According to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the child abuse that occurs during one year in the U.S. will cost the nation $124 billion over the course of the child abuse victims’ lifetimes. These costs include special education services, medical needs, productivity losses, and criminal justice administration. The child abuse costs per victim are higher than the costs for individuals who suffer strokes or acquire Type 2 diabetes. The CDC report recommends focusing efforts on prevention of child abuse, similar to prevention strategies used to combat other health problems. Click here to read more.

A new study suggests a correlation between child abuse and families’ financial struggles. While it stops short of stating the recession directly causes child abuse, it found significant increases in the number of cases of child abuse during recession years when compared to the number of cases during non-recession years, particularly late 2007 to June 2009. At the lead author’s hospital, incidents of abusive head trama rose from 17 prior to 2007 to 30 during the abovementioned years. The counties in the study saw a 65% increase in child abuse during these years while simultaneously experiencing an increase in the unemployment rate. Combine the stress of raising a young child with wage cuts or lost jobs and you get “a sort of toxic brew in terms of thinking about possible physical violence,” said Mark Rank, a social welfare professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Click here to read this article.