PHOENIX, Ariz. (October 19, 2015) – Childhood trauma in Arizona ranks far above the national average and obviously harms the child, but a new study by a coalition of Arizona child advocacy groups concludes that each incident of mistreatment also costs the economy $1.8 million in total expenditures.
With more than 13,000 confirmed incidents of child maltreatment in Arizona annually, the state’s economy assumes an additional $23 billion burden each year in criminal justice expenses, social welfare costs, health and mental health expenditures, educational costs, and lost income, according to the report released by Nicole Stanton’s Dion Initiative for Child Well-Being and Bullying Prevention at ASU, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and the Arizona Adverse Childhood Experiences Consortium.
The coalition of groups will join business leaders and leaders from the health, mental health and education fields to talk about the far-reaching implications of this data for the current and future prosperity in Arizona and, more importantly, how to bring those numbers down. Childhood trauma can range from psychological abuse to exposure to violent environments.The incidents of trauma put those children at greater risk for lifelong public health problems. The discussion, on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 9:30 a.m. at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, will focus on ways that the private sector and health officials can work together to mitigate these causes and set a new more promising course for our state. Key data from the reports include:
- The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services indicates that there were 13,171 child victims of maltreatment in Arizona in 2013 (the most recent year for which data is available), which was an increase of over 246% from 2009.
- In Arizona children ages 12 to 17, more than 44% have experienced two or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), compared to the national average of 30.5%.
- It is estimated that nearly 70,000 Arizona children have more than five ACEs.
- At the county-level, some Arizona counties are hit harder by ACEs than others (see attached map for details).
