Statistics about children who have been abused and neglected.
Of the about 3,476,000 million children who were the subject of an investigation or alternative response in fiscal year 2019, about 656,000 children were determined to be victims of maltreatment, down from about 677,000 victims in 2018.
According to Kids Count 2020, there were 67,158 reported cases of child abuse and neglect in Tennessee.
Fact- In FY 19-20, DCS reported 13,355 children in custody due to abuse and neglect. Per their 2020 annual report, there were 77,238 investigation and assessment hotline cases.
Fact- According to a report released by Prevent Child Abuse America funded by Pew Charitable Trusts estimated the annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States to be $220 billion dollars. This figure includes both direct and indirect costs of child abuse.
Fact- Federal law requires that juvenile and family courts appoint a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) in all cases of child abuse and neglect, who, in Tennessee must be an attorney. CASA advocates who are volunteers may also be appointed by the court. See Tennessee Code Annotated 37-1-149.
Fact- The National CASA/GAL network consists of more than 976 programs in 49 states, where 96,929 volunteers serve over 275,000 children every year.
References
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/media/press/2021/child-abuse-neglect-data-released
https://preventchildabuse.org/resources/estimated-annual-cost-of-child-abuse-and-neglect/
https://nationalcasagal.org/our-impact/our-reach/
