Analyzing Child Protective Services in the U.S.

The U.S. government defines the mistreatment of a child as “the physical and mental injury, sexual abuse, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child under the age of 18 by a person who is responsible for the child’s welfare under circumstances which indicate that the child’s health and welfare is threatened or harmed” (Macmillian Reference USA, 2003.) Child abuse and neglect is considered a Public Health issue and should be treated just like any other ailment that would be detrimental to the U.S. population. Child abuse does not discriminate for it can be found at all levels of the socioeconomic scale and across many different cultures. Some of the contributing factors that lead to abuse is: poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, and by parents or caretakers who are not prepared to deal with the stressors of raising a child. Poverty seems to be the greatest contributor to the mistreatment of a child. Despite the U.S.’s standing as a leader of the world in industry and wealth, during 2008 it was reported that 19% of the nation’s children live in some form of economic stress (Child Welfare in the United States page 2 of 4.) Because of the shameful and often hidden signs of abuse it is difficult to determine exactly how many cases actually exist. The U.S. government stopped funding the collection of child mistreatment data in 1985 and relies on private organizations such as “Prevent Child Abuse America” (NCPCA) for estimates (Collecting Child Maltreatment Data page 2 of 42.) One study in 2007 by multiple Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies confirmed that out of 1.97 million reports of child endangerment, more than 790,000 were legitimate incidents (A Serious Public Health Problem, 2012, page 1 of 8.) And those are just reported cases; many officials suspect that there are hundreds of thousands of incidents that occur each year that are not brought to the attention of authorities. A lot of people believe the way a parent raises and disciplines their...