Reports of child abuse and neglect, system responses to those reports, and confirmed child victims have all declined since the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released last week by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families.
Child Maltreatment 2024, the most recent annual report on the subject, includes state-by-state data on those metrics as well as on child fatalities and perpetrators of abuse and neglect. This year’s report was published without public commentary by federal leaders.
Reports of abuse and neglect have plateaued in recent years: the 4.7 million received in 2024 is within 1% of the total from 2023 and from 2019. It is more than 20% higher, however, than the number from 10 years previous, 2014, when 3.6 million reports were logged.
This year brings another historical low for reports of either child abuse or neglect, or both, that were looked into and substantiated by workers. There were 532,228 victims in 2024, down 3% from 2023 and 19% from 2019.
The five-year window on child fatalities provided in this year’s report shows 2024 to be the low point for total incidents and rate for this period. There were 1,773 deaths from maltreatment recorded in 2024, down from a recent peak of 2,032 in 2022.
However, the number of Black children who have experienced maltreatment fatalities has increased substantially, both in number and rate, in the past decade. The fatality rate for Black children was 6.11 per 100,000 in 2024, up 21% since 2019 and 42% from 2014. This is the first year in that time span in which Black children accounted for the highest number of fatalities of any race; 548, versus 516 fatalities of white children.
Following is a breakdown of three main points in the 2024 data as compared to numbers from five and 10 years ago.
Reports of Maltreatment
2024: 4,365,000
2019: 4,378,000 (0%)
2014: 3,600,000 (+21%)
Children Who Received Investigation or Alternative Response
2024: 2,900,234
2019: 3,476,000 (-17%)
2014: 3,200,000 (-9%)
Identified Victims of Maltreatment
2024: 532,228
2019: 656,000 (-19%)
2014: 702,000 (-24%)