Children’s Trust of South Carolina produces the child maltreatment profiles for each county in South Carolina. They are a resource for policymakers, researchers and organizations to understand the scope and nature of child maltreatment.
Child maltreatment is abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age. It includes all types of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in addition to all forms of neglect, negligence, and exploitation of children. This information can help community and state leaders develop strategies and policies to prevention maltreatment, protect child and support families in needs.
They can also help allocate resources more effectively and tailor interventions to address specific issues.
Child maltreatment is preventable when there are protective and promotive factors that support families. It takes all of us working together to prevent child abuse and neglect. It is possible to build protective and promotive factors that benefit children, families, and communities in general, and to prevent child maltreatment. This data can be used to raise awareness about these statistics in your workplace, organization, and community. Collaborate with your community to make data-driven decisions using this profile,mincluding when developing a plan for action to prevent and address child maltreatment. Advocate by using this profile for grant writing, policy statements, and presentations to key policy stakeholders in your community.
County-level child maltreatment data comes from the South Carolina Department of Social Services (5.0. D85). Data is released annually by the South Carolina DSS and can be found at https://dss.sc.gov/about/ data-and-resources/child-welfare-data/child-protective-services-datal
Child maltreatment is likely to be underreported, suggesting that the true prevalence of child maltreatment is much higher.
