education early in life, through preschool enrichment programs with family engagement and high-quality child care through licensing and accreditation.

  4. Enhance parenting skills to promote healthy child development, through interventions such as home visiting and parent skill-building approaches.

  5. Intervene to lessen harms and prevent future risk, through enhanced primary care, behavioral parent training programs, treatment to lessen harms of abuse and neglect exposure, and treatment to prevent problem behavior and later involvement in violence.

CHILD ABUSE DEFINITIONS

The CDC defines child abuse and neglect (also referred to generally as child maltreatment) as "any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver (e.g., clergy, coach, teacher) that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child."

Federal law creates a minimum definition for child abuse and neglect, but gives states the authority to define what constitutes child abuse and neglect in their jurisdictions. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) (42 U.S.C. Section 5106g), requires that at a minimum, states define child abuse and neglect to mean:

"Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation"; or

"An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.”  

State laws provide much greater detail.  A summary of state definitions for child abuse and neglect can be found here.  The Child Welfare Information Gateway also has a searchable database of state statutes to access access state-specific definitions.

Source:  

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childmaltreatment/definitions.html