![problem child 1 problem child 1](https://cover.box3.net/newsimg/dvdmov/max1337360259-front-cover.jpg)
And, as noted above, it is believed that these numbers likely underestimate how many children are affected by maltreatment because many cases go unreported or undetected.
![problem child 1 problem child 1](https://sanet.pics/storage-7/1121/aR68Yx8mumyQ1MgnX3BMlhcUIjkoDFL9.jpg)
That said, any amount of child abuse and neglect is too much. Over that same period, New York has experienced a 3.8% decline in the number of children receiving an investigation or alternative response, a 4.8% decline in the number of child victims, and a slight decrease in the number of child fatalities, which although they had risen in 20 were lower in 2016 than in 2012 (DHHS, 2018).
![problem child 1 problem child 1](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/H7Py7acPuWc/maxresdefault.jpg)
Of these 2016 victims, it is estimated that 1,750 children died of abuse and neglect (DHHS, 2018). The number and rate of victims have fluctuated during the past 5 years but the national estimate over that period shows an increase of 3% in the number of victims, from 656,000 in 2012 to 676,000 in 2016. The national estimate of children who received a child protective services (CPS) investigation response or alternative response increased 9.5% from 2012 (3,172,000) to 2016 (3,472,000). The recognition of child abuse in its multiple forms-physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect-came to the fore in the twentieth century and remains a considerable social and public health problem throughout the world as well as in the United States. While most states have penalties for failure to report, they are often minor and/or rarely imposed (Hudson, 2017 Krase, 2018 Steffen, 2016 Wolfe, 2012). Research has also found that the more training mandated reporters receive the more confident they feel in making good decisions about their duties to report suspected child maltreatment (Lusk, 2014 Wolfe, 2012). Reasons cited for not reporting include confusion or misunderstanding about how and what to report and lack of knowledge about the signs of mistreatment, but research has demonstrated that the reasons are often more complex and can involve personal concerns, system concerns, social constraints, and conflicting loyalties (Guttman, 2015 Hudson, 2017 Krase, 2018 Wolfe, 2012). Territories mandate reporting by certain individuals (US DHHS, 2018 CDC, 2014, 2014a Peterson et al., 2014), and most require training for those reporters, the problem remains. Underreporting of suspected child abuse has long been a problem, and while every state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S.