Child Abuse

In 2000, 1,236 children died from abuse in the United States, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Child Welfare League of America. That would average out to at least three children per day. Most children who die are younger than 6 years old. These deaths represent an alarming trend in the abuse of children in the United States. In 1994, there were over 664,000 reports of child abuse/neglect in the State of California. Of those reported, about 90,000 of the children were living in foster care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, 1998).

In tracking the incidence and prevalence of child abuse in the United States, the findings of the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3) show a sharp increase ...