Reports of alleged maltreatment were investigated by Child Protective Services to determine the validity of the allegation and a course of action. The HHS report tracks the number of reported cases assessed and the number in which children were determined to be victims from 1990–2002. During that period the number of children assessed rose 21.3%, while the number of children determined to be victims dropped 7.3%. The rate of all children who received an assessment or investigation increased from 36.1 per one thousand children in 1990 to 43.8 per one thousand children in 2002. Of reports alleging child maltreatment received in 2002, 60.5% were determined to be unsubstantiated.
The youngest children had the highest rate of victimization, according to the HHS report. Children under one year in age were most frequently victims of maltreatment (9.6%). From that age the victimization rate declined gradually from 6.2% for one-year-olds to 5.4% for ten-year-olds.
Half of all child victims were white (54.2%). (See Figure 4.7.) However, the Department of Health and Human Services reported that, when compared to the total number of children of the same race in the United States, American Indian or Alaska Native children had the highest rate of victimization (21.7 per one thousand children of the same race). African-American children were close behind at a rate of 20.2 per one thousand children of the same race. Asian and Pacific Islander children had the lowest rate at 3.7 per one thousand.
Parents as Perpetrators
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of child maltreatment was that more than 80% of perpetrators were parents, the HHS data revealed. Other relatives (6.6%) and unmarried partners of the parent (2.9%) were also perpetrators of abuse. Less than 1.5% of perpetrators were foster parents, daycare providers, or staff of residential facilities. An "other" category, which included camp counselors and school employees, accounted for 4.7% of perpetrators. Among the perpetrators, 58% were women. While parents were the primary perpetrators of all maltreatment, they were responsible for less than 3% of sexual abuse cases. Other relatives were responsible for 29% of sexual abuse, and nearly one-quarter of sexual abusers were nonrelatives and persons not in caregiving roles with the child.
Reports on child maltreatment grouped cases into six types: physical abuse, neglect, medical neglect, sexual abuse, psychological maltreatment, and other abuse. Figure 4.8 depicts five-year patterns of the six types of abuse. Clearly neglect (including medical neglect) was the most frequent type of child abuse, accounting for 60.5% of cases. Both physical abuse and sexual abuse cases showed some slight decreases since 1998.
Children were found to be victims of maltreatment in approximately 28% of cases investigated, the HHS report asserted. About one-fifth of child victims were placed in foster care. Other cases received a variety of support and monitoring services.
Child Fatalities
Child fatalities were the most tragic results of maltreatment. An estimated fourteen hundred children died from abuse or neglect in 2002. The overall child fatality rate due to abuse or neglect was two per one hundred thousand children—an increase from 1.84 per one hundred thousand in 2000. Three-quarters of these children were younger than four years of age. (See Figure 4.9.) Infant boys had a higher death rate (nineteen per one hundred
FIGURE 4.7
thousand boys of the same age) than infant girls (twelve per one hundred thousand). Consistent with the high rate of neglect among all maltreatment cases, one-third of all child fatalities were attributed to neglect. (See Figure 4.10.)
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