“The Cost of Protecting Vulnerable Children IV: How Child Welfare Funding Fared During the Recession” is available online from the Urban Institute. ()
Despite struggling with fiscal constraints, states spent $22.2 billion in federal, state, and local money in 2002 to protect abused and neglected children, an 8 percent increase over the $20.8 billion spent in 2000, a recent study says.
Released by the Washington-based Urban Institute, a policy-research and educational organization, the report compares 2000 and 2002 spending to better understand trends in spending during difficult economic times. The researchers found that five states saw jumps of 21 percent or more in total spending, while 14 states experienced declines.
