Children who have been abused or neglected may experience long-term psychological and emotional/behavioral consequences. Victims of abuse are also at higher risk of abusing their own children when they become parents.

In 2019, there were 21 abused or neglected children for every 1,000 in the 9-county Rochester region and above the state rate of 17. From 2000, the regional rate had fluctated between 14 and 16 until it reached its lowest rate of 13 in 2013. Since 2013, the rate has steadily risen. Monroe County had the lowest rate in the region at 18 per 1,000, followed by Ontario County at 22, much lower than the surrounding counties at 27 per 1,000 children under age 18. The rate in Yates County was higher than the surrounding counties, region and state, at 40 per 1,000. Every other county in the region had a rate higher than the state in 2019. From 2000 to 2019, the rate almost tripled in Orleans and Yates, the largest increases in the region.

Reports of abuse or neglect may be influenced by many factors such as outreach, education and media publicity. Additionally, it is unknown how many cases of abuse or neglect are never reported to authorities. National data was not available for 2019. Each child is counted only once in these data.