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CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
State child protective services (CPS) agencies
received 2.9 million referrals alleging child abuse or neglect in
2003. Over half of these reports were received from community professionals,
while the remainder were received from family, friends, relatives,
or neighbors of these children.
In 2003, investigations by State CPS agencies
determined that an estimated 906,000 children were victims of abuse
or neglect, equivalent to a rate of 12.4 per 1,000 children under
18 years of age. Approximately 63 percent of all victims suffered
neglect or medical neglect, 19 percent physical abuse, 10 percent
sexual abuse, 5 percent psychological maltreatment, and 17 percent
other forms of maltreatment. Some children suffered multiple types
of maltreatment.
Victimization was highest among the youngest
children. In 2003, the rate of victimization among children from
birth to age 3 was 16.4 per 1,000 children of the same age; the
rates declined steadily as age increased. Among the estimated 1,500
children who died of abuse and neglect, children under 1 year of
age accounted for nearly 44 percent, and children under 7 years
accounted for 90 percent. Of the child fatalities that occurred
in 2003, 78 percent were caused by a parent.
The data were obtained from the National Child
Abuse and Neglect Data System, the primary source of national information
on abused and neglected children known to State CPS agencies.
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Horizontal Bar Chart: Child Abuse and Neglect Among
Children Under Age 18, by Type of Maltreatement: 2003
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Horizontal Bar Chart: Sources of Maltreatment Reports:
2003
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