Penn State University Libraries - Child Abuse and Neglect

Federal

• Children's Bureau (Administration for Children and Families)
  Under the auspices of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, this Web site provides information about services, programs and funding, child welfare monitoring, federal and state reporting systems, laws and policies, and statistics and research. Includes the Child Abuse and Neglect Web page with links to information about indentifying child abuse and neglect, risk and protective factors, and the impact of child abuse and neglect, among other topics.

• Child Maltreatment Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  Contains information about child abuse/neglect/maltreatment including prevention strategies, consequences, and the economic cost of child abuse and neglect.

• Child Welfare Information Gateway
  A service of the Administration for Children and Families (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) that "connects child welfare and related professionals to comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. We feature the latest on topics from prevention to permanency, including child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption."

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  Part of the National Institutes of Health, NICHD offers information about child abuse prevention, support resources, projects, and advocacy.

• United States Department of Justice

  • Project Safe Childhood
    "Project Safe Childhood is a unified and comprehensive strategy to combat child exploitation. Initiated in May, 2006, Project Safe Childhood combines law enforcement efforts, community action, and public awareness. The goal of Project Safe Childhood is to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. There are five essential components to Project Safe Childhood: (1) building partnerships; (2) coordinating law enforcement; (3) training PSC partners; (4) public awareness; and (5) accountability."

  • Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website
    "The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW), coordinated by the United States Department of Justice, is a cooperative effort between jurisdictions hosting public sex offender registries ('Jurisdictions') and the federal government "

Pennsylvania

• Child Welfare Services (Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare)
  Includes the ChildLine (State Child Abuse Registry) phone number to report child abuse: 1-800-932-0313, as well as links to the Child Abuse Annual Reports, and other topics related to child welfare.
  The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is the state agency overseeing the individual county Children and Youth agencies. Among other information, the website contains extensive resources for county agencies, child welfare providers, and information on reporting suspected child abuse.

• Child Line and Abuse Registry
  This web page is a part of the web site of the Department of Public Welfare and contains specific information to report suspected child abuse. Additional information includes phone numbers for the units that work with obtaining Child Abuse and Criminal History Clearances and the unit that works with requests to amend or expunge reports of child abuse.

• Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts
  The Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts is the administrative arm of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and was established to assist the courts in operating smoothly. The website of the Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts has a section For the Public that contains a wide range of information on various aspects of Pennsylvania courts and procedures.

• Office of Children and Families in the Court
  The Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts created the Office of Children and Families in the Court in order to create better outcomes for children who are in the foster care system in Pennsylvania. The website of the Office of Children and Families in the Court contains information for children, parents, attorneys, the courts, and the system professionals. The site contains a library with information from past events, a list of acronyms, a glossary, and a list of links to state and federal resources for the law, child welfare, and initiatives in the area of child welfare.

• Pennsylvania Attorney General's Child Predator Unit
  This website contains information on the task force created by the Attorney General’s office to combat online child predators. This task force expands the scope of the Child Sexual Exploitation Task Force which focused on child pornography in traditional print or media formats. The website includes information on protecting children from online predators as well as an online form to report suspicious activity.

• Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators
  The website of the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators contains information about the operation of county Children and Youth agencies, their state mandate, current legislation, and links to information about child welfare, Pennsylvania government, and parent resources.

• Pennsylvania Children and Youth Solicitors Association
  The website of the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Solicitors Association contains contact information for the attorneys who represent the individual county Children and Youth agencies.

• Pennsylvania State Police Megan's Law Website
  The Pennsylvania Megan’s Law Website contains a searchable database of convicted active sexual predators (those designated by the court as predators and whose designation as such has not been removed) who are not currently incarcerated. The site contains links to related resources such as the National Sexual Offender Registry, inmate locators, victim resources, and statistical information on Pennsylvania offenders.

• County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania: List of County Web sites
  Search a specific county website for child abuse information and resources.

Pennsylvania primary law is composed of statutes, administrative regulations, and case law. Primary law can be accessed through numerous free and subscription resources. Secondary resources comprise any material that discusses the primary law. Secondary resources are generally available through subscription databases.

Statutes

Pennsylvania statutes are composed of a subject arrangement of the current laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Each subject is called a title, which may, in turn, consist of multiple physical volumes. Though 79 titles have been assigned, not all titles currently contain laws.

