Kentucky ranks near the bottom when it comes to child abuse. For three years in a row, Kentucky had the highest rate of child maltreatment from 2017-2019. Dr. Christina Howard is the chief of the division of pediatric forensic medicine at Kentucky Children’s Hospital. She said a new children maltreatment report was released with numbers from 2020.
“So in 2020 in Kentucky there was over 67-thousand reports of abuse or neglect made to child protective services. That is a decrease of 10-thousand reports to them.”
Howard said of those reported, it was determined there were over 16-thousand child victims in the state of Kentucky. That is one in 61 children. Howard says even that is an underestimate.
Howard said there are red flags that can alert people that a child might be abused.
“Any bruising to the torso, so the area of the torso that is not overlaying bone, the ears or the neck in a child ages 4 years of age and younger should raise concerns of child maltreatment.”
She adds many of the reported cases of child maltreatment includes neglect. She said one of the major concerns is children getting access to illegal drugs and prescription medications.
Kentucky Child Protection Hotline- 1-877-KYSAFE1
