Four-year-old Marchella Pierce was drugged and beaten to death by her mother. She was also severely malnourished, weighing just eighteen pounds, half as much as other girls her age. The signs were all there, but nobody took action. Marcella's mother abused drugs. Marcella had bruises on her wrists and ankles from being tied to her bed. She had been treated horribly for her entire short life and was found dead with both Benadryl and Claritin in her bloodstream, administered by her mother who will now go to jail for murder and a variety of other charges. This didn't have to happen.

More than 1.25 million children (an estimated 1,256,600 children) experienced maltreatment during the NIS-4 study year (2005-2006). This corresponds to one child in every 58 in the United States. A large percentage (44%, or an estimated total of 553,300) were abused, while most (61%, or an estimated total of 771,700) were neglected.

Abuse is happening every day in all types of neighborhoods and is perpetrated by people of all ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic levels. Your neighborhood is NOT an exception.