HHS News Release

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced that 1999 national child abuse and neglect statistics reported by states continued to decline from just over 900,000 children in 1998 to an estimated 826,000 victims of maltreatment nationwide. The incidence rate of children victimized by maltreatment also declined to 11.8 per 1,000 children, a decrease from the 1998 rate of 12.6 per 1,000. The decrease, the sixth one in a row reported by the federal government, comes as the nation marks April as Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month.

"We are encouraged by the continuing decline in the number of children who are maltreated, but it is nevertheless unacceptable that so many children are suffering," Secretary Thompson said. "We will continue to encourage states to do everything they can to prevent child abuse and neglect. We must remain committed to ensuring that all children live in safe, permanent and loving homes."

In his budget blueprint released on Feb. 28, 2001, President Bush called for a $200 million increase in funding for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program, administered by HHS' Administration for Children and Families. These additional resources would help the department intensify its efforts to stop child abuse by helping states and enabling children to more quickly be adopted into safe, stable families when that is the best option. The Promoting Safe and Stable Families program is one of several in the President's proposed budget that seeks to improve the lives of America's children.

Based on data contained in "Child Maltreatment 1999 (PDF*): Reports from the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System," HHS estimates that child protective service agencies received approximately 2,974,000 referrals of possible maltreatment in 1999. Of the 60.4 percent of these reports that were investigated, states found that there were an estimated 826,000 children who were victims of abuse and/or neglect.

In a trend that began six years ago, the number of victimized children has decreased approximately 19.2 percent from a record of 1,018,692 in 1993. Parents continue to be the main perpetrators of child maltreatment. Almost nine-tenths (87.3%) of all victims were maltreated by at least one parent. The most common pattern of maltreatment (44.7%) was a child victimized by a female parent acting alone. 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. These patterns are basically unchanged since the last reporting period.

Almost three-fifths of all victims (58.4%) suffered neglect, while one-fifth (21.3%) suffered physical abuse; 11.3 percent were sexually abused. The number of child fatalities caused by maltreatment remained unchanged at about 1,100.

The department is planning a number of activities in observance of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month. From April 23-28, a national child maltreatment conference will be held in Albuquerque, N.M. The conference will feature experts in the field of child victimization who will present recent research findings, highlight effective programs and provide information on key issues to professionals representing many disciplines involved in child abuse prevention and treatment. In addition, several thousand packets of child abuse prevention information and a poster will be distributed to state and local child welfare agencies and community organizations during April. Materials can be obtained by visiting the Web site of the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information at http://www.calib.com/nccanch or by calling 1-800-FYI-3366.

Child Maltreatment Tables:

1990-1999 CHILDREN
1990-1999 FATALITIES
1990-1999 MALTREATMENT TYPES
1990-1999 VICTIMS

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