A new federal report shows Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, have the highest and second-highest rates of child abuse in the country.

According to the "Child Maltreatment" report from the Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kentucky had 22,410 victims of child abuse in 2017.

That represents about 22.2 victims per 1,000 children in Kentucky, first among all states in 2017 and more than double the national average of 9.1 victims per 1,000 children.

Indiana followed up in second nationally with 18.6 victims per 1,000 children in 2017.

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Indiana had an estimated 29,198 child abuse victims in 2017, an uptick of about 34 percent from the 21,755 victims identified in 2013.

The estimated 22,410 child abuse victims in Kentucky in 2017 marks an increase of about 27.5 percent from 2013, when 17,591 child victims were identified in the commonwealth, according to the report.

Data for the "Child Maltreatment" report has been collected every year since 1991 from child welfare agencies in all 50 states along with Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

States provide the data through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, which clarifies that child victims are counted if a state is able to determine a "substantiated case" of abuse or neglect.

In a statement provided to the Courier Journal, Kentucky Department for Community Based Services Commissioner Eric Clark said his department "remains committed to raising awareness, developing necessary interventions, and identifying prevention programs and services to reduce incidents of abuse and neglect within the Commonwealth."

"While DCBS plays a key role in this effort, we alone cannot be the only solution," Clark said. "We also need our families, neighbors, schools, churches, and others within their communities to also commit to being engaged in this issue and invested in the solution. Child welfare belongs to all of us."

Noelle Russell, deputy director of communications for the Indiana Department of Child Services, told the Courier Journal in an email that a state-led policy group made recommendations last summer on ways to improve child welfare in the state.

Gov. Eric Holcomb allotted $25 million to DCS to help the department implement recommendations from that report, Russell said.

The federal report said the number and rate of victims have fluctuated during the past five years.

Across the country, 2013 had an estimated 656,000 victims of child abuse or neglect, and 2017 saw an estimated 674,000 victims.

For 2017, an estimated 1,720 children nationally died of abuse and neglect, a rate of 2.32 per 100,000 children.

Indiana ranked third in the country in 2017 child abuse death rates, with almost five deaths per 100,000.

Nationally, Arkansas had the highest child fatality rate, with 5.24 deaths per 100,000 children.

The Hoosier State reported 78 child abuse deaths in 2017, nearly three times more than the 28 child fatalities in 2013.

For Kentucky, about one child per 100,000 died in 2017.

The Bluegrass State's 10 child abuse deaths in 2017 marked a decrease from 23 reported child fatalities in 2013.

Nationally, the 2017 data show 74.9 percent of victims are neglected, 18.3 percent are physically abused and 8.6 percent are sexually abused.

The report noted victims may suffer one type of "maltreatment" or a combination of several types of maltreatment.

Parents were the vast majority of perpetrators of child abuse nationally in 2017, according to the report, with nearly 410,000 parents representing about 78 percent of all child abusers.

Kentuckians are urged to report suspected child abuse by calling 877-KY-SAFE1 (597-2331).

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Indiana's Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline can be reached at 800-800-5556.

The National Child Abuse Hotline is 800-4-A-CHILD (422-4453).

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030.