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

The official compilation of Pennsylvania statutes is called Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes and can be located on the Pennsylvania General Assembly website. The official statutes do not contain annotations to other primary law or secondary law. Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated (see below) is heavily relied upon by practitioners in place of the official code. If any question of the accuracy of a statutory section arises, the text of the official code prevails.

Some statutes relevant to child abuse:

• Title 23 – Domestic Relations

  • 23 Pa. C.S. §6301, et seq. Child Protective Services (23 Pa. C.S. 6303(b) defines "child abuse")
  • 23 Pa. C.S. §6101, et seq. Protection from Abuse
  • 23 Pa. C.S. §6501, et seq. Newborn Protection
  • 23 Pa. C.S. §2101, et seq. Adoption

• Title 18 – Crimes and Offenses

  • 18 Pa. C.S. §2301, et seq. Offenses Involving Danger to the Person
  • 18 Pa. C.S. §4301, et seq. Offenses Against the Family

Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated

Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated, commonly referred to as Purdon’s, is the publication of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that is most commonly used. The annotated version contains, after each entry, historical information on the selected statute, citations to other resources including case law, other statutes, the Pennsylvania Code, and various secondary sources.

Purdon’s, in print format, may be found in multiple Penn State Libraries locations. See the CAT for more information.

Purdon’s may also be accessed from the main page of the Pennsylvania General Assembly website under the link for Unofficial Purdon’s Pennsylvania Statutes from West. This resource contains only the text of the statutes and historical information for each statutory section.

Administrative Regulations

Administrative regulations, sometimes referred to as rules, are a type of primary law created by agencies to carry out the agency mandates as directed by the state legislature.

Pennsylvania Code and Pennsylvania Bulletin

The Penn State Libraries hold copies of these two titles in multiple locations. The CAT links below will provide location and holdings information.

The Pennsylvania Code contains the administrative regulations as well as the court rules of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Code is organized by title. Some title numbers are not in use or assigned. The title numbers do not correlate to the Pennsylvania Statutes.

   The Pennsylvania Code online may be accessed for free.

The Pennsylvania Bulletin contains the most recent information relating to rulemaking by the Pennsylvania agencies, rulemaking by the Pennsylvania courts, The Governor’s Proclamations and Executive Orders, and actions by the General Assembly. Final agency rules and final court rules, first published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, will be incorporated into the Pennsylvania Code.

   The Pennsylvania Bulletin online may be accessed for free.

Regulations relevant to child abuse:

Title 55 – Public Welfare - Part V – Children, Youth, and Families Manual

The Pennsylvania Bulletin can be reviewed weekly for proposed and final regulations relating to Title 55.

Case Law

Case law refers to the body of primary law created by the judiciary. At the conclusion of a case, a judge may issue an opinion. Published opinions are more likely at higher levels of court. Published opinions are compiled in print volumes in chronological order. Opinions issued by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Superior Court, and the Commonwealth Court can be found on the website for The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. The opinions are usually posted on the date of issue and may be searched by keyword.

Cases may be located in databases using keyword searches, citation searches, or linked through other resources. Locating cases in a database often provides access to secondary resources and citator services.

Case law relating to child abuse can yield extensive results using keyword searching. Adding more specific terms, or dates, will filter results to a more manageable number for review. It is often better to locate case law in databases by first finding the specific statutes, then reading the annotations that relate directly to the statute in question. Once an on-point case is located, citator services can be used to locate additional cases that have cited the on-point case. A review of citing cases will show whether or not the on-point case is still good law or has been overturned by subsequent cases.

Libraries' Databases for Researching Law

• LexisNexis Academic
  The US Legal section of LexisNexis Academic provides access to primary and secondary legal materials. Primary legal materials include state and federal statutes, case law, and administrative rules and regulations. Secondary legal materials include law reviews, Shepard’s Citations, and legal reference sources. Separate specialized research areas include Supreme Court Briefs, Landmark Cases, Patent Law, and Tax Law.

• LoisLawConnect
  LoisLaw is an online legal research service providing access to primary and secondary legal materials. Primary materials are grouped by type of law and by jurisdiction and include federal and state case law, statutes, administrative rules and regulations, and court rules. Secondary materials include a collection of treatises arranged by practice areas.

