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[/profileleft]Child abuse is a horrifying topic to even think about for most people. As difficult as it is to ponder, those who have not endured child abuse cannot even imagine what it must be like to actually live through it. When a child is being mistreated, people who suspect that this is happening feel an urge to act. As such, it benefits those children to have as many people as possible aware of how common child abuse is in our society.
Fortunately, an organization makes it its mission to bring about awareness with regards to California child abuse. Kidsdata.org is a program of the Lucille Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. This group is working tirelessly to make a positive difference in the lives of children. One of the many things that they do is compile information relating to California child abuse. Some very important but also troubling information appears below.
California Child Abuse – About the Data
Kidsdata.org breaks down the information in several different ways. One overriding factor is that the data include only substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect in California. “Substantiated” cases refers to those that have been investigated by Child Protective Services and found to have occurred. This is done in order to provide as accurate a picture of this ongoing problem as possible.
In terms of the overall number of cases of substantiated California child abuse, the trend is moving downward. While that’s certainly a positive development, there are still too many instances of abuse across the state. A child is anyone under the age of 18. Below you’ll find the number of substantiated child abuse cases per 1,000 children in California in each of the previous five years in which data were available:
- 2010 – 9.6/1,000
- 2011 – 9.5/1,000
- 2012 – 9.3/1,000
- 2013 – 9.2/1,000
- 2014 – 8.7/1,000
There are approximately 4.5 million residents of California under the age of 18. As such, even at its lowest point in 2014, more than 39,000 children in California were abused in some manner.
How California Child Abuse Occurs
Based on those substantiated cases, the percentage of abuse cases as broken down by percentage and type of abuse includes:
- General neglect – 66.1 percent
- Physical abuse – 8.5 percent
- At risk/Sibling abused – 6.2 percent
- Emotional abuse – 5.7 percent
- Caretaker absence/incapacity – 4.7 percent
- Sexual abuse – 4.6 percent
- Severe neglect – 4.2 percent
These numbers appear on a per-year basis across the state.
How a Children’s Rights Lawyer Can Help
First, we’d like to commend the work that Kidsdata.org does on a daily basis. This is difficult but heroic work that makes a tangible difference in the lives of many children. Anyone interested in finding out more about the organization can find their link here. The Lucille Packard Foundation for Children’s Health Web site appears at this link.
If you suspect that a child is being abused, neglected or otherwise mistreated, you need to act on your instincts and do something about it. Those who need legal advice because of child abuse or because of other injuries inflicted on a child or children can seek the advice of the children’s rights lawyers at Gomez Trial Attorneys.
Contact the firm today for a free case evaluation.
