WASHINGTON, D.C., March 30, 1999 – While overall U.S. crime statistics are on the decline, reports and confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect continue to rise, according to data released today by Prevent Child Abuse America, formerly the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse. At the same time, a new study commissioned by Prevent Child Abuse America found that nearly one-half of U.S. parents reported neglecting their child’s emotional needs, most on a daily basis.

Although the nation’s overall crime rate fell more than 21 percent from 1993 to 1997, reports of child abuse and neglect grew by 8 percent and confirmed cases increased 4 percent during this same period, according to Prevent Child Abuse America (see table 1). The data, based on surveys by Prevent Child Abuse America and the U.S. Department of Justice, was released by Prevent Child Abuse America on the eve of April’s observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

"Child abuse is the only violent social problem we face that isn’t getting better," said A. Sidney Johnson III, executive director of Prevent Child Abuse America. "As a society, we’re making great progress in reducing violent crime, property crime and robbery, and awareness of child abuse and neglect is at an all-time high, yet our children are being victimized more than ever."

According to Johnson, twice as many U.S. children are reported for abuse and neglect annually as are enrolled in a Head Start program, based on data from a 1998 study reported in Early Childhood News. According to Prevent Child Abuse America, the statistics are alarming, particularly in the context of other issues gathering media attention.

"We hear a lot of talk about air bag safety with regard to children, and it certainly is a serious issue, since 67 children died in automobile crashes involving air bags between 1993 and 1997," explained Maura Somers Dughi, president of the Board of Directors for Prevent Child Abuse America. "But in the same five-year period, nearly 5,000 children died from abuse or neglect at the hands of the parent or guardian responsible for their care."

Of children under five who were killed during the period 1976 through 1997, 54 percent were killed by a parent, 30 percent by an acquaintance or other relative, and 15 percent were killed by strangers or unknown persons, according to the Bureau of Justice Homicide Statistics.

According to Prevent Child Abuse America’s survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 47 out of 1,000 children were reported as abused or neglected and 15 children out of 1,000 were confirmed as abused or neglected in 1997 (the last year for which complete data is available). This means that child abuse is much more pervasive than other types of violent victimization. The 1998 National Crime Victimization Study reported in 1998 that there were 13 car thefts, 8 aggravated assaults, 4.2 robberies and 1.5 rapes per 1,000 U.S. households.

For 13 years, Prevent Child Abuse America has commissioned national public opinion polls to determine the public’s attitudes and actions with respect to child abuse prevention. The first survey, in December 1986, was conducted by Louis Harris. Subsequent surveys, including the 1999 survey, have been conducted by Schulman, Ronca and Bucavalas of New York City.

The consistency of the survey by Prevent Child Abuse America both in its application and measurement strategies offers a unique data source for assessing the impacts of public education efforts over time and changes in public attitudes and perceptions. Each survey has involved a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,250 randomly selected adults across the country. The study’s results are subject to a sampling error of +/- three percentage points.

The most recent survey commissioned by Prevent Child Abuse America, completed in late February, found the following:

• 37 percent of American parents had reported insulting or swearing at their children within the past 12 months
• 50 percent had neglected their child’s emotional needs, with 60 percent of these respondents indicating that this neglect took place "almost every day"
• 6 percent had hit, or tried to hit, their children with their hands or with a foreign object
• 1 percent had kicked, bit or punched their children within the last 12 months

"It may not sound alarming to say that one percent of parents in America report that they kicked, bit or punched their children in the past 12 months," said Johnson. "But, one percent of the estimated 103 million parents of children under 17 years of age in this country still amounts to a large number of children, and that only accounts for the parents who admit to engaging in this behavior."

An initiative of Prevent Child Abuse America, Healthy Families America (HFA) is a voluntary home visiting program with three equally important goals: to promote positive parenting, to encourage child health and development, and to prevent child abuse and neglect. With 320 sites in 39 states, each HFA program is implemented on the local level by public and private partnerships, including business and community leaders, faith groups, healthcare providers, local and state governments, social service agencies and parents.

With chapters in 42 states, Prevent Child Abuse America (formerly the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse) is the leading organization working at the national, state and local levels to prevent child abuse in all its forms. Headquartered in Chicago, Prevent Child Abuse America was founded in 1972 with an endowment from the Donna J. Stone Foundation.

Table 1: Changing Trends in Crime & Criminal Victimization

Sources:

Wang and Daro (1998, April). Current Trends in Child Abuse Reporting and Fatalities: The Results of the 1997 Annual Fifty State Survey. Chicago: Prevent Child Abuse America.

Bureau of Justice Statistics (1998). Criminal Victimization 1997: Changes 1996-97 with Trends 1993-97. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice.