Child Abuse is any act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.

It shouldn’t hurt to be a child but in 2019, there were 656,000 victims of child abuse and neglect nationwide.

• In 2019, there were 64,093 victims were in Texas alone.
• Approximately 10% of kids suffer sexual abuse before age 18.
• In 2019, there were 1,840 child fatalities from abuse and neglect, 79.7% of those fatalities were done by a parent of the child and 51% had a caregiver that was under the influence of drugs at the time of that child’s death with marijuana topping the list.

Statistic source: Children’s Bureau (Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Administration for Children and Families) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (acf.hhs.gov).

• Physical abuse: Any physical injury resulting in substantial harm to the child, or the genuine threat of substantial harm from physical injury to the child.
• Sexual abuse: Any sexual conduct harmful to a child’s mental, emotional, or physical welfare as well as failure to make a reasonable effort to prevent sexual conduct with a child.
• Emotional abuse: A pattern of behavior that impairs a child’s emotional development or sense of self-worth.
• Neglect: The failure to provide for a child’s basic needs to sustain the health and life of the child, excluding failure caused primarily by financial inability unless relief services have been offered and refused.
• Medical Neglect: A type of maltreatment caused by failure of the caregiver to provide for the appropriate health care of the child although financially able to do so, or offered financial or other resources to do so.
• Human Trafficking: The exploitation of a child for the purpose of commercial sex or through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of forced labor

• If you are in immediate danger, Call 911!
• Texas law requires that any person suspecting that a child has been abused or neglected must immediately make a report to The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) at 1-800-252-5400

• Child Advocates – Child Advocates mobilizes court-appointed volunteers to advocate for abused/neglected children in court so they can find safe, permanent homes. childadvocates.org/
• Children @ Risk – Uses research and data to understand the needs of Texas children and their families. childrenatrisk.org
• Children’s Assessment Center – provides a safe haven to sexually abused children and their families. cachouston.org/
• Houston-Area Internet Crimes Against Children – Taskforce engaged in proactive and reactive investigations and prosecutions of persons involved in child abuse and exploitation involving the Internet. icactaskforce.org/

To schedule a prevention presentation and learn more about child abuse prevention, fill out our presentation request link here: https://crime-stoppers.org/presentation_request