By Jack O’Toole, Charleston City Paper

Child abuse and neglect costs South Carolina more than $74 billion a year — or about $14,000 for every man, woman and child in the state. 

That’s the bottom-line takeaway from a new economic study conducted by the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business for the Children’s Trust of S.C., a state-affiliated nonprofit charged with preventing child abuse. 

Using state child abuse data, the study measured economic losses resulting from three long-term effects associated with child abuse — lower wages, missed days at work and additional health care costs. 

Study author Joseph Von Nessen, a research economist at the business school, called the $74 billion estimate “conservative,” noting that the study excluded costs that are likely related, but not directly tied, to abuse. For example, the study counted the direct medical costs of treating addiction problems due to child abuse, but not the indirect costs of the chronic diseases that can develop as a result.

“We know the human costs of child abuse — the damage to families and communities — but for the first time, this study tries to quantify the economic losses,” Von Nessen said. “And what we find is that the total losses are statewide and very significant.”

Focus on experiences

To measure those costs, the study focused on what child welfare professionals call adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, which can include everything from physical and sexual abuse to witnessing domestic violence in the home.

According to state statistics, more than 50% of S.C. residents suffered at least one ACE as children. Almost 20% suffered at least four.

It’s that prevalence that’s driving the economic losses, Von Nessen notes. But conversely, even modest improvements can lead to large economic gains.

For instance, the study found that reducing the number of today’s children with four or more ACEs by 15% would generate about $21 billion in added economic output over a decade.

“Small improvements can have major economic benefits,” Von Nessen said. “The question for policymakers is how best to achieve those goals.” 

An ounce of prevention

Created by the legislature in 1984, the Children’s Trust of S.C. is tasked with finding and funding innovative and effective programs to prevent child abuse.

The trust’s activities are funded primarily through federal grants, private donations and occasional earmarks in the state budget. It also receives $35,000 to $50,000 a year in checkoff contributions from state income taxpayers, officials told Statehouse Report.

In contrast, the state Department of Social Services, which primarily responds to abuse and neglect after it’s happened, receives about $300 million annually from the state’s general fund.

But with the economic costs of the problem now identified, Trust officials plan to ask lawmakers to take two steps in next year’s budget: First, make a one-time investment of $10 million to establish a more traditional trust fund that generates ongoing interest income for prevention services. And second, provide the new trust with a $1 million line item in future budgets to guarantee sufficient resources on an annual basis.

For perspective, $1 million would represent about 0.007% of the state’s $14 billion general fund budget.

Children’s Trust CEO Sue Williams made the case for those investments at a Nov. 19 press conference, specifically naming four evidence-based prevention programs the Trust would expand with additional resources: home visits, family strengthening and positive parenting initiatives, and a network of family resource centers.

“We already know what works,” Williams said. “But these programs need sustainable, reliable funding to reach more families across our state.”

Statehouse Report spoke with two longtime Trust supporters — Democratic Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and Republican State Sen. Mike Reichenbach of Florence — on Nov. 20.

Both stressed the human costs of the problem.

“The key to stopping this cycle isn’t enforcement – it’s education and prevention,” Lott said, noting that the issue affects the most vulnerable people in the community. “We all have a duty to step up, support families, and work together to protect children across our state.”

Reichenbach, who was born to a teen mother and spent time in foster homes before being adopted, called action to curb abuse a “moral imperative” for all South Carolinians.

“I know firsthand the tremendous, life-changing, and candidly, generationally changing impact a strong, healthy supportive family can have,” he said. “And how devastating it can be to a family and, in particular, to children when there’s abuse and trauma.”

And while he sounded broadly supportive of the Trust’s request, saying it’s “good public policy and good for taxpayers” to address the $74 billion impact, he quickly returned to the theme of shared responsibility.

“I’m calling on the faith community and the private sector and nonprofits to rise up and realize that every child we save from being abused is a better outcome than having to later help a child who’s been abused,” he said. “Not that we don’t help children experiencing abuse — we do. But how do we also work to prevent it.”

This article was originally published in the Charleston City Paper on Nov. 21, 2025.