Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021 - 20

Masked Maltreatment: A Study of Child Abuse
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reporting total increased by 242% compared to May 2020, 100%
compared to May 2019, and 79% compared to May 2018 totals
(Figure 1). The original decreases in reports were more intensely
depicted by cases recorded by Berks County Detectives and clients
served at the Children's Alliance Center (Figure 2). Additionally,
organizations witnessed a fairly substantial return to at least
baseline monthly average totals in cases/clients documented in
2021 (Figure 2). This increase in 2021 was also observed when
only looking at reports of child abuse made in the same month of
the alleged abuse.
Using standardized totals, it was determined that reports of
mental abuse, drug-related maltreatment, and general concerns
increased during 2020 (Figure 3). These trends continued into
2021, with the addition of sexual abuse and neglect increasing as
well (Figure 3). When categorizing child abuse reports based on
victims' sex using standardized data, a slight increase in the male
victim to female victim ratio in 2020 and 2021 data was found
when compared with 2019 data (Figure 4).
When examining reports using the criteria of victims' age at
the time of alleged abuse, no irregular trends surfaced. When
looking at who was inciting child abuse, a preliminary analysis
analyzing 2020 and 2021 data, found parents continue to be the
major perpetrator group (Figure 5).6 Otherwise, beyond slight
group variations from year to year, no definitive perpetrator
pattern emerged. In an analysis of data provided by Berks County
Child and Youth Services (BCCYS), an increase of total reports
in both 2020 and 2021, and an increase in child maltreatment
during 2020 (2021 data was not yet available) were observed
(Figure 6).
Figure 5. depicts the relationship between reported perpetrators and
their victims. The trends shown here are fairly consistent with those
found in 2019 and 2020. All data displayed above was provided by
the Child Abuse Committee at the Tower Health Reading Hospital.
Figure 3. depicts the standardized annual monthly average totals
of abuse based on the type of abuse reported. General concern cases
consisted of situations where a child perpetrated abuse themselves, was
exposed to domestic violence, etc.
Figure 4. shows the standardized annual monthly average totals of
abuse based on the sex of the victim. All data displayed above was
provided by the Child Abuse Committee at the Tower Health Reading
Hospital.
20 | w w w .berkscms .or g
Figure 6. includes the reports received by the Berks County Children
and Youth Services, their consequential investigations, and child
maltreatment/abuse cases. The " all investigations " total includes cases
considered under the jurisdiction of General Protectives Services
(GPS), rather than solely Child Protective Services (CPS), and
includes some cases which received out-of-county assistance.
The BCMS Pat Sharma P r esident 's S chola rship
http://www.berkscms.org
Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Berks County Medical Society Medical Record Fall 2021
