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The Cost of Child Abuse
Total Estimated Cost of Child
Abuse
and Neglect in the United States
Statistical Evidence
A landmark report
estimates that the United States spends $258 million each day and $94
billion each year as a direct or indirect result of the abuse and
neglect of our nation's children. The estimate includes the direct
interventions costs, the medical treatment of physical and emotional
problems suffered by abused and neglected children, as well as the costs
associated with the long-term consequences of abuse and neglect to both
the individual and society at large. The following costs are
conservative yearly estimates.
Direct costs:
Hospitalization $6,205,395
Chronic health problems $2,987,957,400
Mental health care system $425,110,400
Child welfare system $14,400,000,000
Law enforcement $24,709,800
Judicial system $341,174,702
Total direct costs $24,384,347,302
Indirect costs:
Special education $223,607,830
Mental health
& health care $4,627,636,025
Juvenile delinquency $8,805,291,372
Lost productivity to society $656,000,000
Adult criminality $55,380,000,000
Total indirect costs $69,692,535,227
TOTAL COSTS
$94,076,882,52*
*The annual costs are
equivalent to $1,461.66 per U.S. family.
Estimated
Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect in Wyoming
"It is easier
to build strong children than to repair broken men"
-Frederick Douglass
It is
difficult to create accurate estimates of the total costs
incurred in Wyoming due to child abuse and neglect. The
following information illustrates the expense involved in
running only one part of the services required for abused and
neglected children: our criminal justice system.
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Children
who are maltreated are 50% more likely to be arrested for
juvenile crimes and 40% more likely to be arrested for
violent crimes when they become adults.
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The current
population in Wyoming's Girls School and Boys School totals
200 for a daily cost of $19,800.
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The current
adult population in Wyoming's correctional facilities is
1,559 at an approximate cost of $39,000 per day. There are
another 5,700 adults on probation or parole creating
additional cost.
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The daily
cost to the State of Wyoming is more than $58,800
($21,462,000 per year).
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Research
shows that for every $1.00 spent on prevention of child
abuse and neglect there is a $3.00-$12.00 savings in the
health, mental health, child welfare, criminal justice and
other services required later.
Regardless of
the economic costs associated with child abuse and neglect, it
is impossible to overstate the tragic consequences endured by
the children themselves. Each year, more than three million
children are reported as abused or neglected in the United
States. And three children die each day from abuse and neglect
in this country.
The costs of such human
suffering are incalculable.
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