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Ken Hammond, USDA.
In the United States, one of the most educated and affluent countries in the world, in 2010, there were nearly 2 million reports accepted by the Child Protective Services (CPS) in all 50 states. Of these, 90.3 percent received an investigation response and 9.7 percent received an alternative response. Of the 1,793,724 reports that received an investigation, 436,321 were substantiated; 24,976 were found to be indicated; and 1,262,118 were found to be unsubstantiated (USDDHHS-ACF, 2012). Of the children who were abused in 2010, 1,537 died as a result of their abuse or maltreatment.
In New York State, in 2010, the child population was 4,324,929. Of those children, 79,668 were determined to have been abused or neglected; 114 children died as a result of maltreatment (PCA-NY, 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.
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