National CASA Statistics

Each week child protective services (CPS) agencies in the United States collectively receive more than 50,000 referrals alleging that children have been abused or neglected. As referrals may involve more than one child, the total 2.9 million referrals concerned approximately 5.5 million children.

An estimated 906,000 children were found to be victims of abuse and neglect in 2003. This represents 12.4 children for every 1,000 children in the population were victims of abuse or neglect.

More than half of all victims were White (53.6%); a quarter (25.5%) were African American; and one-tenth (11.5%) were Hispanic. American Indian/Alaska Natives accounted for 1.7% of victims, Asians accounted for 0.6% and Pacific Islanders for 0.2% of victims.

Children who were identified as victims in the past were 60 percent more likely to be determined to be maltreated compared to children who were not victimized previously. The youngest children (from birth through age 4) were most likely to be determined to be maltreated than all other age groups.

For 2003, an estimated 1,500 children died from abuse or neglect. The rate of fatalities per 100,000 children has increased from 1.84 for 2000, 1.96 for 2001, 1.98 for 2002 to 2.0 for 2003. Children 0-4 years old accounted for 78.7% of child fatalities. Children younger than 1 year old accounted for 43.6% of all child fatalities.

Violence often occurs against women and children in the same family. Research indicates that between 50 and 70% of men who assault their female partners also abuse their children.

On September 30, 2003, there were 523,000 children in foster care. They spent a median of 18 months in foster care.

Of the children in foster care on September 30, 2003, 119,000 were waiting to be adopted. Only 50,000 children were adopted from the public foster care system in FY 2003.

In 2002, states spent at least $22 billion from federal, state, and local sources on child welfare services�34 percent increase since SFY 1996 based on analysis of 46 states.

All components of child welfare funding�federal, state, and local�increased spending between SFY 2000 and SFY 2002.

CASA/GAL volunteers make sure that the abuse and neglect that the children originally suffered at home doesn�t continue as abuse and neglect at the hands of the system.

The CASA/GAL Network consisted of 937 program offices including 675 independently governed local programs, 157 state governed local programs and 46 state organizations at the end of 2004.

In 2004, CASA/GAL programs had 50,801 volunteers donate over 4.5 million hours to making a lifelong difference in the lives of abused and neglected children. In that year, approximately 13,363 new volunteers were trained to help meet the need.

Changes over the past five years in the number of CASA/GAL volunteers and children served.

Year	CASA/GAL Volunteers	Children Served
2000	47,062	174,137
2001	51,266	200,652
2002	48,578	182,869
2003	50,580	176,821
2004	50,801	188,620

Judges assign CASA/GAL volunteers to nearly half of the abuse and neglect cases before them. They express a great need for more volunteers for their cases.

Judges, attorneys, child welfare workers, and parents overwhelmingly report that volunteers make a difference with the children they serve.

With a limited number of available volunteers, judges assign CASA/GAL volunteers to their most difficult and complex cases: those with prior maltreatment or contact with child welfare, cases of extreme neglect, physical or sexual abuse, and those where children have a great level of risk.

CASA volunteers are far more likely than paid attorneys to visit children in their homes, and more likely to investigate whether there are appropriate services for the child or family.

CASA volunteers are highly effective in getting their recommendations accepted in court, and a higher number of services are ordered for children and families.

Low caseloads for CASA volunteers mean the courts can make better decisions for children. They handle just 1 or 2 cases at a time, so that they can give each child�s case the sustained, personal attention he or she deserves.

CASA volunteers are typically appointed to the more complex children�s cases � those where there are multiple risk factors which must be fully understood in order to make a placement decision that will be in the child�s best interests. These complex cases receive more attention so they can move forward in a timely way.

Children with CASA volunteers may receive more court-ordered services and because of the volunteer�s detailed knowledge of the child�s circumstances. Those services can be more carefully targeted so that service dollars are used more effectively.

Federal law requires that juvenile and family courts appoint a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) in all cases of child abuse and neglect, who may be an attorney or CASA or both.

By helping to reduce time spent unnecessarily in foster care, CASA can reduce child welfare costs. In 2003, an estimated 523,000 children were in foster care, at an estimated cost to Americans of $14 billion. If the median length of stay in foster care (18 months) were shorted for CASA children by just one month, it would realize a savings of approximately $1.2 billion.

In 2004, CASA/GAL volunteers contributed more than 4.5 million hours of advocacy for children. If compensated to perform such a role, the total would be more than $225 million.