Citation

Durfee MJ, Tilton-Durfee D. Child Abuse Rev. 1995; 4(5): 377-381.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/car.224

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The United States Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect released A Nation's Shame : Fatal Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States to Congress and the Administration in 1995 (USAB, 1995) . The Board's startling findings revealed that at least 2000 children a year are killed in the US by their parents or caretakers, five per day. The commonest cause of death is head trauma. These children are shaken, beaten, thrown, burned, suffocated, drowned and starved to death by the very individuals they are dependent on for nurturing, love and care. Ninety per cent of these victims are infants or toddlers under age 5, twothirds are under age 2 and almost half under age 1 . Young children are the most helpless, vulnerable and `invisible' members of our society.

The Advisory Board's report reflected findings from a 21/2 year national study including public hearings in 10 states, focus groups, symposia, evaluation of research and an extensive review of the findings of an increasing number of state and local multiagency Child Death Review Teams. The Board concluded that such multiagency Child Death Review Teams may `offer the greatest hope of finding the underlying nature and scope of fatalities from child abuse and neglect' as well as a means to prevent these tragic deaths.

This article describes the evolution of Child Death Review Teams in the United States. Findings are primarily based on the locally published reports of state and/or local multiagency Child Death Review Teams in 20 states, other ...

Language: en