Breaking the Cycle of Child Abuse and Neglect

This report, Breaking the Cycle, shows how voluntary home visiting programs are reducing child abuse and neglect and crime by as much as 50 percent. New Mexico is currently using federal resources to expand two home visiting programs, the Nurse-Family Partnership and Parents as Teachers.

Each year in New Mexico, nearly 6,000 children are victims of child abuse or neglect. In addition to the trauma child abuse inflicts, the experience of abuse or neglect can also lead to long-term problems, possibly leading to a life of crime. While most victims of child abuse and neglect don’t become criminals, research shows that experiencing child abuse or child neglect almost doubles the odds that a child will commit a crime by age 19.