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In the United States, one of the most educated
and affluent countries in the world, in 2005, an estimated
899,000 children were determined to be victims of child abuse
or neglect. These abused and/or neglected children were identified
based on 3.3 million referrals alleging child abuse or neglect
that were accepted by state and local Child Protective Services
(CPS) agencies for investigation. That means about 12 out
of every 1,000 children up to age 18 in the United States
were found to be victims of maltreatment in 2005 (USDHHS,
2007). Nationally, 1,460 children died as a result of this
victimization (USDHHS-ACF, 2007).
In New York State, in 2005, there were 139,169
reports of suspected child abuse or maltreatment. Of those
reports, 64,207 New York State children were determined to
have abused or neglected, approximately 14 of every 1,000
children in the state. In 2004, 71 children died in New York
State as a result of abuse or neglect (PCA-NY, n.d.).
Although New York State has been 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
July 3, 2007. This course has been revised to include the
changes.
Ken Hammond, USDA.
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