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2006-07 JWB Performance Report Executive Summary

 

 

Child Maltreatment
 
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.

  • The number of alleged victims of maltreatment in Pinellas County by age group shows that all age groups are affected, with the largest increases in alleged maltreatment since FY 2003-2004 occurring in the 0-2 and 14-17 age groups.
     

    •  It is important to note that, when comparing the number of alleged victims by age group in the chart below, the age group intervals are not equal. Recombining the age groups, e.g., 0-5, 6-13, etc., shows that the highest number of alleged victims per year of age occurs in the 0-5 age group.


·         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.


 

Funded Agencies:

Children’s Home – Kinship Services Network of Pinellas
Department of Health – Healthy Families Pinellas
Family Service Center – Childnet
Family Service Center – Sexual Assault Services
Help-A-Child – Allyn B. Giffin Medical Foster Care Home
Help-A-Child– Safe Start Partnership Center
Operation PAR – COSA at the Child Development and Family Guidance Center
PEMHS – Emergency Response Team

Read More About It:

Child Maltreatment 2006 http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm06/cm06.pdf

Child Welfare in Florida
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/Child_Welfare_In_Florida06.pdf?docID=3469


Developing the Five Year Plan for the Prevention of Child Abuse,
Neglect, and Abandonment 2005-2009  http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/childabuseprevention/downloads/Plan/Suncoast.pdf

Child Abuse Death Review Annual Report 2006 http://www.doh.state.fl.us/cms/FLCADR/attach/2006CADRrpt.pdf

Kid deaths from abuse, neglect soar in Florida
(St. Petersburg Times © 12/29/2007)

The Child Welfare League of America 2008 Report on Florida’s Children
http://www.cwla.org/advocacy/statefactsheets/2008/florida.htm

 



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