Each time we report on a child who has fallen victim to abuse or neglect, it’s difficult. But it’s a reality that occurs far too often across the country, throughout the state, and right here in Northeast Indiana. Some startling statistics from the Indiana Department of Child Services indicated that more often than not, parents are the abusers in these cases. In Indiana in 2008, of 2,361 physical abuse cases, the mother was the abuser in 750 of those cases and the father in 810 cases. Of 17,742 neglect cases, the mother was the perpetrator 10,396 times and the father 4,172 times.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.indianasnewscenter.com/news/local/101210-child-abuse-and-neglect-statistics-111694554.html

THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN living in poverty in Ireland has increased since 2008, while the number of children who were victims of abuse cases has also risen. The figures are confirmed in the official State of the Nation’s Children report, a biannual document published for the third time yesterday. PA reports that the document showed how many of Ireland’s more vulnerable children were missing out on basic services because of the level of poverty in which they live.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.thejournal.ie/child-abuse-cases-increase-as-numbers-in-poverty-up-2010-12/

LOUISVILLE, KY – Gruesome child abuse cases have filled the headlines recently and investigators tell Fox 41, they are also being inundated with cases in Kentucky. “The child’s lower back, his legs, buttocks, privates, it’s pretty bad,” said Bullitt County Sheriff Detective Scotty McGaha. On Friday, Detective McGaha said a two-year-old had to be admitted to the hospital for multiple tests which revealed what doctors and investigators feared, another case of child abuse.  The same day, a 4-year-old Southern Indiana boy died from what investigators report as a severe beating. “There’s something in the center here that white,” said McGaha pointing to a picture of the child’s bruised leg. The Detective said the two-year-old’s abuser used some sort of object to beat the child from head to toe.  The person now charged with criminal abuse is the toddler’s mother, 20 year old Ashley Sneed.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.fox41.com/story/13717377/investigators-everyone-lookout-for-child-abuse

Study: Child abuse rate twice as high in Israel than in U.S.

For every 1,000 children, 18 in Israel were abused – some 45,600 children in real terms.

More than 45, 000 children in Israel have been the victims of abuse over the past 12 months, the head of the Israel National Council for the Child, Dr. Yitzhak Kadmon, said Monday. Speaking a conference tackling the issue of infanticide, held at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Kadmon said that initial studies showed the rate of children suffering abuse over the past 12 months was twice as high in Israel than in the United States. For every 1,000 children, 18 in Israel had said that they had been abused (45,600 children in real terms), as opposed to 10.1 children per thousand in the U.S.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/study-child-abuse-rate-twice-as-high-in-israel-than-in-u-s-1.331630

(NOTE: Dreamcatchers for Abused Children does *NOT* agree with this report—It conflicts 100% with all the other research, statistics & reports we’ve gathered this year.)

Report Shows Steady Decrease in Child Abuse and Neglect

Data collected through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, a voluntary data collection system, shows an estimated 763,000 children were victims of child abuse and neglect, at a rate of 10.1 per 1,000 children. Of those, 693,174 total victims were counted once, regardless of the number of reports of maltreatment. Data from states continue to indicate the greatest proportion of children suffered from neglect and that the 87,612 child victims younger than one year had the highest rate of victimization at 20.6 per 1,000 children in the population of the same age.

“We are pleased to see a steady decrease in the rate of abused and neglected children, however we also know even one child abused is one too many,” said David A. Hansell, HHS acting assistant secretary for children and families. “The more we support and implement evidenced-based programs and services to prevent child maltreatment and promote healthy families and communities, the sooner we can ensure children are able to have the safe, happy and healthy childhood they deserve.”

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.mmdnewswire.com/report-shows-steady-decrease-in-child-abuse-and-neglect-15272.html

Florida is number ONE for the most reported child abuse deaths. Louisiana is among the states with the highest frequency of child deaths related to abuse and neglect, according to an analysis highlighted Tuesday by a coalition of prosecutors and other child advocates. The National Coalition to End Child Abuse Deaths named Louisiana among 12 states with disproportionate numbers of cases that the consortium’s members said are preventable if the United States makes the issue a priority.

Official government statistics for 2008 put the number of abuse and neglect deaths among children at 1,740. Michael Petit, president of the Every Child Matters Education Fund, said the coalition believes the number is at least 2,500. The government’s numbers are based on official reporting by coroners and law enforcement agencies.
Coalition estimates cite academic research that suggests the deaths are under-reported. Besides Petit’s group, the consortium comprises the National Children’s Alliance, the National District Attorneys Association; the National Association of Social Workers and the National Center for Child Death Review.

