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Children who experience
maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional
abuse and neglect) are
associated with increased risk of adverse outcomes including
mental health problems, poor school performance, juvenile
delinquency, substance abuse and adverse health.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, “Each state has its
own definition of child maltreatment based on minimum standards
set by Federal law. . . . . . The Federal Child Abuse
Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), (42 U.S.C.A. §5106g),
as amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of
2003, defines child abuse and neglect as, at a minimum:
·
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.”
This section of the AboutPinellasKids
website includes child maltreatment statistics covering the
nation, Florida, Pinellas County and comparisons between
Pinellas County and other similarly sized Florida counties.
National Child Maltreatment Statistics
Each year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, issues a national
Child Maltreatment Annual Report based on data received from the
states. The latest report is for fiscal year (FY) 2005 (Oct. 04
– Sep. 05) and is available at:
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm05/chapterthree.htm
2005 National Child Maltreatment
Statistics Summary
The following presents key national child maltreatment
statistics included in the above referenced 2005 Child
Maltreatment Annual Report:
- Of nearly 3.6 million children who
received a Child Protective Services investigation or
assessment, approximately 899,000 children were determined to
have been victims of maltreatment, approximately one-quarter
of those who received an investigation. The rate of
victimization was 12.1 per 1000 children in the population.
- Three quarters of victims (75.3%) had no
history of prior victimization.
- 62.8% of victims experienced neglect,
16.6% were physically abused, 9.3% were sexually abused, 7.1%
were psychologically maltreated, and 2.0% were medically
neglected. In addition, 14.3% of victims experienced other
types of maltreatment such as abandonment, threats of harm to
the child, or congenital drug addiction.
- Of victims of physical abuse, 24.3% were
reported by teachers, 23.0% were reported by police officers
or lawyers, and 11.6% were reported by medical staff. Overall,
74.8% were reported by professionals and 25.2% were reported
by nonprofessionals. The patterns of reporting of neglect and
sexual abuse victims were similar—police officers or lawyers
accounted for the largest percentage of neglect victims
(26.6%) and the largest percentage of sexual abuse victims
(28.3%).
- 47.3% of child victims were boys, and
50.7% of the victims were girls. The youngest children had
the highest rate of victimization. The rate of child
victimization for the age group of birth to 3 years was 16.5
per 1,000 children of the same age group. The victimization
rate for children in the age group of 4-7 years was 13.5 per
1,000 children in the same age group. Overall, the rate of
victimization was inversely related to the age group of the
child.
- Nearly three-quarters of child victims
(73.1%) ages birth to 3 years were neglected compared with
52.7% of victims ages 16 years and older. For victims in the
age group of 4-7 years 15.6% were physically abused and 8.9%
were sexually abused, compared with 21.3% and 17.3%,
respectively, for victims in the age group of 12-15 years old.
- African-American children, American
Indian or Alaska Native children, and Pacific Islander
children had the highest rates of victimization at 19.5, 16.5,
and 16.1 per 1,000 children of the same race or ethnicity,
respectively. White children and Hispanic children had rates
of approximately 10.8 and 10.7 per 1,000 children of the same
race or ethnicity, respectively. Asian children had the lowest
rate of 2.5 per 1000 children of the same race or ethnicity.
- One-half of all victims were White
(49.7%); one-quarter (23.1%) were African-American; and 17.4
percent were Hispanic. For all racial categories, the largest
percentage of victims suffered from neglect.
- Nearly 84% (83.4%) of victims were
abused by a parent acting alone or with another person.
Approximately, 40% (40.4%) of child victims were maltreated by
their mothers acting alone; another 18.3% were maltreated by
their fathers acting alone; and 17.3% were abused by both
parents. Victims abused by nonparental perpetrators accounted
for 10.7%. A nonparental perpetrator is defined as a caregiver
who is not a parent and can include foster parent, child
daycare staff, unmarried partner of parent, legal guardian,
and residential facility staff.
- Of the victims who experienced
neglect, 86.6 percent were neglected by a parent. Of the
victims who were sexually abused, 28.7 percent were abused
by a relative other than a parent.
Florida’s Child Welfare System
According to the Florida Department of
Children and Families (FLDCF):
- ..... “Many victims don't receive help because they
are not reported to the system. These abused and
neglected children span all ages, races, religions and
socio-economic backgrounds. Child maltreatment includes
actions that result in imminent risk of serious harm,
death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse
or exploitation of a child under age 18 by a parent or
caretaker".
Although all victims of maltreatment are not
reported to the Hotline, the system contains valuable
information on the extent of reported child maltreatment.
Detailed fiscal year child abuse statistics for Florida Counties
can be found on the FLDCF HomeSafeNet website at:
http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/abuse/pubs.shtml
o
In 2006-2007, the FLDCF began a transition to a
new statewide automated child welfare information system,
Florida Safe
Families Network, to replace HomeSafeNet.
Pinellas County Children as Victims of
Maltreatment
The Pinellas
County Sheriff’s Office Child Protection Investigations Division
(CPID) investigates reports of child abuse, neglect, or
abandonment called into Florida’s
Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-96-ABUSE)
or directly to the
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (727-582-6200).
- Child maltreatment data are presented for the FY
2003-2004 period and beyond. Data for prior
periods were based on a different method
of collection and are, therefore, not comparable.
For fiscal year (FY) 2005-2006, the latest
year for which child maltreatment statistics are available, the
FLDCF reports that of 12,414 Pinellas County children identified
as victims, 7,078 children, 57% of the total, were either
“verified” victims (3,417) of maltreatment or revealed “some
indication” (3,661) of maltreatment, an increase of 5.3% above
the previous FY. Approximately 40% of the victims had no
indication, no jurisdiction or were missing - 289 children were
classified as “special conditions only.”
- The FLDCF defines "verified" and "some indication"
as follows.
o
Verified: “The investigation
determined that a preponderance of the credible evidence results
in a determination that the specific injury harm or threatened
harm was the result of abuse or neglect.”
o
Some Indication: “The
investigation determined that there is credible evidence, which
does not meet the standard of being a preponderance, to support
that the specific injury, harm or threatened harm was the result
of abuse or neglect that occurred.”
- In FY 2005-2006, Pinellas County reported a higher
number of victims of verified maltreatment than other
Florida counties of comparable size, but fewer victims
with some indication of maltreatment.
- Another way of comparing data between counties is to
compare the number of victims to the size of the child
population. As shown in the charts below, the
number of verified and total victims per 1000 children
in Pinellas County was substantially higher than the
state as well as comparable counties.
Alleged Maltreatment
Alleged maltreatment is an
unconfirmed statement made by an individual reporting to
the Florida Abuse Hotline of suspected abuse, neglect,
abandonment or threatened harm to a child.
·
For the three-year period of FY
2003/4-2005/6, slightly more than two-thirds of Pinellas
County’s alleged (not yet verified) maltreatment victims
were white and 29% were black.
o
In FY 2005-2006, the number of alleged
victims per 1000 population for black victims was almost
twice that of whites and triple the rate of all other
races.
o
5.6% of alleged victims were Hispanic
·
For the most part, alleged victims of
maltreatment in Pinellas County are not removed from their
home (not placed). During FY 2003/4-2005/6:
o
Approximately 94% of alleged victims
remained in their home.
o
Less than 3% of alleged victims went to live
with a relative or non-custodial parent.
o
Slightly less than 3% of alleged victims
were placed in an emergency shelter.
·
The number of Pinellas County victims
experiencing a recurrence of maltreatment within 2, 4 and
6 months of the initial verified/indicated report of
maltreatment has been rising.
·
During the FY 2003/4-2005/6 period,
approximately 70% of Pinellas County’s caregivers
responsible for abuse/neglect were parents.
o
An additional 8% was attributed to
step-parents and grandparents.
o
The “all other” category, at 18%, includes
aunts, uncles, other relatives, foster parents, paramours,
sitters, facility staff and others not specifically
identified.
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