This Bulletin discusses the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), the most comprehensive nationwide survey of the incidence and prevalence of children's exposure to violence to date, sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…

This bulletin addresses the issue of reporting crimes against juveniles, describing findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey, which gathers information from citizens on crime, including whether and how they are reported. The survey also collects information about characteristics of victimizations, the nature of the incident location,…

Proposed is a system of flexible options for the mandated reporting of child abuse and neglect, to improve compliance with and reduce burdens on the child protective system. Potential benefits and drawbacks of the plan, which would identify and train "registered reporters" and offer the option of explicit deferred investigation, are…

In this national telephone survey 1,011 boys and girls between 10 and 16 were questioned about how they responded to threatened assaults. Boys, especially teens, used more aggressive forms of resistance. Children advised by their fathers to stand up and fight also felt more successful using aggressive resistance. Findings suggest different…

Describes survey of households that uncovered cases of missing children that did not fall into the four federally defined categories of missing children. Suggests two of these categories, injured and lost children, should particularly be included in missing children's typologies. Notes that vulnerability to all four kinds of episodes was…

Survey information shows that sexual abuse of children is widespread, being reported by 19% of the females and 9% of the males in the sample. Most sexual victimization took place within the child's family, not with strangers, as "child molesters" have traditionally been stereotyped. While the problem cuts across social and economic lines, it seems…

Efforts to revolutionize the child welfare system must consider social trends and forces. Encouraging trends that child welfare reformers might be able to harness include biotechnology, availability of medical care, gender equality, awareness of parenting skills, and service sector growth. Discouraging trends include increasing rate of divorce and…

Used a national survey of households with children, a national survey of police records, and an analysis of FBI homicide data to estimate the incidence of nonfamily abductions of children. Offers a definition of abduction, analyzes problems in compiling abduction statistics, and discusses public policy on prevention and response. (RJM)

The purpose of the Crimes against Children Series is to improve and expand the national effort to serve child victims by presenting the latest information on child victimization. When a child is assaulted it is not only a child welfare problem, it is a crime, yet there is a lack of data available for researchers to analyze. Use of the National…

Examined cases of attempted nonfamily abductions, to determine child and family characteristics that may serve as risk factors for such incidents. The prevalence and risk-marker findings from this study reinforce the need to continue teaching "stranger danger" and suggest that children living in stressful or unstable family environments…