Alaska children are still being identified as abuse or neglect victims at nearly twice the national rate — even as a new federal report shows the state’s numbers have dropped significantly since 2020.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska children are still being identified as abuse or neglect victims at about 80% above the national rate — even as a new federal report shows the state’s numbers have dropped almost 30% since 2020.
report — released in January 2025 — shows Alaska recorded a victimization rate of 13 victims per 1,000 children in federal fiscal year 2024, compared with a national rate of 7.2 per 1,000, according to the Children’s Bureau’s state-by-state table of victim counts and rates. In Alaska, the report shows 2,266 children were identified by authorities as victims of abuse or neglect in 2024. That isAlaska’s rate also declined over that span. In the Children’s Bureau’s 2020–24 trend table, Alaska’s victimization rate fell from 17.8 victims per 1,000 children in 2020 to 13 per 1,000 in 2024. But state officials, advocates and survivors caution the drop in recorded numbers does not necessarily mean fewer children are being harmed — only that fewer are being found and counted. The report’s release comes as April is Child Abuse Prevention Month — when agencies and nonprofits highlight prevention programs and ways communities can support families.Kim Guay, Alaska Office of Children’s Services director, said the decline is real — but cautioned against reading too much into a single metric. “It is difficult to identify a single cause driving this change,” Guay said. “Improvement cannot be measured by a single metric. Understanding system performance requires a combination of data, case reviews, surveys, lived experiences and community input.” Guay said the COVID-19 pandemic affected how cases were reported and investigated. School closures, reduced medical and therapeutic visits, and community restrictions limited in-person access — all of which affected reports, particularly from mandated reporters. Virtual assessments were used temporarily under federal guidance during emergency periods, and normal practices resumed once restrictions were lifted.“The Office of Children’s Services intervenes only when there are clear safety concerns,” Guay said. “Many factors influencing maltreatment trends fall outside OCS’s direct control.” Guay said OCS has made several operational changes in recent years. In 2019, the agency established a unit dedicated to substantiation reviews and appeals to support workers’ decision-making and accuracy. More recently, OCS implemented a Strengthening Investigations and Assessment model to improve initial casework.The federal data captures more than a single count of victims. In 2024, Alaska received reports involving:5,219 alleged victims of physical abuseSince 2020, reports have shown roughly 200 fewer alleged victims of neglect, around 100 more alleged mental injury victims, approximately 600 more alleged physical abuse victims and 150 fewer alleged sexual abuse victims. School-aged children — ages 5–15 and older — represent the largest share of reported victims, largely because educators are the most frequent mandated reporters. Since 2020, the number of alleged victims ages 0–5 has declined from over 6,300 to approximately 5,700. Regionally, the Southeast and Western regions have shown the largest declines among children screened in for investigation. Alaska’s repeat victimization rate — defined as a new substantiated allegation within 12 months — also declined, from 13.9% in 2020 to 11.1% in 2024. Guay noted workforce capacity remains a challenge. Like many agencies nationwide, OCS faces hiring and retention difficulties, which increases caseloads and affects the timeliness of investigations and closures. Staffing levels vary by region, contributing to differences in response time and workload.Alaska’s overall rate masks a sharper divide. Nationally, American Indian and Alaska Native children have the highest victimization rate of any racial or ethnic group — 13.3 per 1,000 children, according to the federal report. In Alaska specifically, the federal data shows American Indian children face a victimization rate of 38 per 1,000 — nearly three times Alaska’s already-elevated statewide rate. Guay said OCS works closely with Alaska Tribes and tribal organizations from the initial screening stage through investigation, case planning, and placement. Many Alaska Native children have Tribes that intervene in their cases; some Tribes assume jurisdiction or conduct their own investigations. Tribal involvement doesn’t change how federal data counts cases, but Guay described it as an essential component of Alaska’s child welfare system. OCS also shares screened-out reports with Tribes on their member families upon request to support tribal intervention, and refers cases involving sexual abuse, severe neglect, severe physical abuse or unknown perpetrators to law enforcement.For Scott Slone, founder of— a survivor-led platform aimed at amplifying survivor voices to inform systems, organizations and policy in Alaska — the numbers are part of a larger reality: Many people who experience abuse carry it for years — sometimes decades — before they tell anyone. Slone, who has previously spoken publicly about being abused as a child, said he did not have the words to describe what happened at the time. “I don’t think that I had words, ‘survivor’ or anything until after I came forward in 2019,” Slone said. “Through therapy and retrospect, I could see all the signs and things, but I think in the moment, it’s just a program of survival and moving from one day to the next.”“I did come forward when I was younger, and that moment wasn’t a great experience because I was warned that I needed to be careful, that this person was a good person,” Slone said. “So that moment, I could feel myself leave myself ... and felt like I was really alone in what I was experiencing.” He said the long-term toll showed up in ways that were not always obvious to others, including gaps in memory, difficulty with trust and intimacy, and walls that kept people out. “My parents had, in their reflection, I changed in seventh grade,” Slone said. “I was acting out in ways that they couldn’t explain. It was frustrating for them. I don’t have any memory between seventh grade and, I was 16, I think, when I kind of woke up to where I was, which is dissociation.”