• Index to Legal Periodicals & Books
  Index to Legal Periodicals and Books provides abstract/citation or full-text access to the most important English-language legal information including legal journals, law reviews, yearbooks, and bar association publications from 1908 to the present. Coverage also includes books and selected full-text articles from 1994 to the present.

• LegalTrac
  LegalTrac is a database for research in legal or law-related journals including major law reviews, specialty law reviews, and bar association journals including journals relating to children’s rights and family law. LegalTrac contains both citation/abstract information as well as some full-text access to journal articles.

• HeinOnline
  HeinOnline provides full-text access to a wide range of United States and foreign legal materials. HeinOnline currently provides access to over 1,620 law and law-related periodicals from their inception, a database containing session laws and related materials for the states and territories, a vast library of United States agency, congressional, presidential, Supreme Court, and many other United States legal materials collections. The collections may be browsed or searched and the results can be viewed and/or downloaded in PDF format.

  Citations located using Index to Legal Periodicals or LegalTrac can often be found in a full-text, PDF format in HeinOnline.

  Some relevant journals available on HeinOnline include:

  • ABA Juvenile and Child Welfare Law Reporter
  • Child and Family Law Quarterly
  • Child Law Practice
  • Children’s Legal Rights Journal
  • Family Advocate
  • Family Law Newsletter
  • Family Law Quarterly
  • Family Law Review
  • Journal of Juvenile Law [now University of La Verne Law Review]

• BNA/Bloomberg Family Law Reporter
  Family Law Reporter is a weekly information service providing developments in federal and state case law, legislation, trends and issues. Family Law Reporter includes links to the full text of cases covered, legislation, and regulations, as well as articles written by expert practitioners.

Web Sites

• Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts
  The Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts is the administrative arm of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and was established to assist the courts in operating smoothly. The website of the Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts has a section For the Public that contains a wide range of information on various aspects of Pennsylvania courts and procedures.

• Office of Children and Families in the Court
  The Administrative Offices of the Pennsylvania Courts created the Office of Children and Families in the Court in order to create better outcomes for children who are in the foster care system in Pennsylvania. The website of the Office of Children and Families in the Court contains information for children, parents, attorneys, the courts, and the system professionals. The site contains a library with information from past events, a list of acronyms, a glossary, and a list of links to state and federal resources for the law, child welfare, and initiatives in the area of child welfare.

• Pennsylvania Attorney General's Child Predator Unit
  This website contains information on the task force created by the Attorney General’s office to combat online child predators. This task force expands the scope of the Child Sexual Exploitation Task Force which focused on child pornography in traditional print or media formats. The website includes information on protecting children from online predators as well as an online form to report suspicious activity.

• Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators
  The website of the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Administrators contains information about the operation of county Children and Youth agencies, their state mandate, current legislation, and links to information about child welfare, Pennsylvania government, and parent resources.

• Pennsylvania Children and Youth Solicitors Association
  The website of the Pennsylvania Children and Youth Solicitors Association contains contact information for the attorneys who represent the individual county Children and Youth agencies.

• Pennsylvania State Police Megan's Law Website
  The Pennsylvania State Police Megan’s Law Website contains a searchable database of convicted active sexual predators (those designated by the court as predators and whose designation as such has not been removed) who are not currently incarcerated. The site contains links to related resources such as the National Sexual Offender Registry, inmate locators, victim resources, and statistical information on Pennsylvania offenders.

• Child Abuse Sourcebook
  2009. J. B. Shannon (ed.), Health Reference Series. Child Abuse Sourcebook, 2nd ed.. Detroit: Omnigraphics, Inc.
  Child Abuse Sourcebook online via the Gale Virtual Reference Library
  This reference book contains basic information about child maltreatment, including statistics, risk factors, symptoms, treatment, and the long-term consequences of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect. It contains facts about Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP), abusive head trauma, corporal punishment, parental substance abuse, incest, and child exploitation, along with information about child protective services, reporting abuse and neglect, legal protections, juvenile court, foster care and adoption, and parenting strategies, a glossary of related terms, and directories of resources for additional help and information.

• Victims of Sexual Assault and Abuse: Resources and Responses for Individuals and Families
  2010. Paludi, M.A. & F.L. Denmark. Westport CT: ABC-CLIO.
  Victims of Sexual Assault and Abuse online via ebrary.
  This two-volume set provides information on services for sexual abuse victims, focused on children and adolescent victims of sexual assault, educator sexual harassment of school children, runaways, abductions, cyberbullying, peer sexual harassment, and teen relationship violence. It also covers early prevention programs, school-based interventions, and expert witness testimony in court cases.

