Chapter 4
Fatalities
Child Maltreatment 2004
Child fatalities are the most tragic consequence of maltreatment. In this chapter, national estimates of the number and rate of child maltreatment deaths per 100,000 children are provided. The characteristics of these fatality victims also are discussed.
Number of Child Fatalities
During 2004, an estimated 1,490 children died (compared to 1,460 children for 2003) from abuse or neglect—at a rate of 2.03 deaths per 100,000 children.1 The national estimate was based on data from State child welfare information systems, as well as other data sources available to the States. The rate of 2.03 children per 100,000 in the national population is comparable to the rate of 2.00 children per 100,000 in the national population for 2003.2 It is likely that the increase in fatalities is due to improved reporting by some of the States.
While most fatality data were from State child welfare agencies, many of these agencies also received data from additional sources. For 2004, nearly one-fifth (18.4%) of fatalities were reported through the Agency File, which includes fatalities reported by health departments and fatality review boards. The coordination of data collection with other agencies contributes to a greater understanding of the size of the phenomenon, as well as to better estimation.
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Age and Sex of Fatalities
Based on data from 32 States, more than four-fifths (81.0%) of children who were killed were younger than 4 years of age, 11.5 percent were 4-7 years of age, 4.1 percent were 8-11 years of age, and 3.4 percent were 12-17 years of age (figure 4-1).
The youngest children experienced the highest rates of fatalities. Infant boys (younger than 1 year) had a fatality rate of 18 deaths per 100,000 boys of the same age.3 Infant girls (younger than 1 year) had a fatality rate of 17 deaths per 100,000 girls of the same age. In general, fatality rates for both boys and girls decreased with the age of the children.
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Race and Ethnicity of Fatalities
White children accounted for 43.2 percent of all child fatalities.4 African-American children accounted for 27.2 percent and Hispanic children accounted for 18.6 percent of fatalities. Children of American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Pacific Islander, "other," and multiple race collectively accounted for 4.8 percent of fatalities. The race or ethnicity was missing or not able to be determined for 6.1 percent of the fatalities.
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Perpetrator Relationships of Fatalities
Three-quarters (78.9%) of child fatalities were caused by one or more parents (figure 4-2).5 Almost one-third (31.3%) of fatalities were perpetrated by the mother acting alone.6 Nonparental perpetrators (e.g., other relative, foster parent, residential facility staff, "other," and legal guardian) were responsible for 10.6 percent of fatalities. When these nonparental perpetrators were further examined, it was found that 3.3 percent of fatalities were caused by male partners of a parent.
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Maltreatment Types of Fatalities
The three main categories of maltreatment related to fatalities were neglect (35.5%), combinations of maltreatments (30.2%), and physical abuse (28.3%), (figure 4-3).7 Medical neglect accounted for 1.4 percent of fatalities.
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Prior CPS Contact of Fatality Victims
Some children who died from maltreatment were already known to child protective services (CPS) agencies. Children whose families had received family preservation services in the past 5 years accounted for 12.4 percent of child fatalities. Nearly 2 percent (1.7%) of the child fatalities had been in foster care and were reunited with their families in the past 5 years.8
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Tables and Notes
The following pages contain the tables referenced in Chapter 4. Unless otherwise explained, a blank indicates that the State did not submit usable data. Specific information about State submissions can be found in appendix D. Additional information regarding methodologies that were used to create the tables are provided below.
Table 4-2
- Fatality rates were computed by dividing the number of child fatalities by the population of reporting States and multiplying by 100,000.
- Estimated child fatalities were computed by multiplying the fatality rate by the national child population and dividing by 100,000. The estimate was then rounded to the nearest 10.
Table 4-3
- These are fatalities reported only in the Child Files and are, therefore, a subset of total fatalities.
- If a State did not include the age or sex of a child fatality victim, that fatality was not included in this analysis.
Table 4-4
- The category multiple race includes a combination of two or more race categories.
Table 4-5
- The categories "mother and other;" "father and other;" and "mother, father, and other" include victims with one perpetrator identified as a mother or father and a second perpetrator identified as a nonparent.
Table 4-6
- The category multiple maltreatment types includes a combination of any two or more types of maltreatment.
Chapter Four: Figures and Tables
Notes
1 Supporting data are provided in table 4-1, which is located at the end of this chapter. A 2004 national estimate of 1,490 fatalities was derived by multiplying the national weighted rate of 2.03 by the national child population (73,277,998) and dividing by 100,000. The estimate was then rounded to the nearest 10. back
2 See table 4-2. back
3 See table 4-3. back
4 See table 4-4. back
5 Includes the following categories: mother only; father only; mother and father; "mother with other;" "father with other;" and "mother, father, and other." back
6 See table 4-5. back
7 See table 4-6. back
8 See table 4-7. back
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