Indicator: Child Abuse & Neglect

Priority or Priorities:  Early Childhood Development, ACES/Resiliency
Initiative(s):  Strengthening Families, Promote and Support Universal Home Visiting Services 7, 8, 10
Outcome (s): Children and youth respected, safe and nurtured in their communities

Why This is Important

Young people, especially young children, depend upon adults for their basic safety needs. Young people who are victims of abuse and/or neglect have difficulty developing through the passages of childhood and adolescence to being adults. In addition, sometimes victims of abuse or neglect perpetrate those same actions on others.

Where We Stand

The Maine Bureau of Child and Family Services received 13,870 reports of possible child abuse or neglect in 1998 and this number rose to 18,868 by 2006. In 1998, 57% were judged to meet legal criteria allowing investigation by Child Protective Services and this percentage stayed the same at 57% in 2006. In 1998, approximately 20% of the reports alleging child abuse/neglect were substantiated, meaning that abuse and or neglect had in fact occurred. However, this number has dropped significantly to less than 13% in 2006.

Data Source and Context

Data comes from the Bureau of Child and Family Services, Maine Department of Health and Human Services