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This September the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department of Community Based Services (DCBS) submitted their annual report of child abuse and neglect fatalities and near fatalities.

The report cites substance abuse, domestic violence and mental health issues as common patterns of risk in child abuse and neglect cases. Some specific features of the report include 77 percent of the child victims were three years of age or younger, 90 percent of those responsible for the abuse were one or both parents acting alone or with another and 79 percent were Caucasian.

The findings emphasize the necessity for programs aimed at early identification of risk factors in addition to the need for educational programs designed to reduce these factors and intervention programs to remediate them.  You can find a copy of the full report at http://chfs.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/914D0E0B-AC66-421D-A49A-D37F2FC99BF7/0/ChildfatalityreportSFY2012final.pdf