• Child Abuse and Neglect: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Evidence
  2010. C. Jenny (ed.). Elsevier.
  Written for pediatric healthcare workers, emergency departments, and nurses, this book’s sections include: epidemiology of child maltreatment, interviewing, sexually transmitted infections in children, physical abuse, abusive head trauma, and psychological aspects of child maltreatment.

• Quick Reference to Child and Adolescent Forensics : A Guide for Nurses and Other Health Care Professionals
  2010. Muscari, M. E. & K.M. Brown (Ed.). Springer.
  This book serves as a quick reference for nurses, emergency department staff, and other healthcare professionals as well as students working with both victims and perpetrators. It focuses on prevention, identification, and management of victims and offenders. This guide examines abuse resulting in minor injuries, permanent disabilities, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or even death.

• Encyclopedia of Stress
  2007. G. Fink (Ed.) San Diego: Academic Press.
  Written for graduate students, researchers, and clinicians, this four-volume set supports those in social work, health, and behavioral sciences programs. It contains articles addressing mental health effects, risk factors, assessment, and treatment surrounding child abuse, both physical and sexual, as well as child neglect.

• The Encyclopedia of Child Abuse.
  2007. Clark, R.E. and J. F. Clark. New York: Facts on File.
  This reference title provides insight on protecting at-risk children and understanding and recognizing child maltreatment and its contributing factors. Coverage includes: protective laws, controversial court cases, fatality statistics, battered child syndrome, and common psychological and physical injuries.

• Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Reference Handbook. 2nd ed.
  2007. Kinnear, K.L. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
  This handbook defines child sexual abuse in the United States and globally and how those definitions are reflected in United States and international laws. For students, social workers, teachers, policymakers, and parents, it summarizes intervention, treatment, and prevention of child sexual abuse.

• Child Abuse : Medical Diagnosis & Management. 3rd ed.
  2009. Reece, R. M. & C. W. Christian [Elk Grove Village, Ill.] : American Academy of Pediatrics.
  Written for researchers and healthcare providers, the book explores medical management and long-term effects of child abuse and neglect. Manifestations of the following are examined: cutaneous, skeletal, visceral, maxillofacial, neck, head, ocular, and dental. It also addresses interviewing young children, sudden infant death syndrome, poisoning, Munchausen syndrome by proxy, sexually transmitted infections, and conditions mistaken for physical and sexual abuse.

• Child Welfare League of America National Fact Sheet and State Fact Sheets.
  2012. Child Welfare League of America. Washington, D.C.
  Established in 1920, this coalition of private and public agencies provides information surrounding child protection, child care, health, education, and income support.

• Child Maltreatment: Summary of Key Findings.
  2011. Child Welfare Information Gateway. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau.
  These statistics are based on the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, a voluntary reporting system that collects and analyzes annual statistics on child maltreatment.

• Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities: Statistics and Interventions.
  2011. Child Welfare Information Gateway. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau.
  This resource provides national and state-level data on child fatalities due to abuse and neglect, including information on vulnerable populations, causes of death, perpetrators, community response, and prevention.

• National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect
  2010. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. Administration for Children & Families. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  Based on data from 2004-2009, this report to Congress, with supplementary studies, and technical reports, estimates child maltreatment incidences in the United States. Measuring changes from earlier studies and in relation to characteristics of the child, family and household, the estimates are based on cases reported to authorities as well as those that are not.

• Child Maltreatment 2010.
  2010. Children's Bureau. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  This latest publication from the Child Maltreatment Annual Reports: Reports from the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data Systems provides national statistics on reported suspected maltreatment. Teachers, police officers, lawyers, social services staff, and other professionals provide information to child protective services agencies. These referrals lead to investigations determining if a child was maltreated or is at-risk of maltreatment, and establish whether an intervention is needed. Case-level data include information about the characteristics of referrals, the children involved, the types of alleged maltreatment, risk factors of the child and the caregivers, the services that are provided, and the perpetrators.

