Child abuse cases are on the rise, and advocates say better community support and training could make the difference in ensuring those numbers don’t continue to climb.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services released its latest data on child abuse and neglect in its annual Child Protective Services Report. After a notable drop in reports from 2019 to 2020 due to the pandemic and reduced contact between kids and mandated reporters, the numbers are ticking up again.
In 2023, there were about 40,000 reports of suspected child abuse, compared to 39,000 reports in 2022. In 2019, prior to Pennsylvania experiencing the impacts of the pandemic, suspected child abuse reports totaled 42,000.