We can do better for our children

October 28, 1:14 AMDC Human Rights ExaminerCassandra Clifford

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The United States has done it has topped the list, were number one…but this is one list and ranking we don’t want to go dancing in the streets about.  Shockingly to many the US is the cheerless leader of deaths related to child abuse and neglect.  Five children die each day in this country as a result of child abuse and neglect kill more than in any other industrialized nation, according to the report, We Can Do Better: Child Abuse and Neglect Deaths in America released by the Every Child Matters Education Fund. The report found that no less than 10,440 American children died from abuse or neglect in the six year period of 2001 and 2007, however they noted that the number of child deaths could actually exceed 15,660, as poor record keeping could have missed many deaths.

It’s heart-wrenching that each day in America, five children will die from abuse and neglect, but what’s worse is that the real number is even larger, said Michael Petit, president of Every Child Matters Education Fund. Child abuse and neglect are national problems that require national solutions. That means federal lawmakers must work with states to address what causes it, be more consistent in how data about it are shared, and increase support for the agencies that work to stop it..

In 2007, Kentucky took the grim No. 1 spot with 41 deaths, a rate of just over 4 in 100,000 children. Other states near the top were South Dakota, Florida, Nebraska and Missouri. States with the lowest rate of child death in 2007 -- the latest year for which data is available -- were Delaware, Rhode Island, Idaho, Maine and Montana.

Of the 721, 646 children confirmed abused and neglected nationwide in 2007:

• 60 percent did not receive proper food, clothing, shelter, hygiene, education, medical care or protection.
• 13 percent suffered from multiple maltreatments.
• 11 percent were physically abused.
• 8 percent were sexually abused.
• 4 percent suffered from emotional abuse.
• 1 percent suffered from medical neglect.
• 4 percent suffered from other mistreatment such as abandonment, threats, and congenital drug addiction.
• 50 percent or more of child abuse and neglect cases are associated with alcohol or drug abuse by parents.

The District of Columbia is thankfully one of the lower ranking states, with 55 reported deaths from 2001-2007, however one child death due to neglect or abuse is one chils too many.

Much can be done to reduce these child abuse and neglect deaths. There exists a vast body of knowledge about healthy child growth and development, including how to prevent abuse in the first place," wrote Petit. His preface to the report went on to say that "…despite the best efforts of the many who work daily to address this problem, we continue to fall far short in applying our knowledge. said Petit

The report stated that a number of reasons are to blame for the high level of child deaths in the United States compared to that of the rest of the world, including overworked child protection workers and a lack of public awareness. The report was the first survey of its kind to examine the issue state-by-state and noted the states with the highest rate of deaths due to abuse and neglect.