• English/Spanish Child Abuse Phrase Book: Family-Social Worker Interview Manual/manual bilingüe para familias (University of New Mexico Press, 2002)
  by Edward Stresino
  Each year in the United States an estimated three million children are reported abused or neglected, and referrals are promptly pursued to find out what has happened to the minor. This book is an indispensable reference when a referral requires interviewing Spanish-speaking parents, guardians, or children.

• Reducing Child Maltreatment: A Guidebook for Parent Services (Guilford Press, 2002)
  by John Lutzker
  This practical manual presents detailed, step-by-step instructions for assessing and teaching key parenting skills proven to reduce or prevent child maltreatment. It is based on twenty years of research and practice with over 1500 families at risk for child physical abuse or neglect. The book shows how to help parents improve interactions with children, create safer home environments, and respond effectively to child health care needs.

• Center on Children and the Law (American Bar Association)
  The Center on Children and the Law "aims to improve children’s lives through advances in law, justice, knowledge, practice and public policy.” The website contains links to information on resources, projects, initiatives and publications of the ABA Center on Children and the Law.

• American Humane Association
  The web site of the American Humane Association, "the nation’s voice for the protection of children and animals", contains a broad range of resources such as statistical and scientific discussions of child abuse and neglect, extensive sections on legislation and public policy concerning child welfare, and numerous programs designed to improve the welfare of children.

• Center for Effective Discipline (CED)
  The Center for Effective Discipline provides information on the effects of the use of corporal punishment on children and suggests effective alternatives. Resources include information for parents and schools, information about legal and religious questions, and links to related resources, including a list of countries that have outlawed the physical punishment of children. CED is a program of the National Child Protection Training Center.

• Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
  "Policy research that benefits children, families, and their communities"
  Centered at the University of Chicago, Chapin Hall researchers study and report on economic programs for youth and families, child welfare services, community resources for child and youth development, community development strategies, and education. Chapin Hall Research includes reports which lay the conceptual foundation for innovative thinking and action in child, family, and community policy or present results from large-scale documentation and evaluation projects. All Chapin Hall publications are distributed in printed form and most are also available electronically free of charge.

• Child Abuse and Neglect (Helpguide.org)
  Helpguide.org provides professionally-researched, easy-to-read, ad-free articles that offer information, hope, and effective self-help choices about mental, emotional, and lifestyle challenges. The Child Abuse and Neglect Helpguide provides information to help "learn the signs and symptoms of child abuse and [...] find out where to get help for the children and their caregivers."

• Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Information Packet (National Sexual Violence Resource Center)
  "This information packet was developed for sexual violence prevention educators, advocates, and their allied partners in public health and other disciplines. The packet contains resources to support the prevention of child sexual abuse and draws from research on child sexual abuse prevention programming, child sexual abuse risk and protective factors, and the public health model of prevention."

• Childhelp: Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse
  Childhelp is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to meet the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children. Their primary purpose is to focus on advocacy, prevention, treatment and community outreach.

• Crimes Against Children Research Center (CCRC)
  "Based at the University of New Hampshire, CCRC provides research and statistics to the public, policy makers, law enforcement personnel, and other child welfare practitioners. CCRC is concerned with research about the nature of crimes including child abduction, homicide, rape, assault, and physical and sexual abuse as well as their impact."

• Juvenile Law Center
  "Juvenile Law Center is the oldest non-profit, public interest law firm for children in the United States. Founded in 1975 by four new graduates of Temple Law School in Philadelphia, Juvenile Law Center has become a national advocate for children’s rights, working across the country to enforce and promote the rights and well-being of children who come into contact with the justice, child welfare and other public systems."
  The Juvenile Law Center operates as a law firm and represents children in courts. In addition, the website of Juvenile Law Center is a robust resource for all aspects of a child’s interaction with the court systems. Resources include dockets, staff articles, case updates, fact sheets, Pennsylvania County-by-County Resource Guide, links to publications, blogs, podcasts, and more.

• Look Out for Child Abuse
  Look Out for Child Abuse is a web site collaboration of the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital, Department of the Humanities, and the Penn State Dickinson School of Law Center on Children and the Law. The website addresses child abuse resources in Pennsylvania along with providing information from other states, the federal government, and some international resources.

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
  "The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, (NCMEC), is a private, (501)(c)(3) nonprofit organization which was created in 1984. The mission of the organization is to serve as the nation’s resource on the issues of missing and sexually exploited children. The organization provides information and resources to law enforcement, parents, children including child victims as well as other professionals."

