STUDY OF SAN FRANCISCO

“The Economics of Child Abuse: A Study of San Francisco” calculates the cost of child abuse to the San Francisco community. The report assesses community risk factors that make families of the city vulnerable to abuse. It also discusses protective factors which keep families safe and strong. The original report was published in January 2017 using 2015 data. The Snapshot was updated in April 2018, using 2017 data.

2019 San Francisco SNAPSHOT

2018 San Francisco Snapshot       2018 San Francisco Infographic

  2017 San Francisco Report    

KEY FINDINGS:

• The total estimated cost associated with one year of substantiated cases of child abuse in San Francisco for the victims of 2017 is $226.5 million (it was $301.6 million for the victims of 2015).
• Given significant under-reporting of child abuse, the total economic cost could be as high as $6.5 billion.
• San Francisco has community risk factors that make its residents more susceptible to abuse, including the impact of economic instability and homelessness, emigration and immigration, and a low number of families with young children.
• Strengthening protective factors — parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, knowledge of parenting, and social/emotional competence of children — are critical to preventing child abuse.

 Technical Appendix