Child Maltreatment

Facts at a Glance 2010

Child Maltreatment

For more information, please contact:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

1-800-CDC-INFO • www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention • cdcinfo@cdc.gov 

•	 In 2008, U.S. state and local child protective services (CPS)

received 3.3 million reports of children being abused or

neglected.1

•	 CPS estimated that 772,000 (10.3 per 1,000) of children

were victims of maltreatment. Approximately three

quarters of them had no history of prior victimization.

•	 Seventy-one percent of the children were classified

as victims of child neglect; 16 percent as victims of

physical abuse; 9 percent as victims of sexual abuse; and

7 percent as victims of emotional abuse.

•	 A non-CPS study estimated that 1 in 5 U.S. children

experience some form of child maltreatment:

approximately 1 percent were victims of sexual assault;

4 percent were victims of child neglect; 9 percent were

victims of physical abuse; and 12 percent were victims of

emotional abuse.2

Note: A child is counted each time she or he is a subject of a report, which means 

a child may be counted more than once as a victim of child maltreatment.

•	 In 2008, some children had higher rates of victimization:

•	 African-American (16.6 per 1,000 children).

•	 American Indian or Alaska Native (13.9 per 1,000

children).

•	 Multiracial (13.8 per 1,000 children).1

• Overall, rates of victimization were slightly higher for

girls (10.8 per 1,000 children) than boys (9.7 per 1,000

children).1

Gender and Race 

Disparities among Children 

•	 In 2008, an estimated 1,740 children ages 0 to 17 died from

abuse and neglect (rate of 2.3 per 100,000 children).1

•	 80 percent of deaths occurred among children younger

than age 4; 10 percent among 4-7 year-olds; 4 percent

among 8-11 year-olds; 4 percent among 12-15 yearolds; and 2 percent among 16-17 year-olds.

•	 39% of deaths were non-Hispanic White children.

•	 30% of deaths were African-American children.

•	 16% of deaths were Hispanic children.

Deaths from Child Maltreatment

Nonfatal Cases of Child Maltreatment

•	 In 2008, CPS reported the approximate rates of child

maltreatment victims:

•	 21.7 per 1,000 for infants less than 1 year old;

•	 12.9 per 1,000 for 1 year-olds;

•	 12.4 per 1,000 for 2 year-olds;

•	 11.7 per 1,000 for 3 year-olds;

•	 11.0 per 1,000 for 4 to 7 year-olds;

•	 9.2 per 1,000 for 8 to 11 year-olds;

•	 8.4 per 1,000 for 12 to 15 year-olds; and

•	 5.5 per 1,000 for 16 to 17 year-olds.1

•	 Non-CPS studies have reported higher rates of nonfatal

child maltreatment cases, ranging from 15 to 43 per 1,000

children.3,4

• Most children are maltreated by their parents versus other

relatives or caregivers.1

• Perpetrators are typically less than 39 years of age.1

•	 Female perpetrators, mostly mothers, are typically younger

than male perpetrators.1

Characteristics of Perpetrators

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

Youth and Families. Child Maltreatment 2008 [Washington, DC: U.S. Government

Printing Office, 2010] available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov.

2.	 Finkelhor D, Turner H, Ormond R, Hamby SL. Violence, abuse, and crime

exposure in a national sample of children and youth. Pediatrics 2009; 124:1411-1423.

3.	 Theodore AD, Chang JJ, Runyan DK, Hunter WM, Bangdewala SI, Agans R.

Epidemiologic features of the physical and sexual maltreatment of children in

the Carolinas. Pediatrics 2005; 115: e331-e337.

4.	 Finkelhor D, Ormrod H, Turner H, Hamby S. The victimization of children and

youth: a comprehensive national survey. Child Maltreatment 2005; 10: 5-25.

Note: Some numbers have been rounded.

References