State Leads U.S. in Child Abuse but Fails to Address Problem, Study Says

SACRAMENTO —  Faced with a tide of child abuse and neglect that leads the nation, California is faltering in trying to grapple with the problem, state researchers reported Friday.

Almost half the cases of abuse or neglect reported to authorities result in repeat episodes, often because the counties responsible for checking on reports of a child in danger simply “screen out” the information and do not respond, according to the state legislative analyst’s office.

Reports of child abuse or neglect in California totaled 664,000 in 1994, the analyst’s report said. And in 1993 the state had by far the highest rate in the nation--76 reports of abuse or neglect per 1,000 children.

The aim of resolving an abuse or neglect case is to reunite children with parents who are no longer likely to mistreat them, social service officials said. But the analyst’s report noted that too often, there is little follow-up monitoring and counseling needed to assist parents and protect the children.

“Currently, very few families received ongoing services when a child is returned home,” the report said, often because counties do not receive enough money allocated for follow-up services.

The legislative analyst officials recommended that counties be permitted to take some of their money allocated for foster care and use it to monitor reunited families. That would allow them to send children home from foster care sooner.

“We’re saying, why not use the foster care money to support a child at home,” said Agnes Lee, one of the officials who compiled the report.

A surprise finding, Lee said, was the source of abuse or neglect that California children suffer. Although it is common to believe stepparents and boyfriends are the chief abusers, studies by the state Department of Social Services--reported by the analyst’s office--show that in 80% of cases, the abuser is one of the child’s natural parents. Other relatives account for 7% of abuse cases, stepparents 5% and other non-relatives 8%.

The average age of the abused child is 7 and the average age of the abuser is 31. Women are reported in abuse and neglect cases twice as often as men. Black children are more likely to be reported victims of abuse or neglect, and blacks and Latinos are more likely to be identified as abusive or neglectful parents.

Half the reports of child abuse and neglect are instances of either physical (32%) or sexual (17%) abuse. Most others are cases of neglect.

The 1980s were the toughest for California children. Marjorie Kelly, deputy director for Children and Family Services, said the nation’s crack epidemic during those years drove up the numbers of suffering children.

Between 1985 and 1989, reports of abuse and neglect shot up 70%, in part because babies born to drug-using mothers were classified as neglect cases.

The number dropped beginning in 1990, she said, not because the problem diminished, but because a new law prevented authorities from identifying a child as neglected and placing the child in foster care solely because a parent tested positive for illegal drug use.

Kelly called the legislative analyst’s office study “pretty accurate, thoughtful and [with] recommendations that in large part we agree with.”

Some programs identified by the analyst’s report as underfunded and lacking effectiveness have been improved, Kelly said, including an “independent living” program aimed at helping foster children once they reach 18, which has had its operating budget increased.

Kelly praised Los Angles County for substantially improving children’s services since 1992, noting that the county had the lowest rate among large counties of not following up on child abuse reports.

Los Angeles County also had the highest rate of placing children in foster homes--16 out of every 1,000 of the county’s children are in foster care--but Kelly said that could mean the county is simply more efficient in identifying those families with an abusive home environment.

Schuyler Sprowles, director of public information in the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, said the department also tries to stay in touch with families it reunites.

“Obviously, we’re not able to live with every family,” Sprowles said. “But we don’t just say, ‘Goodbye, see you later.’ We stay involved with the family” as long as possible.