Palm Beach County and South Florida Statistics

Families in Crisis: Addressing the Problem of Trauma in our Homes

HomeSafe’s programs assist hundreds of children and families each year through our outpatient services and residential treatment programs. Our SafetyNet Program has been providing outpatient individual and group therapy to victims of domestic violence (‘intimate partner violence’- IPV) since 1998.

SafetyNet serves approximately 60 families every week, approximately 120 per year. The average length of stay in the program is seven months. Domestic Violence is considered child abuse by the Florida Statutes and is investigated by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and law enforcement. In recent years, the intersect of IPV and child abuse has become more evident in the human services and child protection fields.

IPV affects millions of people each year. Data from Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) indicate:

  • About 1 in 4 women and nearly 1 in 10 men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime and reported some form of IPV-related impact.
  • Over 43 million women and 38 million men experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

To help donors understand the scope of these issues, their impact on communities, and the need for HomeSafe programs and services, we collect statistics related to child abuse and domestic violence in South Florida. The children who reside in our residential group homes have been victimized by child abuse, and/or have been witness to domestic violence in the home. This trauma contributes to their needing intensive therapeutic treatment in a group setting.

On a National Level:

  • Approximately 41% of female IPV survivors and 14% of male IPV survivors experience some form of physical injury related to domestic abuse
  • Data from U.S. crime reports suggest that 16% (1 in 6) of homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner
  • Nearly half of female homicide victims on the U.S. are killed by a current or former male intimate partner. (CDC)

Regional and State Statistics-2018

(Source: Florida Department of Law Enforcement-FDLE)

Domestic Violence (IPV)

Palm Beach County-Population:  1, 433,417.

  • 4,613 domestic violence offenses
    • 9 murders
    • 1 manslaughter

Broward and Miami-Date Counties-Population: 4,677,298

  • 13,716 domestic violence offenses
    • 45 murders
    • 1 manslaughter

State of Florida-Population: 20, 840, 986 

  • 104,914 domestic violence offenses
    • 196 murders
    • 19 manslaughter
    • 1,783 forcible rape
    • 841 forcible fondling
    • 16,000 aggravated assault
    • 160 aggravated stalking
    • 83,980 simple assault
    • 1,551 threat/intimidation
    • 384 stalking

Child Abuse

  • 562,230 Florida Abuse Hotline Contacts
  • 355,933 Total Child Abuse Reports /Child Special Conditions Contacts
  • 79,390 Cases ‘Open for Services’
  • In Palm Beach County between October 2017 through September 2018, 855 children were removed into foster care.  

HomeSafe: Part of the Solution

HomeSafe is dedicated to creating safer, more productive lives for infants, children, young adults, and families. The SafetyNet Program works toward preventing recurrent family violence and protecting victims of IPV. Our approach is timely, strength based and comprehensive. We are the only DV program in the county offering year round support groups (English/Spanish) for victims and their children.

For 40 years HomeSafe has been a highly accredited leader in the community in child welfare services. The vision continues to be “Prevent, Protect, and Prepare.”