Child Maltreatment

•	 In 2012, U.S. state and local child protective services (CPS)

received an estimated 3.4 million referrals of children being

abused or neglected.1

•	 CPS estimated that 686,000 children (9.2 per 1,000) were

victims of maltreatment.*

•	 Of the child victims, 78% were victims of neglect; 18% of

physical abuse; 9% of sexual abuse; and 11% were victims

of other types of maltreatment, including emotional and

threatened abuse, parent’s drug/alcohol abuse, or lack of

supervision. +

•	 CPS reports of child maltreatment may underestimate the

true occurrence. A non-CPS study estimated that 1 in 4 U.S.

children experience some form of child maltreatment in

their lifetimes.2

•	 The total lifetime economic burden resulting from new cases

of fatal and nonfatal child maltreatment in the United States

is approximately $124 billion.3

• In 2012, 27% of victims were younger than 3 years, 20% of

victims were age 3-5 years, with children younger than 1

year having the highest rate of victimization (21.9 per 1,000

children).1

•	 The rates of victimization in 2012 were 8.7 per 1,000 children

for boys and 9.5 per 1,000 children for girls.1

•	 The 2012 rates of victimization per 1,000 children were

14.2 for African Americans, 12.4 for American Indian/Alaska

Natives, 10.3 for Multiracial, 8.7 for Pacific Islanders, 8.4 for

Hispanics, 8.0 for non-Hispanic Whites, and 1.7 for Asians.1

Characteristics of Victims

• In 2012, an estimated 1,640 children died from child

maltreatment (rate of 2.2 per 100,000 children).1

• Of the children who died from maltreatment in 2012, 70%

experienced neglect and 44% experienced physical abuse

either exclusively or in combination with another form of

maltreatment.1

• Of child maltreatment fatalities in 2012, 70% occurred

among children younger than age 3.1

• The fatality rate for boys was 2.5 per 100,000 and for girls

was 1.9 per 100,000.1

• The 2012 rates of death per 100,000 children was 4.7 for

African Americans, 4.7 for Pacific Islanders, 2.2 for American

Indian/Alaska Natives, 1.7 for Hispanics, 1.6 for non-Hispanic

Whites, and 0.6 for Asians.1

Deaths from Child Maltreatment

• Four-fifths (80.3%) of perpetrators were parents, 6.1 percent

were relatives other than parents, and 4.2 percent were

unmarried partners of parents.

1

• In 2012, 82% of perpetrators were between the ages of 18

and 44 years inclusive. Fewer than 3% of perpetrators were

aged < 18 years; 19% were aged 18–24 years; 40% were

aged 25–34 years; 23% were aged 35–44 years; 9% were

aged 45–54 years; and 4% were aged 55-75.1

•	 In 2012, 54% of perpetrators were women and 45% of

perpetrators were men.

1

Characteristics of Perpetrators

1.	 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration

for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and

Families, Children’s Bureau. Child Maltreatment 2012 [online].

Washington, DC: Government Printing Office; 2012. Available from

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/cm2012.pdf.

2.	 Finkelhor D, Turner HA, Ormond R, Hamby SL. Violence, crime,

and abuse exposure in a national sample of children and youth:

an update. JAMA Pediatr 2013; 167(7):614-621. doi:10.1001/

jamapediatrics.2013.42.

3.	 Fang X, Brown DS, Florence CS, Mercy JA. The economic burden

of child maltreatment in the United States and implications for

prevention. Child Abuse and Neglect 2012; 36:156-165.

References

Facts at a Glance 2014

Child Maltreatment

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control 

Division of Violence Prevention

* Unique count of victims.

+ Each victim could be counted for multiple forms of maltreatment.