Every year, individual states submit their CPS data to the federal Children’s Bureau, which operates under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). While the raw data is available in the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), the Children’s Bureau analyzes and publishes it annually in its Child Maltreatment report. The latest edition, covering numbers from 2024, was just released.¹

Heritage Defense has been tracking these numbers for the past few years to measure four key statistics in every state:

1. How frequently are reports made?

2. What percentage of reports get investigated?

3. What percentage of reports are unfounded?

4. What percentage of investigations are from unfounded reports?

National trends were significantly disrupted in 2020 due to COVID-19, but 2024 saw the least amount of national year-to-year change since then. This suggests that the national numbers are returning to their pre-COVID trajectory. Here are the updates.

1. How frequently are reports made? Referrals per 1,000 Adults

A “referral” occurs whenever CPS receives a report of suspected child maltreatment in any form. So a referral is any incoming call or message to the CPS hotline. According to CPS terminology, these communications do not become “reports” until they are screened in for investigation.

By measuring the number of referrals against the state’s adult population, we get a rough estimate of how likely adults in the state are to make a report to CPS. Of course, we cannot draw any conclusions from this data point alone. A higher number may reflect a genuinely higher occurrence of abuse in the state, or it could reflect that residents of the state are overly suspicious and too quick to call CPS, or it could indicate a combination of both. But while we cannot draw conclusions from this data alone, it does provide us a metric to use to benchmark the state against other data.

For 2024, the simple average across all 50 states and the District of Columbia was roughly 18.3 referrals per 1,000 adults, virtually unchanged from the 2023 average of 18.2.

Highest rates:

• Alaska: 37.41 referrals per 1,000 adults.

• Vermont: 35.68 referrals per 1,000 adults.

• Indiana: 31.86 referrals per 1,000 adults.

Lowest rates:

• Pennsylvania: 3.87 per 1,000 adults.

• Hawaii: 4.88 referrals per 1,000 adults

• North Dakota: 5.24 per 1,000 adults.

Biggest changes:
The most dramatic changes from 2023 to 2024 occurred in West Virginia and Illinois, but this was largely due to 2024 being the first year either state had reported screened-out referrals.

On the other end, Arkansas saw the greatest decline from 26.98 to 24.04 referrals per 1,000 adults.

Read more about referrals per 1,000 adults and see the updated numbers here: https://heritagedefense.org/How-many-reports-to-CPS-in-my-state.

2. What percentage of reports get investigated? Percentage of Referrals Screened In

Referrals are either screened in for investigation or screened out and ignored. The screened-in rate tells us two things. First, it indicates how many referrals the state deemed to be illegitimate and unworthy of investigation. Second, when compared to the number of victims, it can reflect a state’s policy towards screening: some states screen out very aggressively, avoiding unnecessary investigations, while others tend to screening in and investigating everything.

The overall average screen-in rate in 2024 was about 48%, down slightly from roughly 51% in 2023.

Highest screen-in rates:

• Alabama: 98.83% screened in.

• Mississippi: 78.21% screened in.

• Texas: 76.45% screened in.

Note that New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania all reported a 100% screen-in rate. But this is because they did not report screened-out referrals to the Children’s Bureau.

Lowest screen-in rates:

• District of Columbia: 13.75% screened in.

• Vermont: 16.85% screened in.

• South Dakota: 18.82% screened in.

Biggest changes:
Again, as mentioned above, Illinois and West Virginia saw a massive drop in their reported screening rates due to 2024 being the first year either state had reported screened-out referrals.

Otherwise, Rhode Island saw the greatest decline falling from 34.07% to 25.51%, a decrease of about 8.6 percentage points.

In contrast, Georgia had the greatest rise—from 40.79 to 48.34%—an increase of about 7.55 percentage points.

Read more about referrals screened-in and see the updated numbers here: https://heritagedefense.org/Percentage-of-CPS-Referrals-Screened-In.

3. What percentage of reports are unfounded? Unfounded Reports

Of all the children reported to CPS in referrals, only a fraction are truly victims of abuse or neglect. The majority are not. Apparently, most referrals are either completely unwarranted or based on an unfounded suspicion. Looking at the number of unfounded referrals gives us the most complete picture of the extent to which child abuse and neglect is being over-reported.

The national average of unfounded reports was about 93% in 2024, almost the same as in 2023. In other words, over 92% of children reported to CPS nationwide were determined not to be victims of abuse or neglect.

Highest unfounded report rates:
Five states tied or nearly tied at 98% unfounded reports: Delaware, Kansas, New Jersey, Vermont, and Washington.

Lowest unfounded report rates:

• Alabama: 75% were not victims.

• Mississippi, New York: 83% were not victims.

Biggest Changes:
Illinois saw the largest jump, with its unfounded report rate climbing from 78% to 89%, an 11-percentage-point increase. This drastic increase is directly attributable to Illinois reporting its referral rates for 2024.

North Dakota similarly saw an 11-point increase from 77% to 88%.

Mississippi had the largest decrease, dropping from 85% to 83%.

Read more about unfounded reports and see the updated numbers here: https://heritagedefense.org/Is-child-abuse-overreported.

4. What percentage of investigations are from unfounded reports? Unfounded Investigations

Only screened-in referrals are investigated. Referrals are generally only supposed to be screened in when there appears to be a higher likelihood of actual abuse or neglect. But even here, the large majority of children investigated are determined not to be victims of abuse or neglect. These numbers reveal the effectiveness of a state’s screening polices and shows the extent to which abuse and neglect is being over-investigated.

Nationally, the average was essentially unchanged from 2023 to 2024: roughly 85% of children investigated by CPS were determined not to be victims of abuse or neglect.

Highest unfounded investigation rates:

• New Jersey: 97% were not victims.

• Missouri: 95%, were not victims.

• Florida, Kansas, Washington: 94% were not victims.

Lowest unfounded investigation rates:

• Rhode Island: 63%, were not victims.

• South Dakota: 68% were not victims.

• Alabama: 70% were not victims.

Biggest changes:
North Dakota experienced the largest shift, with its unfounded investigation rate climbing from 81.85% to 88.67%, an increase of almost 7 percentage points. Kentucky increased by over 5 percentage points from 73.46% to 78.74%. And Iowa increased by about 4 percentage points from 76.38% to 80.82%. Almost every state with a decrease only decreased by less than 2 percentage points. This means that while states are generally investigating more families, these additional investigations are not identifying more victims of abuse or neglect.

Read more about unfounded investigations and see the updated numbers here: https://heritagedefense.org/Is-CPS-investigating-innocent-families.

Conclusion

While the raw data provides far from a complete picture, it does indicate that child abuse and neglect is both over-reported and over-investigated. This pulls limited resources away from genuine cases of abuse, straining an already overburdened system. It also means that numerous innocent families are being subjected to stressful and intrusive investigations that are ultimately unnecessary.

Heritage Defense will continue monitoring these numbers as the Children’s Bureau releases new data each year. In the meantime, we encourage families to learn the law in their state and to be prepared if CPS ever comes to the door.