CAP Center Media Kit

The CAP Center serves more than 450,000 children and families throughout California by:

Serving as the lead agency for Safe Kids Worldwide and Prevent Child Abuse America in California.
Serving as the home to the California Family Resource Association with members in 36 counties.
Coordinating Child Abuse Prevention Councils in 57 counties.
Overseeing the Child Welfare Services Program in 10 counties.
Administering First 5 Service Corps Programs in 13 counties.
Supporting Youth Investment Center Programs in three counties and foster youth throughout California, and administering Birth & Beyond Programs in Sacramento County.

Although governed by a single board of directors, each organization takes a different but complementary approach to preventing child abuse.

Media Inquires:

Sheila Boxley
sboxley@thecapcenter.org
916-244-1976
916-705-5359

Quick Facts:

Child abuse fuels crime and suicide, broken marriages and substance abuse. The CAP Center is a leader in efforts to stop this preventable tragedy.

Last year the CAP Center’s accomplishments included:

A 96% reduction in child abuse cases among the families served.
140,000 children served.
405,000 parents educated.
10,000 professionals trained.
2,500 volunteers recruited who provided almost 80,000 hours of service.
27,000 professional caregivers received information and support.

The Costs Associated with Child Abuse

The cost of abuse to a child lasts a lifetime. Adults who were abused as children suffer sharply increased risk of heart disease, cancer, injuries and chronic lung and liver disease. In addition to destroying lives, child abuse costs our country as a whole approximately $124 billion annually, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The cost of prevention is a fraction of that.

The estimated average lifetime cost per victim of nonfatal child maltreatment is $210,012 in 2010 dollars, including $32,648 in childhood health care costs; $10,530 in adult medical costs; $144,360 in productivity losses; $7,728 in child welfare costs; $6,747 in criminal justice costs; and $7,999 in special education costs.

For more information on the economic consequences of child abuse, read this recent study Center for Disease Control, The Economic Burden of Child Maltreatment in the United States and Implications for Prevention.

Investing in Prevention

22% of maltreated children have learning disorders requiring special education.
27% of children who are abused or neglected become delinquents, compared to 17% of children in the general population.
In a study of 17,000 adults, those abused as children were more likely to become suicidal; more likely to have heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, and liver disease; twice as likely to be smokers; twice as likely to be severely obese; twice as likely to become alcoholics; and three times a likely to develop a drug addiction.
In 2007, Stanford University researchers found that children suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and exposure to severe trauma actually have smaller brains. Severe trauma includes parental homicide, sexual assault, sexual abuse, school shootings, and ongoing community violence. Researchers found a nearly 9% reduction in the size of the hippocampus, a horseshoe-shaped sheet of neurons that controls memory and emotions.
A study conducted in 2009 showed an increased risk of STDs in childhood abuse or neglect survivors tracked over time.
In addition to the known mental health impacts of child abuse, a 2009 control study found that childhood maltreatment reduces immune function, an effect that can linger long after the maltreatment has ended.
Research shows that investing in child abuse prevention programs – including parent education classes, safety programs designed to make children less vulnerable targets for abuse, and home visitation – yields a 19 to one savings over the long-term costs to society of child abuse.
The American Medical Association reports that preventing child maltreatment may be a key factor in preventing youth violence. Intervention may help prevent future domestic violence and dating violence.

Research

Because time is needed to compile, analyze, and publish data, statistical publications often are released two or more years after the time period being analyzed. The Cap Center posts the latest research as it becomes available. See Research and Publications.

Child Death Review Team

The following comprehensive reports of child deaths were compiled by a multidisciplinary team in Sacramento County, California, on children in Sacramento County. The purpose of the multidisciplinary Child Death Review Team is to:

Identify all child abuse-related fatalities in Sacramento County
Enhance the investigation of all child deaths through multi-agency review
Develop a statistical description of all child deaths as an overall indicator of the status of children
Develop recommendations for the prevention and response to child deaths based on said reviews and statistical information.