A disturbing new report finds more kids in Pennsylvania are dying from abuse.
According to the data from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, 46 kids died in the Keystone State in 2016.
That's up from 34 reported deaths in 2015.
The study also shows 79 children were nearly killed in 2016 compared to 58 in 2015.
The analysis shows a steady increase in cases since 2009.
Most of the abuse victims were children under the age of five and most of the abusers were parents.
Head trauma was the most common serious injury.
The number one risk factor was drug and alcohol use by abusers.
More than 60 percent of all children killed or almost killed were known by their children and youth agencies.
State health officials call this report one of the first of its kind in Pennsylvania because it tracks the trends in child abuse.
They hope to use this data to come up with policies and strategies to prevent child abuse.
Based on these numbers, those officials are recommending children and youth agencies change their policies and protocols, collaborate more with other community agencies and do a better job of following up on child abuse claims.
State officials say right now they're working on the numbers for 2017 cases.
There have been changes in both child abuse laws and requirements for reporting abuse in Pennsylvania and officials say PA has a "record level of child abuse reports."
Despite the startling numbers, the rate of child abuse deaths in PA is lower than the national average.
For more information or a link to that entire report, click here.