Abuse and neglect take an enormous emotional toll on children across Tennessee. Now, a new report estimates the economic impact of child abuse, and finds it’s costing the state billions of dollars each year.  

The effects of childhood abuse can last a lifetime. Victims are more likely to get arrested, spend more on healthcare and earn less money when they join the work force.  

“There’s been research that has shown that people who were mistreated as children, through a variety of pathways, are likely to die at a younger age than people who haven’t been,” said Matt Harris. He co-authored the new report from the University of Tennessee’s Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research.

Researchers found that child abuse and neglect cost the state between $3.3 billion and $5 billion a year. And that’s a conservative estimate. 

“That report doesn’t reflect the total human cost of it. That’s a much bigger number,” Harris said.

That’s because the report doesn’t capture the emotional toll of abuse — only the effects that can be linked to an economic outcome. And the report bases its figures off of cases with sufficient evidence to be ruled “substantiated.”

But in reality, child abuse often goes unreported. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that actual cases of child abuse are about three times higher than the number of substantiated cases nationwide.

Economic framing

The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth partnered with UT for the report. Kylie Graves is a policy specialist with the commission. She’s also director of the Second Look Commission, which reviews child abuse cases and makes recommendations to the General Assembly. 

“When you’re dealing with something as hard and heavy as child abuse, turning it into economics feels cold almost at times,” Graves said.

But she said having data like this can help convince lawmakers to invest in prevention strategies. Those policies could look like increasing financial support to families, expanding mental health resources and offering targeted interventions for at-risk families.

“But like we said, all of this comes with an economic toll,” Graves said. “So the purpose of this report is to really look at what’s the toll of not doing that, and it’s shocking.”

She adds that the study could help fiscal analysts at the state legislature quantify the cost of inaction as they assess the price tags of legislative proposals that could prevent child abuse.

“As the next legislative session starts, and bills have fiscal notes, I think this is a really valuable resource.”