Abstract
Child abuse and neglect are a major public health problem with significant effects for individual victims and for society. Previous research has estimated the economic burden of child maltreatment at a national level but has not provided social work advocates with state-level estimates or provided information regarding the correct interpretation of these estimates. Using data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) from 2018 and per victim estimates of the economic burden of fatal and non-fatal cases of child maltreatment, this study calculates state-level estimates of the economic burden of known cases of child maltreatment from the year 2018. Rationale for estimating the economic burden of investigated versus substantiated cases is discussed, as is interpretation of study findings. The findings of this study provide social work and other advocates with state-level estimates of the economic burden of child maltreatment and facilitate the interpretation of the findings to be used in advocacy efforts. Limitations of NCANDS data and economic burden estimation are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arellano, C. M. (1996). Child maltreatment and substance use: A review of the literature. Substance Use & Misuse, 31, 927–935.
Bethell, C., Jones, J., Gombojav, N., Linkenbach, J., & Sege, R. (2019). Positive childhood experiences and adult mental and relational health in a statewide sample: Associations across adverse childhood experiences levels. JAMA Pediatrics, 173, 1–10.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2019). About CAPTA: A legislative history. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.
Currie, J., & Widom, C. S. (2010). Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect on adult economic well-being. Child Maltreatment, 15, 111–120.
Drake, B., & Jonson-Reid, M. (2017). Defining and estimating child maltreatment. In J. B. Klika & J. Conte (Eds.), The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children handbook on child maltreatment (pp. 14–33). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Dube, S. R., Miller, J. W., Brown, D. W., Giles, W. H., Felitti, V. J., Dong, M., et al. (2006). Adverse childhood experiences and the association with ever using alcohol and initiating alcohol use during adolescence. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 444.
Fang, X., Brown, D. S., Florence, C. S., & Mercy, J. A. (2012). The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States and implications for prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect, 36, 156–165.
Haddix, A. C., Teutsch, S. M., & Corso, P. S. (Eds.). (2003). Prevention effectiveness: A guide to decision analysis and economic evaluation. New York, NY: Oxford University.
Herrenkohl, R. C., & Herrenkohl, T. I. (2009). Assessing a child’s experience of multiplemaltreatment types: Some unfinished business. Journal of Family Violence, 24, 485–496.
Herrenkohl, T. I., Hong, S., Klika, J. B., Herrenkohl, R. C., & Russo, M. J. (2013). Developmental impacts of child abuse and neglect related to adult mental health, substance use, and physical health. Journal of Family Violence, 28, 191–199.
Herrenkohl, T. I., Leeb, R. T., & Higgins, D. (2016). The public health model of child maltreatment prevention. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 17, 363–365.
Hussey, J. M., Marshall, J. M., English, D. J., Knight, E. D., Lau, A. S., Dubowitz, H., et al. (2005). Defining maltreatment according to substantiation: Distinction without a difference? Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 479–492.
Jaffee, S. R. (2017). Child maltreatment and risk for psychopathology in childhood and adulthood. The Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 13, 525–551.
Kisely, S., Alemu-Abajobir, A., Mills, R., Strathearn, L., Claverino, A., & Moses-Najman, J. (2018). Child maltreatment and mental health problems in adulthood: Birth cohort study. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 213, 698–703.
Klika, J. B., Herrenkohl, T. I., & Lee, J. O. (2013). School factors as moderators of the relationship between physical child abuse and pathways of antisocial behavior. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28, 852–867.
Klika, J. B., Trautman, A., Stiles, E., & Herrenkohl, T. I. (2017). Child maltreatment. In B. M. Huebner (Ed.), Oxford bibliographies in criminology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Kohl, P. L., Jonson-Reid, M., & Drake, B. (2009). Time to leave substantiation behind: Findings from a national probability study. Child Maltreatment, 14, 17–26.
Kugler, K. C., Guastaferro, K., Shenk, C. E., Beal, S. J., Zadzora, K. M., & Noll, J. G. (2019). The effect of substantiated and unsubstantiated investigations of child maltreatment and subsequent adolescent health. Child Abuse & Neglect, 87, 112–119.
Metzler, M., Merrick, M. T., Klevens, J., Ports, K. A., & Ford, D. C. (2017). Adverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: Shifting the narrative. Children and Youth Services Review, 72, 141–149.
Miller, T. R., Waehrer, G. M., Oh, D. L., Purewal-Boparai, S., Ohlsson-Walker, S., Silverio-Marques, S., et al. (2020). Adult health burden and costs in California during 2013 associated with prior adverse childhood experiences. PLoS ONE, 15, 1–15.
Peterson, C., Florence, C., & Klevens, J. (2018). The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States, 2015. Child Abuse & Neglect, 86, 178–183.
Sedlak, A. J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Petta, I., McPherson, K., Greene, A., et al. (2010). Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4): Report to Congress. Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2020). Child Maltreatment 2018. Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatment.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.
Research Involving Human and Animal Rights
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Klika, J.B., Rosenzweig, J. & Merrick, M. Economic Burden of Known Cases of Child Maltreatment from 2018 in Each State. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 37, 227–234 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00665-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00665-5