Child abuse and neglect affect children's health now and into the future. Children experiencing maltreatment can suffer from poor mental and physical health well into adulthood.

In 2019, 12 children per 1,000 reported to be abused or neglected, down from nearly 15 in 2012, but higher than the national rate of 9. This makes Arkansas 34th in the nation for this indicator. Among major racial and ethnic groups, rates were highest for white children at 12.7, and were 11.9 for Black children and 6.3 for Hispanic children.

County-level data was only available as number of true reports (not children in reports). In 2019, counties with the highest rates of reports per 1,000 children were Boone, Jackson, and Poinsett counties at 15 or more, and those with the lowest were Howard with 3.3, Saline with 4.4 and Benton and Grant both with 4.6.

State and national data report the number of victims of child abuse and neglect, expressed as a rate per 1,000 children under 18. A child maltreatment victim is defined as a child who is the subject of a substantiated, indicated, or "alternative response" maltreatment report. A child is counted only once as a victim regardless of the number of times he or she was found to be a victim during the reporting year. For subgroups, the traditional race and ethnicity breakdown displays non-Hispanic race categories and Hispanic children of any race. State and national data and subgroup data breakouts are from the U.S. Administration for Children and Families.

Child-level data was not available for counties. County data reflects the number of reports found to be true in each county, per 1,000 children in the county.