• National Child Protection Training Center
  "The National Child Protection Training Center works to end child abuse, neglect and other forms of child maltreatment in three generations through education, training, awareness, prevention, advocacy and the pursuit of justice." The Center provides training to Children and Youth agencies through ChildFirst. Ten of sixty-seven Pennsylvania counties have professionals who have been trained through ChildFirst, with more training taking place in 2012. The web site provides resources for the training of child welfare professionals, including publications, newsletters, videos, webinars, and opportunities for in-depth training.

• National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect
  Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University
  "The mission of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) is to facilitate the secondary analysis of research data relevant to the study of child abuse and neglect. By making data available to increasing numbers of researchers, NDACAN seeks to provide an accessible and scientifically productive means for researchers to explore important issues in the child maltreatment field."

• Penn State Center on Children and the Law
  "The mission of the Center on Children and the Law is to provide a collaborative, multidisciplinary center for research, teaching, outreach, and service on children’s issues that intersect with the law. The Center is dedicated to improving children’s overall well-being."
  The Center provides assistance to children through the Children’s Advocacy Clinic. Resources and publications on child abuse, as well as information on relevant news and events, can be found on the website.

• Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services
  The Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services is a statewide organization of private service providers who work with, and provide services for, children and families. The focus of the website is to support the needs of the service providers. As such it contains links for litigation affecting service providers, links to state resources, and a members-only section.

• Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program
  The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program, at the University of Pittsburgh, provides training for Pennsylvania’s county Children and Youth agencies to facilitate better outcomes for children and their families. The purpose of the website is to provide information on services offered and includes links to many state and child welfare resources.

• Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance
  The Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance is an organization dedicated to providing educational support for the recognition and reporting of child abuse as well as providing resources for positive parenting. As such, the website contains educational information on child abuse as well as statistical information on the occurrence of child abuse in Pennsylvania. The site also contains extensive information about, and training sessions for, mandated reporters.

• Prevent Child Abuse America
  Since 1972, Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) 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 our nation's children.

• Stop It Now! Together We Can Prevent the Sexual Abuse of Children
  The mission of Stop It Now! is to prevent the sexual abuse of children by mobilizing adults, families, and communities to take actions that protect children before they are harmed. The mission of the organization is to engage adults in respectful, caring behavior with children and other adults to create safe, stable, and nurturing relationships for all children, so that they can grow up free of trauma from any form of violence including sexual abuse and exploitation.

Find more articles in PubMed by using search terms such as child abuse, child sexual abuse, or child maltreatment — or — use the links in the Related citations area in the records to the articles listed below.

Screening/Diagnosis

• Unexplained fractures: child abuse or bone disease? A systematic review
  Pandya NK, Baldwin K, Kamath AF, Wenger DR, Hosalkar HS. 2011

• Medical and legal implications of testing for sexually transmitted infections in children
  Hammerschlag MR, Guillén CD. 2010

• Improving child protection in the emergency department: a systematic review of professional interventions for health care providers
  Newton AS, Zou B, Hamm MP, Curran J, Gupta S, Dumonceaux C, Lewis M. 2010

• Screening for child abuse at emergency departments: a systematic review
  Louwers EC, Affourtit MJ, Moll HA, de Koning HJ, Korfage IJ. 2010

• Child abuse and neglect: diagnosis and management
  Jacobi G, Dettmeyer R, Banaschak S, Brosig B, Herrmann B. 2010

• Performance of screening tests for child physical abuse in accident and emergency departments
  Woodman J, Pitt M, Wentz R, Taylor B, Hodes D, Gilbert RE. 2008

• Recognizing and responding to medical neglect
  Jenny C; Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, American Academy of Pediatrics. 2007

Epidemiology/Statistics/Impact

• Child abuse and other traumatic experiences, alcohol use disorders, and health problems in adolescence and young adulthood
  Clark DB, Thatcher DL, Martin CS. 2010

• Sexually transmitted diseases among adults who had been abused and neglected as children: a 30-year prospective study
  Wilson HW, Widom CS. 2009

• Childhood sexual abuse and adolescent pregnancy: a meta-analytic update
  Noll JG, Shenk CE, Putnam KT. 2009

• Gender, victimization, and psychiatric outcomes
  Gershon A, Minor K, Hayward C. 2008

