Child Deaths Due to Abuse and Neglect: An Examination of Florida

• In Event: Child Abuse Prevalence, Indicators, and Responses

Abstract

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 1,640 children died in 2012 as a result of child maltreatment, primarily due to abuse and neglect. There are challenges, however to generating such estimates. Child abuse and neglect reporting laws mandate that certain professionals and institutions report suspected maltreatment to a child protective services agency, but there is no standard process for states to follow in reporting or classifying a death as a result of abuse or neglect. In 2012 the Florida Department of Children and Family received 178,451 reports to the Abuse Hotline with 432 reports involving child deaths. And yet there are questions about how child deaths should be reported, counted, and classified. This study examines how child abuse and neglect in the State of Florida are reported, the number of child deaths resulting from abuse and neglect, and how child deaths are reviewed and ultimately classified as the result of child abuse or neglect. Additionally, a historical review of legal and reporting challenges will be examined.

Author

• Tracey Woodard, Florida State University