Government statistics show that Louisiana had 246 abuse and neglect deaths among children from 2001 to 2008. In 2008, the number was 30 or 2.71 deaths per 100,000 children. Florida had the highest rate at 4.62 deaths per 100,000. Rhode Island reported no such deaths in 2008.

Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Vermont and Wyoming all reported fewer than 1 death per 100,000. Among the state’s with populations closest to Louisiana, Alabama’s rate was 1.78, South Carolina was 1.97 and Kentucky was 2.18, all lower than Louisiana.  The national rate was 2.4, more than double the rates in the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada, and triple the rate in Germany.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/12/louisiana_among_top_12_states.html

County’s child abuse, neglect cases rise, report says

WATERLOO, Iowa — The rate of reported cases of child abuse and neglect rose 50 percent in Black Hawk County between 2000 and 2009, according to a report issued by an Iowa child advocacy group. Kids Count, a study by the Child and Family Policy Center in Des Moines reveals some good news and bad news in the Cedar Valley. The 50 percent rise in reports in child abuse and neglect in Black Hawk County outpaced the statewide rise of 35 percent.

Michael Crawford, director of Iowa Kids Count, said multiple factors, including economic stress, could contribute to the rise, but added that he noticed a similar rise in areas affected by flooding in 1993. He said the flood of 2008 could have had a similar effect. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that were a reason for it now,” Crawford said.

READ MORE HERE:

http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_9509a0fe-ab1a-5458-b537-c6d9cad91f57.html

Reports of child abuse up 39.77% in first half of 2010

TAIWAN — The number of suspected child abuse cases reported to authorities rose dramatically in the first half of 2010 compared to a year earlier, indicating increased awareness in society of the issue, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said yesterday. A total of 13,130 cases were reported from January to June, 40.4 percent more than during the same period in 2009, and 9,039 of those cases, an increase of 39.77 percent, were confirmed, according to MOI statistics. Those aged 6-11 accounted for 3,305, or 36.56 percent, of the victims, and those aged 0-5 accounted for 2,262, or 25.03 percent. On the background of the abusers, 6,512, or 75.02 percent, were the victims’ parents or foster parents. The number of abusers who were live-in partners of one of the parents was up 49.3 percent from last year to reach 212, while the number of abusers who were relatives of the victims but not their parents jumped 42.11 percent to 459.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2010/12/12/283353/Reports-of.htm

Children’s Hospital Seeing Surge In Child Abuse Cases
Out Of 6 Infants Brought To Hospital Last Week Of November, 2 Died

T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital officials said Tuesday they are seeing an upsurge in child abuse case. The last week of November, there were six infants brought to Children’s Hospital suffering from non-accidental traumatic head and bone injuries. Two of those infants died.  Marisa Moyer of Erlanger’s Safe and Sound program, said, “It’s been awful. I came in one day and saw Dr. (Karla) Garcia with her head in her hands.” Dr. Garcia said the non-accidental traumatic head injuries (shaking a baby fiercely) “is 100 percent preventable.” She and Dr. Annie Church said a combination of the down economy and the holidays may be bringing on the high number of injured infants.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_189955.asp

Children who are abused or neglected show impairments in cognitive development in adolescence, a large, population-based study found. When tested for literacy skills at age 14, children who had been reported to authorities for either abuse or neglect had a mean difference of ?4.4 points out of 100 (standard deviation 15, 95% CI ?6.3 to ?2.5) compared with children who had not been maltreated, according to Ryan Mills, MPH, of the University of Queensland in Australia, and colleagues. In addition, on testing for abstract reasoning ability, abused or neglected children had a mean difference of ?4.8 points (95% CI ?6.7 to ?2.9), the researchers reported online in Pediatrics.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/DomesticViolence/23748

Study links joblessness to child abuse increase

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) – Statistics in South Carolina seem to support research showing parallels between rising unemployment and child abuse. The Greenville News reported Monday that Boston University researchers examining 18 years of data found that for every 1 percent increase in unemployment, child mistreatment reports one year later increased by at least .5 per 1,000 children. South Carolina’s Department of Social Services investigated nearly 19,000 cases over the last fiscal year, an increase of almost 7 percent. The number of proven cases rose nearly 3 percent to nearly 7,000.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=13579906

(AND)

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/11/29/1839351/child-abuse-rises-in-sc.html