For our purposes, cases of child maltreatment include sexual assault, molestation, assault and battery, and other physical abuse. Please note that we limit our cases to those in which we can obtain a recovery on behalf of our client. This necessarily means that not every defendant has the financial worth to justify spending money on a civil law suit. However, we do look at the defendant’s “homeowner’s policy” where applicable and other potential sources of recovery on behalf of our clients. I do encourage all families to proceed with any prudent and necessary criminal prosecution for any abuse to children.

 Child Maltreatment: Potential Defendants

Child maltreatment can occur by strangers, family, relatives, youth organizations, schools, caregivers, mental health facilities, juvenile detention facilities and other groups, organizations or entities that are responsible for the safety, care and well being of children.

 Child Maltreatment: Fact Sheet

Occurrence
Data on the confirmed number of U.S. child maltreatment cases in 2002 are available from child protective service agencies; but these data are generally considered underestimates (DHHS 2005):
o 906,000 children in the United States were confirmed by child protective service agencies as being maltreated.

• Among children confirmed by child protective service agencies as being maltreated, 61% experienced neglect; 19% were physically abused; 10% were sexually abused; and 5% were emotionally or psychologically abused.

• An estimated 1,500 children were confirmed to have died from maltreatment; 36% of these deaths were from neglect, 28% from physical abuse, and 29% from multiple maltreatment types.

• Shaken-baby syndrome (SBS) is a form of child abuse affecting between 1,200 and 1,600 children every year. SBS is a collection of signs and symptoms resulting from violently shaking an infant or child (National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome 2005).

Consequences

• Children who experience maltreatment are at increased risk for adverse health effects and behaviors as adults—including smoking, alcoholism, drug abuse, eating disorders, severe obesity, depression, suicide, sexual promiscuity, and certain chronic diseases (Felitti et al. 1998; Runyan et al. 2002).

• Maltreatment during infancy or early childhood can cause important regions of the brain to form improperly, leading to physical, mental, and emotional problems such as sleep disturbances, panic disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (DHHS 2001).

• About 25% to 30% of infant victims with SBS die from their injuries. Nonfatal consequences of SBS include varying degrees of visual impairment (e.g., blindness), motor impairment (e.g. cerebral palsy) and cognitive impairments (National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome 2005).

• Victims of child maltreatment who were physically assaulted by caregivers are twice as likely to be physically assaulted as adults (Tjaden et al. 2000).

• Direct costs (judicial, law enforcement, and health system responses to child maltreatment) are estimated at $24 billion each year. The indirect costs (long-term economic consequences of child maltreatment) exceed an estimated $69 billion annually (Fromm 2001).

Groups at Risk

Children younger than 4 years are at greatest risk of severe injury or death. In 2003, children younger than 4 years accounted for 79% of child maltreatment fatalities, with infants under 1 year accounting for 44% of deaths (DHHS 2005).

Risk and Protective Factors
A combination of individual, relational, community, and societal factors contribute to the risk of child maltreatment. Although children are not responsible for the harm inflicted upon them, certain individual characteristics have been found to increase their risk of being maltreated. Risk factors are contributing factors—not direct causes.

Examples of risk factors:

• Disabilities or mental retardation in children that may increase caregiver burden

• Social isolation of families

• Parents’ lack of understanding of children’s needs and child development

• Parents’ history of domestic abuse

• Poverty and other socioeconomic disadvantage, such as unemployment.

• Family disorganization, dissolution, and violence, including intimate partner violence.

• Lack of family cohesion.

• Substance abuse in family.

• Young, single non biological parents.

• Poor parent-child relationships and negative interactions.

• Parental thoughts and emotions supporting maltreatment behaviors.

• Parental stress and distress, including depression or other mental health conditions

• Community violence

• Protective factors are the opposite of risk factors and may lessen the risk of child maltreatment. Protective factors exist at individual, relational, community, and societal levels.

Examples of protective factors:

• Supportive family environment

• Nurturing parenting skills

• Stable family relationships

• Household rules and monitoring of the child

• Parental employment

• Adequate housing

• Access to health care and social services

• Caring adults outside family who can serve as role models or mentors

• Communities that support parents and take responsibility for preventing abuse (DHHS 2003)

 References

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (US), Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACF). Child maltreatment 2003 [online]. Washington (DC): Government Printing Office; 2005. [cited 2005 April 5]. Available from: URL: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm03/index.htm

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACF). Emerging practices in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Washington (DC): Government Printing Office; 2003.

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (US), Administration on Children, Youth, and Families (ACF). In focus: understanding the effects of maltreatment on early brain development. Washington (DC): Government Printing Office; 2001.

Felitti V, Anda R, Nordenberg D, Williamson D, Spitz A, Edwards V, et al. Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 1998;14(4):245–58.

Fromm S. Total estimated cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States—statistical evidence. Chicago (IL): Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA); 2001. [cited 2005 Jan 1]. Available from: URL: www.preventchildabuse.org/learn_more/research_docs/cost_analysis.pdf.

National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome website. [cited 2005 Jan 1]. Available from: URL: www.dontshake.com

Runyan D, Wattam C, Ikeda R, Hassan F, Ramiro L. Child abuse and neglect by parents and caregivers. In: Krug E, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, Zwi AB, Lozano R, editors. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2002. p. 59-86.

Tjaden P, Thoennes N. Full report of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women: findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington (DC): National Institute of Justice; 2000 Nov. Report No.: NCJ 183721.

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Child Maltreatment