REPORT SAYS WV RANKS HIGH IN CHILD ABUSE

(10/22/2009)
A new report says West Virginia ranks fifth in the USA with substantiated cases of child abuse or neglect.

That's despite high spending to protect children.

The report was released yesterday by the Every Child Matters Education Fund.

It says there were 7,109 substantiated cases of abuse or neglect in West Virginia in 2007.

That gives WV the fifth-highest rate, behind Massachusetts, Iowa, New York and Kentucky.

The report says West Virginia also has the 11th-highest rate of deaths related to child abuse or neglect, with roughly three deaths per 100,000 children.

West Virginia annually spends more than $358 per child to address abuse and neglect, the 14th-highest total in the country.