04/02/97 - New York State Senate - http://www.senate.state.ny.us

 

    YEAR    : 1996

    CATEGORY: CHF

    STATUS  : NARRATIVE

 

TITLE     CHILD ABUSE

NARRATIVE N90704

TEXT      In  1994,  an estimated 3,140,000 children were reported for

          child abuse and neglect nationwide,  a  4.5%  increase  over

          1993.   According to data provided by the National Committee

          to Prevent Child Abuse, it is estimated that about 47 out of

          every 1,000  children  are  reported  as  victims  of  child

          maltreatment,  a  63%  increase in the rate of reports since

          1985.  Child protective service agencies reported  that,  in

          1994, there were an estimated 1,271 child abuse and neglect-

          related  fatalities nationwide.   According to data from the

          past 3 years, at least 3 children die each day in the United

          States as a result of maltreatment.

          A child is considered to be abused or  neglected  under  New

          York  State law if the child is less than 18 years old and a

          parent or other person legally responsible for  the  child's

          care  harms  the child, creates substantial risk of harm, or

          fails to exercise a minimum degree of care  to  protect  the

          child.    Children  with  handicapping conditions who are in

          residential care in an approved private residential  school,

          a State-operated school, a State-supported school, or a spe-

          cial  act  school district are also covered by the law until

          they are 21 years old.

          In New York State, the Child Abuse Hotline, operated by  the

          Department  of  Social  Services (DSS), received 128,896 re-

          ports of abuse or neglect in 1995.   These reports  involved

          211,445  children  and  included  129  reports  of suspected

          abuse-related fatalities.  Reports received by  the  hotline

          are screened by hotline staffers, and those determined to be

          potential cases of abuse or neglect are referred immediately

          to  the appropriate local child abuse unit, which must begin

          investigating within 24 hours.  The local unit must then re-

          port within 7 days to  the  Statewide  Central  Register  of

          Child Abuse and Maltreatment the status of the situation and

          what  steps  are being taken.   Over half of the hotline re-

          ports come from persons mandated by law to  report  observed

          incidents  of  abuse  or  neglect, including law enforcement

          personnel, school employees, child care and social  workers,

          and  medical  professionals.   DSS reports that most reports

          involve neglect,  rather  than  abuse.    In  1995,  118,267

          (91.7%)  of all reports were for neglect, which includes in-

          adequate provision of food, clothing,  shelter,  or  medical

          care when the parent is financially able to provide them, as

          well  as  lack  of  supervision or emotional care, excessive

          corporal punishment, and abandonment.  In 1995,  there  were

          10,629  reports of abuse, defined as serious physical injury

          or sexual abuse.  DSS states that causes  of  abuse  include

          immaturity  and  unrealistic  expectations,  unmet emotional

          needs, the stress of child care, a lack of  parenting  know-

          ledge, economic crisis, social isolation, a parent who was a

          mistreated  child,  and drug and alcohol problems.  The 1995

          Budget Implementation Package contained a block  grant  pro-

          gram for children and family services, including preventive,

          protective,  adoption,  and foster care services; within the

          block grant, funds could be used  flexibly  by  counties  to

          meet local needs (Chapter 83, L. 1995).

          During the 1996 Session, the Legislature enacted the Elisa's

          Law  Child Protective Services Act which creates greater ac-

          cess to confidential child abuse records by reforming stand-

          ards for the retention and disclosure  of  child  protective

          services  records and other child welfare information in or-

          der to improve the quality  of  investigation  of  suspected

          child abuse or maltreatment and to encourage greater govern-

          mental  accountability  in  the  child  welfare  system  (S.

          5959-A, Chapter 12, L. 1996).

          For more information, see the "Children  in  the  Courtroom"

          section,  the  Crime  & Corrections, "Rape and Sex Offenses"

          section, and SRS Issues in Focus #91-54, "Child Pornography-

          -Stopping the Exploitation of Our Children,"  #90-97,  "Por-

          trait  of  a Child Abuser," #90-55, "Reporting Child Abuse,"

          and #90-49, "Child Abuse in Mental Hygiene Facilities."



 

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