Child maltreatment occurs in every State. Because States have their own requirements for reporting and responding to child abuse and neglect, efforts are made to collate State-specific information into national databases and reports in order to observe broader trends in child maltreatment.
These resources present the most recent national and State statistics and data on the reporting and occurrence of child abuse and neglect. Because time is needed to compile, analyze, and publish data, statistical publications often are released 2 or more years after the time period being analyzed. Information Gateway makes every effort to ensure the resources provided are the most current statistics available.
These reports, sources, and archives include information about the demographic composition of children who experienced maltreatment, as well as information about the prevalence of different types of abuse, the characteristics of perpetrators, and child welfare services responses.
Reports and briefs
Reports and briefs include analyses of State and national data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and the Child Welfare Outcomes report data collection. They also identify trends, explain methodology, and provide context from the data.
Child Maltreatment
Child Trends (2019)
Highlights trends and key facts from the Child Maltreatment report, including significant data, graphs, and charts. The overview looks at the data at a national level and how they represent differences in rates of maltreatment by demographic information.
Child Maltreatment 2019
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (2021)
Presents national data about child abuse and neglect known to child protective services agencies in the United States during Federal fiscal year 2019. The report includes data on responses to reports of maltreatment, child victim and perpetrator demographics, and child fatality rates. Additionally, perpetrators' relationship to their victims can be found in Table 5-5.
Child Welfare Outcomes 2016: Report to Congress
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (2019)
Reports information on the performance of States on seven national outcome categories, including reducing the recurrence of child maltreatment, reducing the incidence of maltreatment in foster care, increasing permanency outcomes, reducing time in foster care to reunification or adoption, increasing placement stability, and reducing the placement of young children in group homes. This resource presents data on contextual factors and findings of analyses conducted across States.
Youth Victimization (PDF - 229 KB)
The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims (2019)
Covers crime trends and current data on crime victimization.
Data sources
Data sources include databases that provide State and national data that users can search to find specific statistics. Some data sources may require submitting a request for access.
Child Welfare Outcomes Report Data
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau
Provides findings about child welfare performance across States over time. The website presents data on outcomes, demographics, and context contained in the report. Users can generate customized reports by State and year.
National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau (2017)
Presents the voluntary data-collection system that gathers information from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico about reports of child abuse and neglect that are later used in the Child Welfare Outcomes reports and annual Child Maltreatment reports.
State Child Abuse and Neglect Policies Database
Mathematica; Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation; Child Trends; & National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect
Provides data on how each State defines child abuse and neglect and the policies and procedures they use to monitor its occurrence and associated risk and protective factors.
Data archives
Data archives include datasets from past projects and reports funded by the Children’s Bureau.
Abuse, Neglect, Adoption and Foster Care
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
Offers a collection of research on child maltreatment, children and families involved with child protective services, and children and families receiving child welfare services within their biological families or while in out-of-home care.
National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN)
Cornell University
Provides researchers with child abuse and neglect datasets, documentation, and technical support from past data-collection efforts. NDACAN does not maintain statistics on child abuse and neglect or provide reports of research findings.
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