Why is This Important?

Healthy children in stable families provide the foundation for a sustainable community. Unable to protect themselves, children depend upon adults to provide them with a safe environment in which to grow and learn. When a child is abused, particularly by an adult with whom that child has a signifi cant relationship, that child's development is often profoundly impacted. Trauma from child abuse can result in lifelong social impairment and affect academic and occupational performance.

What is a Sustainable State?

A sustainable state is one where instances of child abuse are rare and all children grow up in nurturing and safe environments.

How Are We Doing?

• San Mateo County continues to see child abuse referral rates far below the statewide average. In 2008, 4,438 children were referred to Child Protective Services as potential victims of child abuse-a rate of 27.1 referrals per 1,000 children. The statewide rate in 2008 was 48.7 referrals per 1,000 children.

• Although the rate of child abuse has decreased slightly since 2006, it is still higher than the three-year average rate in the county from 1999-2001.
• The substantiation rate (a measure of the number of referrals that are deemed credible and require followup by social workers) fell from 16.3 percent of referrals in 2007 to 12.7 percent in 2008. This is the lowest substantiation rate since SSMC started recording these data. Reasons for a drop in substantiation rate could include increased caseload in Child Protective Services or possibly reduced severity of referrals.
• The most common source of child abuse referrals is counselors and therapists (26 percent). Teachers and education professionals (17 percent) and legal and law enforcement (15 percent) are the next two largest groups referring child abuse cases.
• Rates of child abuse referrals varied widely across ethnicity. The referral rate for African American children in the county was greatest, 87.1 per 1,000 children, more than four times the rate for Caucasian children (17.2 referrals per 1,000 children). Referral rates for Latino children (34.9 per 1,000 children) were also above the overall county rate.
• The referral rate for female children was higher than for male children, 28.6 per 1,000 children compared with 25.6. Both groups, however, saw a reduction in child abuse referrals in 2008.
• In 2008, general neglect and physical abuse accounted for nearly 75 percent of all referrals. Emotional abuse constituted 11 percent of all referrals.