The Nebraska Families Collaborative understands the pervasiveness of child abuse and neglect, and the factors that feed these problems. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2005 data, in the United States:

• A child is abused or neglected every 35 seconds; that’s more than 906,000 maltreated children a year.
• A child dies from abuse or neglect every six hours. More than 60% of these victims were neglected, almost 20% suffered physical abuse, 10% suffered sexual abuse and 5% experienced emotional abuse.
• A child is born into poverty every 36 seconds.
• A child is born to a teen mother every 45 seconds. Every 4 minutes, a baby is born to a mother who had late or no prenatal care. Every 19 minutes, a baby dies in the first year of life.
• More than 6 million children are regularly left home alone without parental supervision.
• Each year, more than 1.2 million juveniles are arrested.

Read more... about the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services, and how it is improving the well-being of children, youth and communities in Nebraska.