Child homicides in Los Angeles County soared 31 percent and suicides jumped 70 percent from 2007 to 2008, a troubling trend that experts say may be a consequence of the economic downturn.

The annual report released today by the Inter-Agency Council on Child Abuse and Neglect said 34 children were killed by parents, relatives or caregivers in 2008, compared with 26 the previous year.

Suicides among local youths jumped from 10 to 17.

The ICAN study period coincided with the mortgage meltdown, leading to the collapse of the real-estate market and triggering a deep recession. Some experts suggested a link between money troubles and increased violence against children.

"We do know that financial difficulty has a negative impact on family functioning and the often-stressful work of being a parent," said Trish Ploehn, director of the county Department of Children and Family Services.

"This stress often reverberates through and affects all the members of a family - and sadly, sometimes it finds the family's weakest link. Knowing this, it is important that we don't wait until bad things happen; it is imperative that we reach families before matters escalate."

Still, some experts pointed to additional statistics that indicated not all the news was bad.

Deanne Tilton Durfee, executive director of ICAN, noted that the number of child homicides in 2007 was significantly below the 15-year average of 39, which may help explain the significant increase for 2008.

And the number of reports of child abuse and neglect in the county fell slightly from 167,325 in 2007 to 166,745 in 2008.

However, she still suggested that the stress of losing a home or job could have been a factor in some of the cases.

"It could be a result of the economy," Tilton Durfee said. "There were 18 domestic violence-related child homicides. More than half involved the father, stepfather or mother's boyfriend versus seven involving the mother.

"Men, in general, have been the primary perpetrators in child abuse homicides and, in general, are not trained or skilled at taking care of very young children."

Tilton Durfee said she was particularly troubled by the dramatic jump in suicide among youths.

"I think that may very well have to do with the economy and with the increased usage of the Internet - exacerbating or intensifying negative messages to children," she said. "It could have to do with cyber-bullying, the Internet and drugs."

Tracy Webb, a senior trial attorney for child abuse in the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, noted a "huge increase" in recent years in Internet-related crimes against children.

"Now that children have cell phones with cameras and Internet access, it's a hugely fertile ground for sex offenders and other predators to prey on children," Webb said.

The City Attorney's Office is working with local schools to educate teachers and parents about Internet predators and the growing problems with "sexting" and cyber-bullying, which is the use of online technology to harass, intimidate, stalk or verbally assault others.

"One of the things we are trying to pay attention to is whether, God forbid, the suicides we're seeing have any relationship to cyber-crime," Webb said.

The report's authors also noted that mental health and school budgets were cut significantly in 2008, which may have affected suicide prevention efforts. The previous five years had seen a continual decline in the numbers of youths who took their own lives.

Disturbingly, 12 of the 17 youths who committed suicide hanged themselves, the report said. A dozen also had experienced the recent loss of a boyfriend, girlfriend or other friend, although the report did not say whether those two figures were related.

Three of the youths tested positive for drugs, three experienced academic problems, three had received special education services and two had school discipline or truancy problems. Three of the youths had a criminal or juvenile delinquency record.

Of the 34 child homicides in 2008, 14 had prior contact or an open case with DCFS, up from 12 in 2007.

Despite this increase, Tilton Durfee said DCFS and other agencies in the county are working better now than they ever have in preventing child abuse and neglect.

"There is much more that can be done, which is why there is an inter-agency focus on the new issues related to cyber-crimes, suicides and homicides," she said. "The need for inter-agency information sharing is a key issue now and that's why we have such a focus on cross-reporting and making sure whatever one agency knows about a child or family is also known by every other agency."

Over the last year, Ploehn said DCFS has enhanced its units that investigative allegations of abuse and neglect.

"The focus has been on quality interactions with families, more comprehensive interviews, making sure families have access to community and other resources, and fostering trusting relationships between social workers and the children and families they serve," Ploehn said.