Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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              Report: US Officials Fail to Protect Abused Children

   by VOA News

   The Associated Press said at least 786 children in the United States
   have died of abuse and neglect in a six-year span, saying the children
   died "in plain view of child protection authorities."

   AP said it discovered during its eight-month investigation that many of
   the children were "beaten, starved or left alone to drown while
   agencies had good reason to know they were in danger."

   AP conducted the survey in the 50 U.S. states, plus the District of
   Columbia and branches of the military. The report said many states
   "struggled to provide numbers" and that "secrecy often prevailed."

   The survey revealed that most of the 768 children known to have died
   were under the age of four.

   Flawed data collection system

   The data collection system on child deaths is so flawed, AP said, that
   no one can say for certain how many children overall die from abuse or
   neglect every year.

   The federal government estimates an average of about 1,650 deaths
   annually in recent years. The Associated Press reports many believe the
   actual number is twice as high.

   AP said factors contributing to the nationwide abuse dilemma include
   tight budgets, worker shortages and case overloads in local child
   protection services offices.

   The account said nearly 40 percent of the 3 million child abuse and
   neglect complaints made annually to child protective service hotlines
   are screened out and never investigated.

   The survey said that a lack of a comprehensive national child welfare
   database allows some abusers to avoid detection by simply moving to
   different states.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/report-us-officials-fail-to-protect-a
   bused-children/2568867.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/report-us-officials-fail-to-protect-abused-children/2568867.html