Prevention and Reporting of Child Abuse

This is a key piece of Federal legislation that addresses child abuse and neglect.  It was originally enacted in 1974 (P. L. 93-247) and has been amended several times, most recently reauthorized on June 25, 2003, by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003 (P. L. 108-36).  It provides Federal funding to States in support of prevention, assessment, investigation, prosecution, and treatment activities and also provides grants to public agencies and nonprofit organizations for demonstration programs and projects.  While this Act along with its amended version and companion laws addresses many important adoption issues, it has little practical every day use for the average adopting person.  For the text of the Act see Law.Cornell.edu .  For a comprehensive site on all adoption related laws visit ChildAdoptionLaws.com

This U.S. government site has some excellent information about the subject of child abuse.

Prevent Child Abuse America is a 35 year old organization that has led the way in building awareness, providing education and inspiring hope to everyone involved in the effort to prevent the abuse and neglect of children. Prevent Child Abuse America promotes and implements prevention efforts at both the national and local levels. They are a group of friends, professionals, volunteers, donors and parents who want to  prevent child abuse and neglect before it ever starts.

Child abuse, whether physical, emotional, or sexual is a horrible thing for a child to experience.  A child can be abused at any point in his/her life and spend a lifetime trying to overcome the effects. Children have been abused throughout human history, but only recently, and only in particular countries and cultures, has the abuse of children come to be seen as a major social problem and a cause of many people's suffering and personal problems. Many, if not most, abused and neglected children never come to the attention of government authorities. This is especially true for neglected and sexually abused children. Please use this resource if you think you know of any child being abused.