Keywords
Child abuse and neglect, maltreatment, official statistics, social construction
Abstract
The counting process which produces statistics is a human enterprise that reflects the needs and interests of the counters. This is clear in the case of the social problem of child abuse. Many different social groups and subprofessions are located in government bureaucracies organized to protect children and preserve families. Official statistics about how many children are abused (officially “maltreated”) vary markedly among the different states. The magnitude of the disparities among jurisdictions cannot be explained without changing one’s perspective about the nature of official counts. They come less from measuring child maltreatment than measuring the divergent ways that state systems of child protection and welfare work to account for their expenses and report about their operations.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.18.1.1475
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Keith R., and Joel Best. "Considering What Counts: Inside United States Child Maltreatment Statistics." Numeracy 18, Iss. 1 (2025): Article 5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.18.1.1475
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