Hundreds of American children die under watch of protection authorities

A new report, published by Associated Press, says at least 786 children may have died from abuse or neglect while under the watch of protection authorities in the United States. The discovery highlights a long-standing ignorance of the care that young people received at the hands of adults who were supposed to protect them.
One of the latest cases authorities are investigating is in Washington State. That child survived but most of the children who died while in adult care were under 4 years of age. Some died right under the noses of investigators–even while authorities were looking into abuse claims. Many children were victims of neglect, violence or other troubles in the home. Investigative reporters reviewed thousands of pages of official reports, child fatality records. Police documents were also reviewed from 2008 to 2013. Investigative reporters had trouble tracking information because most of it was never recorded or could be provided. There is no complete data table for deaths of children who were being overseen by child protective services workers. The report underlines the alarming lack of record-keeping US agencies have for victimized children, who are often times harmed by the people they trust most. To ascertain how many children were affected by subpar care, 50 states and Washington, DC were monitored.