“I had a breakdown,” Slone said. “Flashbacks became too much. It was unbearable and I folded, and I really believe that’s how it was going to end. Fortunately, in the middle of that, a friend called me out of the blue and convinced me to get help.”Standing Together Against Rape“STAR provided, really, a safe place,” Slone said. “I was so dysregulated when I went in there ... They kind of picked me up, set me on another set of tracks, gave me some options.” He said healing can be slow and uneven — and it does not have a deadline, adding that long-term support is especially crucial. “Healing is a messy process,” Slone said. “There’s no right or wrong time to come forward and get help. “I’ve been in therapy for seven years, and I’m still not fully comfortable in some of those spaces,” Slone said. “But when it feels like things aren’t changing or things aren’t getting better, there’s a lot of evidence to say that I am moving forward incrementally.” Slone said his experience — and the gap he saw in survivor representation — led him to start Mighty AK. He said he was inspired in part by STAR and a conversation with STAR Executive Director Keeley Olson, who asked if he would be willing to testify on behalf of survivors.Slone said when someone opens up about abuse, the most important thing is to listen, not to “fix” the problem in the moment. “If a child discloses — a teenager or another adult even — it’s not your job at that moment to try to solve anything,” Slone said. “It’s to meet them where they are and listen, and then ask them what they need.” Childhood trauma experts say the way adults respond to a disclosure can shape what happens next. Octavia Neal, licensed marriage and family therapist based in California, offers guidance on how to handle those moments. Neal said adults can help by responding calmly and avoiding questions that might shape what a child says later. “Usually we just say, thank you for the information,” Neal said. “Then usually the adult goes and makes the report and allows CPS to kind of do their process of it.” Neal said some children delay disclosure because they fear consequences and do not know what will happen if they talk. “This is the only world that they know,” Neal said. “‘I have no idea what the repercussions of me saying something will be ... There could be threats to those that they love.” She also said adults should recognize behavior can be a trauma response, and physical signs are not always present. “That’s why oftentimes ... we talk about building the relationship with the child,” Neal said. “Because I really do need a lot of data points to kind of put a picture together.”Olson said the cases STAR Inc. encounter often involve someone a child knows. She said children may be more likely to disclose once they reach school age and learn what constitutes unsafe touching. “We definitely see it across the board, oftentimes at school age when children are able to get into school and hear information ... that that kind of touching is not safe and shouldn’t be a secret between a child and adult,” Olson said. “That’s when kids have an opportunity to disclose.” Asked about the federal data showing Alaska remains above the national average, Olson said the problem is still widespread. “Child maltreatment is much higher in Alaska than other states, much higher than the national average, much higher than other states by a wide margin,” Olson said.Federal officials and state administrators both caution the numbers reflect only what is reported, screened in and recorded — not the full scope of harm to children. In the report’s discussion of state differences, the Children’s Bureau notes that states have different policies about what is considered child maltreatment, different types of child protective services responses and different levels of evidence required to substantiate allegations — all of which can influence victim counts and rates. Guay echoed that caution, noting a substantiated or unsubstantiated finding reflects only whether a maltreatment incident occurred — not whether a child is safe. “States vary significantly in definitions, statutes and practice models, making comparisons difficult,” she said. “Data also does not reflect referrals and supportive services offered during investigations.” In Alaska, the term “victim” aligns with the definition used in the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System: a child for whom at least one allegation of maltreatment has been substantiated or indicated, based on a preponderance of evidence. One child may be a victim in one report and a non-victim in another.Guay said OCS works closely with Alaska Tribes and tribal organizations from the initial screening stage through investigation, case planning and placement. Many Alaska Native children have Tribes that intervene in their cases; some Tribes assume jurisdiction or conduct their own investigations. Tribal involvement does not alter how cases are counted in federal reporting, but Guay described it as an essential component of Alaska’s child welfare system. OCS also shares screened-out reports with Tribes on their member families upon request to support tribal intervention, and refers cases involving sexual abuse, severe neglect, severe physical abuse or unknown perpetrators to law enforcement.The report also provides a snapshot of children identified as victims for the first time. In Alaska, 1,470 children were identified as first-time victims in 2024 — a rate of 8.4 per 1,000, down from 11.2 per 1,000 in 2020. The national first-time rate in 2024 was 5.1 per 1,000, meaning Alaska’s rate remains well above the national figure even among first-time victims., a national nonprofit focused on the prevention and treatment of child abuse, says a report of child abuse is made in the United States about every 10 seconds. The organization links adverse childhood experiences, including abuse and neglect, to long-term health and mental health consequences.Anyone who suspects child abuse or neglect in Alaska should contact the OCS Centralized Intake hotline at 1-800-478-4444 or the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. Reports may also be submitted by email at
Child Maltreatment 2024 Children's Bureau Alaska Child Abuse Numbers
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