On January 8, 2025, the Children’s Bureau released the annual child abuse and neglect report: Child Maltreatment 2023. This year’s report shows a continued decrease in child maltreatment; it reveals that of the nationally estimated 3,081,715 children who were the subject of a child welfare agency response in FY 2023, 546,159 children were determined to be victims of maltreatment. This is a 19.3 percent decrease from the FFY 2019 number of victims 677,099 reported by 52 states.

In the narrative portion of the report, states attribute the decrease in child maltreatment to improvements in screening tools, the resolution of backlogs, and the adoption of alternative response programs.

Child fatalities also decreased slightly: an estimated 2,000 children died from abuse and neglect in FY 2023 compared to an estimated 2050 children during FY 2022.

“Ensuring the safety of children has been a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration,” said Meg Sullivan, ACF Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. “ACF recognizes that every child who dies as a result of child abuse or neglect represents an irreversible and deep trauma to families and communities. We are committed to strengthening families and working across systems to provide the resources and support needed to prevent and address child abuse and neglect long before a fatality occurs. There is still much work to do.”

For fiscal year 2023, there are nationally an estimated 546,159 victims of child abuse and neglect, a decrease from 558,899 in 2022. The victim rate is 7.4 victims per 1,000 children in the population. Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies received a national estimate of 4,399,000 total referrals, including approximately 7.78 million children. The national rate of screened-in referrals is 28.7 per 1,000 children in the national population. Among the 46 states that report both screened-in and screened-out referrals, 47.5% of referrals are screened in and 52.5% are screened out.

Reporters. For 2023, professionals submitted 70.9% of reports alleging child abuse and neglect. The term “professionals” includes teachers, police officers, lawyers, and social services staff. The highest percentages of reports are from legal and law enforcement personnel (21.4%), education personnel (21.1%), and medical personnel (11.2%). These numbers are consistent with the percentages of reports from these professionals in FY2022. Nonprofessionals, including friends, neighbors, and relatives, submitted fewer than one-fifth of reports (14.8%).

Trends:

  • More than one-quarter (26.6%) of victims are in the age range of birth through 2 years old.
  • Children younger than 1 year old had the highest rate of victimization at 21.0 per 1,000 children of the same age in the national population.
  • The victimization rate for girls is 7.9 per 1,000 girls in the population, which is higher than boys at 6.9 per 1,000 boys in the population.
  • American Indian or Alaska Native children have the highest rate of victimization at 13.8 per 1,000 children in the population of the same race or ethnicity.
  • African American children have the second highest rate at 11.9 per 1,000 children of the same race or ethnicity.

Type of Maltreatment. The Children’s Bureau also reports the different types of maltreatment experienced. A victim may have more than one type of maltreatment, which means that percentages may add up to more than 100%. For FFY 2023:

  • nearly two-thirds (64.1%) of duplicate victims experience neglect only
  • 10.6 percent experience physical abuse only
  • 7.5% experienced sexual abuse only
  • 3.5% experienced psychological maltreatment only
  • 11.1% of duplicate victims have an investigation that results in multiple substantiated maltreatment types

Infants with Prenatal Substance Exposure. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2016 amended CAPTA by adding a requirement to report the number of infants with prenatal substance exposure (IPSE), the number of IPSE with a plan of safe care, and the number of IPSE with a referral to appropriate services. States began reporting this data in 2018. FFY 2023 data show:

  • 44,453 infants in 49 states being referred to CPS agencies as infants with prenatal substance exposure.
  • The majority (72.5%) of IPSE were screened-in.
  • Thirty-eight states reported one-quarter (27.5%) of IPSE were screened out.
  • Thirty-five states reported a majority of screened-in IPSE (72.1%) have a plan of safe care.
  • Thirty-two states reported 68.4% of screened-in IPSE have a referral to appropriate services

Caregiver Risk Factors. Risk factors are characteristics of a child or caregiver that may increase the likelihood of child maltreatment. Caregivers with these risk factors who are included in each analysis may or may not be the perpetrators responsible for the maltreatment.

  • In 40 reporting states, 106,594 victims (24.9%) have the drug abuse caregiver risk factor
  • In 38 reporting states, 108,112 victims (25.1%) have the domestic violence caregiver risk factor

Child Fatalities. For FFY 2023, a national estimate of 2,000 children died from abuse and neglect at a rate of 2.73 per 100,000 children in the population. The 2023 estimate is a 9.6 percent increase from the 2019 actual number of child fatalities of 1,825.

  • The youngest children are the most vulnerable to maltreatment, with 44.0 percent of child fatalities younger than 1 year old.
  • Boys have a higher child fatality rate than girls.
  • The rate of African American child fatalities is 3.1 times greater than the rate of White children and 3.4 times greater than the rate of Hispanic children.

Prevention Services. CPS agencies provide services to children and their families, both in their homes and in foster care. During 2023:

  • Forty-five states reported an estimated 1,762,516 children received prevention services. (A decrease from 1,922,792 in FY2022).
  • Approximately 887,272 children received post-response services from a CPS agency, reported fifty-one states.
  • 56.0 percent of victims and 19.9 percent of nonvictims received post-response services.

Legal Representation. With greater efforts to promote legal representation to children and families who have contact with CPS and child welfare systems, the report indicates that twenty-five states reported 50,329 victims (19.0%) have court-appointed representatives. This is a decrease from FFY 2022 when 25 states reported 51,193 victims (19.0%) had court-appointed representatives. Under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) there is a requirement for states to provide a guardian ad litem or Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) in every case.