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Ken Hammond, USDA.
In the United States, one of the most educated
and affluent countries in the world, in 2008, over three-quarters
of a million children were victims of child maltreatment (USDHHS-ACF,
2010). The good news is that child abuse investigations are
up and the rate of victimization is down nationally. During
the time frame 2004 to 2008, the rate of all children in the
US who received a disposition increased from 48.2 per 1,000
children in 2004 to 49.4 per 1,000 children in 2008. The rate
of victimization decreased from 12.0 per 1,000 children in
2004 to 10.3 per 1,000 children in 2008 USDHHS-ACF, 2010).
In New York State, in 2008, the child population
was 4,408,016. Of those children, 84,089 were determined to
have been abused or neglected. 107 children died as a result
of maltreatment (USDHHS-ACF, 2010).
Although New York State was a leader in the
prevention of child cruelty, going back to the 1800s, it was
Chapter 544 of the laws of 1988 that required select professionals
to complete 2 hours of coursework regarding the identification
and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment/neglect, utilizing
the curriculum developed by the New York State Education Department.
In 2005, the responsibility for approval of the content of
the course was transferred to the New York State Office of
Children and Family Services.
The laws regarding the reporting of child
abuse have been revised since 1988. Some of these revisions
have included adding to the list of professionals who are
mandated reporters who must meet this educational requirement,
changes in procedure, etc. The most recent changes occurred
in 2007.
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