At least 786 children have died of abuse or neglect in the United States over the course of the last 6 years. These deaths occurred while their families and homes were under investigation by child protection agencies, according to the Associated Press. Most of these children were under the age of 4. This number may be an underestimate because the news agency found that many states could not provide information easily.
The AP compiled information on children's deaths by canvassing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the branches of the military. The child deaths they found were of children whose families were being investigated by authorities or for whom some form of protective services was being provided because of previous instances of neglect, violence, or other trouble.
There is no single set of data on deaths of children who were already being overseen by child protective services, the AP found. It took the AP eight months to collect the information it had by going through official reports, child fatality records, and police documents from fiscal year 2008 through 2013. States submit information on child abuse deaths to the federal government only on a voluntary basis.
The number of abuse and neglect fatalities where a prior open case existed at the time of death is undoubtedly much higher, wrote AP reporters Holbrooke Mohr and Garance Burke. For example, there were 230 deaths in 7 states that were not included in the total because the states could not determine if the investigation started because of the death or had started over an earlier complaint.
"The lack of comprehensive data makes it difficult to measure how well those responsible for keeping children safe are protecting their most vulnerable charges," the AP's article reads.
Many of the state and local agencies that investigate claims of neglect and abuse are underfunded and overworked, the AP noted.
The AP article can be read at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CHILD_ABUSE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT.