According to the 1994 survey, physical abuse represented 21% of confirmed cases, sexual abuse 11%, neglect 49%, emotional maltreatment 3% and other forms of maltreatment 16%. These percentages have remained fairly stable since 1986 when approximately 27% of the children were reported for physical abuse, 16% for sexual abuse, 55% for neglect, and 8% for emotional maltreatment (AAPC, 1988).
In 1994, 1,036,000 children were substantiated by CPS as victims of child maltreatment. This represents 16 out of every 1,000 U.S. children.
In 1994, over 3 million (3,140,000) children were reported for child abuse and neglect to child protective service (CPS) agencies in the United States. This figure represents a 4.5% increase over the number of children reported in 1993. Experts attribute much of the recent increase in reporting to greater public awareness of and willingness to report child maltreatment, as well as changes in how states collected or defined a reportable act of maltreatment (Wiese & Daro, 1995). Currently, about 47 out of every 1,000 children are reported as victims of child maltreatment. Overall, child abuse reporting levels have increased 63% between 1985 and 1994.
