Why Child Abuse Is a Community Issue
One in seven children in the United States experienced abuse or neglect last year. In Marion County alone, that translates to more than 4,500 allegations every single year. These are children in our neighborhoods, in our schools, and at our community events. Child abuse happens here, and how our community responds to it determines what kind of place Marion County is for every child who grows up in it.
That figure is widely considered an underestimate, since many cases go unreported. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that in 2022, nearly 75% of all children involved in maltreatment cases faced some form of neglect, while physical abuse accounted for around 17% of cases and sexual abuse for nearly 11%.
The Reach of Abuse Extends Far Beyond the Home
The CDC classifies child abuse and neglect as a serious public health problem, one with consequences that extend across a lifetime and cost communities in ways that are both measurable and profound.
The total lifetime economic burden associated with child abuse and neglect in the United States was estimated at approximately $592 billion in 2018. The CDC notes that this rivals the cost of other high-profile public health problems, including heart disease and diabetes.
Beyond the economic toll, abuse reshapes children from the inside out. It can cause immediate physical injuries and long-term emotional and psychological damage. Children who experience maltreatment face higher lifetime risks for anxiety, depression, substance use, delayed brain development, lower educational attainment, and limited employment opportunities. The AAP notes that abuse can literally change the way a child’s brain develops, affecting how children learn, how they relate to others, and how they move through the world for decades to come.
Abuse Rarely Happens in Isolation
One of the most important things the research tells us is that child abuse almost never happens in a vacuum. The CDC identifies a network of individual, family, community, and societal risk factors that can increase the likelihood of abuse and neglect occurring.
Poverty plays a significant role. Rates of child abuse and neglect are five times higher for children in families with low socioeconomic status compared to those with higher incomes. Stress, lack of access to support systems, mental health challenges, and substance use can all compound risk. Parents who were themselves victims of abuse may find themselves caught in cycles they never chose and do not know how to break.
None of this excuses abuse. All of it explains why responding to it, and preventing it, requires more than individual action. It requires a community.
Prevention Belongs to Everyone
The approach to child abuse prevention is rooted in a clear principle: comprehensive strategies must address risk and protective factors at every level of society, including public health, government, education, and social services. Effective prevention means modifying policies, practices, and behaviors, not just responding to crises after they occur.
The concept of relational health matters: the safe, stable, nurturing relationships that support a child’s growth and development. Children grow up in families. Families exist within communities. Communities reflect broader societal values. That means the conditions that protect children, or fail to protect them, are shaped by all of us.
When families have access to parenting resources, mental health support, economic stability, and trusted networks of care, children are safer. When those systems are absent or fractured, children are more vulnerable. Prevention, in other words, is a collective responsibility.
What Kimberly’s Center Does and Why Community Makes It Possible
Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection is Marion County’s Children’s Advocacy Center. Since 1999, we have served child victims of abuse and neglect by providing forensic interviews, medical exams, trauma therapy, child advocacy, and prevention education, all at no cost to the families we serve.
That last part matters. Zero cost to families is only possible because of a community that has decided its children are worth the investment. Our funding comes from grants, donors, corporate partners, and organizations across Marion County that understand child protection is not someone else’s problem.
We also reach beyond the children who walk through our doors. Through our partnership with Marion County Public Schools, we bring evidence-based prevention education to every public school in the county, teaching children about body safety, trusted adults, and digital dangers. Last year, we reached more than 32,000 students and adults through those programs.
Intervention matters, and so does what happens before intervention is ever needed.
What You Can Do
The research is clear: communities that invest in child protection see real results. Communities that use the Children’s Advocacy Center model, like Kimberly’s Center, see an 87% higher rate of prosecuting child abuse cases. Early access to support changes outcomes. A child who is believed, heard, and helped early carries less of that weight for life.
You are part of the community that makes that possible. Whether you donate, volunteer, share resources, or simply talk openly about child safety with the families in your life, your involvement matters.
Child abuse is preventable, and prevention starts here in Marion County, with all of us.
To learn more about Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection or to support our mission, visit our website.