The Facts about Child Abuse:

• Each day in the United States, more than 3 children die as the result of child abuse or neglect in the home.

• Last year, there were nearly 27,000 reported cases of child abuse and neglect in Arkansas; more children than there are seats in Bud Walton Arena. Watch the award winning Children's House PSA to your right to learn more.

• Homicide is the 4th leading cause of death for U.S. children ages 1 to 9 years, the 3rd leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14 years, and the second leading cause of death for youth.

• April is National Child Abuse Awareness Month.

National and Local Child Abuse Resources:

Family Watchdog: A website where you can enter in your address and see how many 'registered' offenders live near your home. http://www.familywatchdog.us/

Prevent Child Abuse America: (312) 663-3520 www.preventchildabuse.org

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information:
(800) 394-3366 http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm

National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence (NCCAFV):
(202) 429-6695 http://nccafv.org

American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC):
(405) 271-8202 www.apsac.org

Child Welfare League of America (CWLA):
(202) 638-2952 www.cwia.org

Arkansas DHS Statistical Reports on Child Abuse:
www.arkansas.gov/dhs/NewDHS/DHSAnnualStats.html

The Cost of Child Abuse:

The United States spends more than $94 billion dollars* every year addressing health and social problems created by child abuse and neglect. *Prevent Child Abuse America 2001 These costs can be further broken down into direct (those costs associated with the immediate needs of abused or neglected children) and indirect (those costs associated with the long-term and/or secondary effects of child abuse and neglect).

• View an Adobe Acrobat copy of the national report's summary by clicking here. Dont' have Acrobat? Cick here!

• View a PDF copy of a report done by Dr. Frank W. Putnam, M.D. on the social costs and consequences of child abuse by clicking here.

The State of Arkansas' portion of this staggering figure comes to an estimated $720 million dollars** to address the effects of child abuse at the state level.

Northwest Arkansas' (Benton, Carroll, Madison & Washington Counties) share in the cost of child abuse is nearly $96 million dollars** to address these problems on the local level.

**Statewide and local costs were determined using research data from Prevent Child Abuse America and child abuse and neglect statistics from Arkansas Department of Human Services.

The Side-Effects of Child Abuse:

The following findings illustrate the damaging effects of child abuse, both to victims and to society as a whole:

Being abused or neglected as a child increased the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 59 percent, as an adult by 28 percent, and for a violent crime by 30 percent. (Cathy S. Wisdom & Michael G. Maxfield, “Cycle of Violence”)

Numerous studies show that in early grade school abused children perform at levels below that of non-abused children on various developmental measures, have attentional problems, lack impulse control, and do not perform as well on measures of verbal IQ.  (Ciccihetti, Toth, and Hennessey, “Research on the Consequences,”)

Abuse victims are more likely to have poor academic performance in school and an increased risk of dropping out of school altogether.  Both of these scenarios result in greatly diminished economic opportunities later in life.  “Problematic school performance is among the more common problems associated with child abuse and neglect, with neglected children most adversely affected.”  (National Research Council)

Abuse victims tend to have higher rates of psychiatric disorders such as ADHD and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  “Young girls who are forced to have sex are three times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders or abuse alcohol and drugs in adulthood, than girls who are not sexually abused.”  (Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D., et al, Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth University, Archives of General Psychiatry)

Abuse survivors are more likely to participate in activities that increase their risk for unintended pregnancy and infection with HIV and other STDs.  Boyer and David Fine. "Sexual Abuse as a Factor in Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Maltreatment" & Zierler et al, "Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Subsequent Risk of HIV Infection,")

Victims of child abuse are often at an increased risk for substance abuse.  “More than two-thirds of patients in drug abuse treatment centers say they were physically or sexually abused as children.” (National Institute on Drug Prevention)