| To report child abuse or neglect in Tennessee,
please call the Child Abuse Hotline:
1-877-237-0004
Statistics about abused and neglected children in Tennessee:
According to Kids Count 2008 there were 17,067 indicated cases of child abuse and neglect in Tennessee in 2006, a rate of 11.7 per 1,000 persons ages 0-17. Nationally, 905,000 children were found to be victims of child abuse and neglect in 2006.
Fact- According to the Tennessee Department of Children's Services Annual Report FY 2007-2008 there were 7,858 children remaining in state custody as of June 30, 2008 with 5,854 or 74% of those 7,858 children placed in custody because of physical abuse or neglect issues.
Fact- A report released by Prevent Child Abuse America funded by Pew Charitable Trusts estimates the annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States to be 103.8 billion dollars. This figure includes both direct and indirect costs of child abuse.
Fact- Federal law requires that juvenile and family courts appoint a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) in all cases of child abuse and neglect, who, in Tennessee must be an attorney. CASA advocates who are volunteers may also be appointed by the court. See Tennessee Code Annotated 37-1-149.
Fact- The National CASA/GAL network consists of over 950 local programs, whose nearly 60,000 volunteers serve over 240,000 children every year.
Links of interest:
National CASA Association
www.casaforchildren.org
Tennessee Bar Association’s Juvenile and Children’s Law Section:
www.tba.org
Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee:
www.pcat.org
Tennessee Department of Children's Services:
www.state.tn.us/youth
Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth:
www.state.tn.us/tccy; for data on children: www.kidscount.org
Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative:
http://www.jimcaseyyouth.org
Child Welfare League of America:
www.cwla.org
Children's Defense Fund:
www.childrensdefense.org
National Association of Counsel for Children:
www.naccchildlaw.org
Tennessee CASA Association
1370 Hazelwood Drive, Suite 213 B
Smyrna, TN 37167
866-498-1864 tncasa@bellsouth.net
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