• Men's self-definitions of abusive childhood sexual experiences, and potentially related risky behavioral and psychiatric outcomes
  Holmes WC. 2008

• Long-term correlates of childhood abuse among adults with severe mental illness: adult victimization, substance abuse, and HIV sexual risk behavior
  Meade CS, Kershaw TS, Hansen NB, Sikkema KJ. 2009

• Characteristics of sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence influence sexual risk behavior in adulthood
  Senn TE, Carey MP, Vanable PA, Coury-Doniger P, Urban M. 2007

Legislation/Trends/Possible Solutions

• Trends in childhood violence and abuse exposure: evidence from 2 national surveys
  Finkelhor D, Turner H, Ormrod R, Hamby SL. 2010

• Child abuse, confidentiality, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement]
  Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. 2010

• Doing the right thing: a primary care pediatrician's perspective on child abuse reporting
  McCarthy C. 2008

• Translating child abuse research into action
  Flaherty EG, Sege RD, Hurley TP. 2008

• Understanding roles and improving reporting and response relationships across professional boundaries
  Goad J. 2008

Children's and Young Adult Literature Selections with Child Abuse Themes

• Aimee: A Novel (Dutton Books, 2002)
  by Mary Beth Miller
  After she is accused of playing a role in her best friend's death, a young woman battles depression, anger, guilt, loneliness, and the problems of her own family as well as those of the families of her old friends.

• Because I Am Furniture (Viking, 2009)
  by Thalia Chaltas
  The youngest of three siblings, fourteen-year-old Anke feels both relieved and neglected that her father abuses her brother and sister but ignores her, but when she catches him with one of her friends, she finally becomes angry enough to take action.

• Bitter Melon (Egmont, 2011)
  by Cara Chow
  With the encouragement of one of her teachers, a Chinese American high school senior asserts herself against her demanding, old-school mother and carves out an identity for herself in late 1980s San Francisco.

• The Black Room (Dutton Children’s Books, 2006)
  by Gillian Cross
  Tom, his friend Robert, and Robert's sister Emma attempt to rescue a strange girl Robert believes is the counterpart of Lorn, a tiny person that he met during his own ordeal as a miniature copy of himself.

• The Boy from the Basement (Dutton Children’s Books, 2004)
  by Susan Shaw
  A twelve-year-old boy is confined to his basement without food or clothing. For Charlie, the basement is home. He's being punished. He doesn't mean to leave--Father wouldn't allow it--but when Charlie is accidentally thrust outside, he awakens to the alien surroundings of a world to which he's never been exposed. Though haunted by fear of the basement and his father's rage, Charlie embarks on a journey toward healing and blossoms when he becomes an unconditionally loved and loving member of the right foster family. This carefully crafted and authentic portrayal of Charlie's emotional and physical abuse is gracefully matched by Susan Shaw's inspiring and deeply moving story of recovery.

• Boy O’ Boy (Groundwood Books, 2003)
  by Brian Doyle
  Martin O'Boy is an expert observer and narrator of the summer of 1945, focusing both on the ups and downs of his family and neighbors; news from the war; and the popular culture of the day. Martin’s narrative echoes his naivety when a mentor at his church is exposed as a sexual predator.

• The Boy with the Lampshade on His Head (Atheneum Books, 2004)
  by Bruce Wetter
  Shy fifth-grader Stanley Krakow spends his time trying not to be noticed and pretending to be a superhero or a record-breaking athlete, until one day he meets someone who really needs him to be a hero.

• Breathing Underwater (HarperCollins, 2001)
  by Alex Flinn
  Sent to counseling for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin, and ordered to keep a journal, sixteen-year-old Nick recounts his relationship with Caitlin, examines his controlling behavior and anger, and describes living with his abusive father.

• The Carpet Boy’s Gift (Tilbury House, 2003)
  by Pegi Deitz Shea
  Yearning for freedom and schooling for himself and the other children who toil in a carpet factory in Pakistan to repay loans from the factory owner to their parents, Nadeem is inspired by a former carpet boy named Iqbal to lead the way.

• Claws (Random House, 2006)
  by Dan Greenburg
  Fourteen-year-old Cody trades one dangerous situation for another when he runs away from his abusive mother and takes a job caring for lions and tigers on a Texas ranch where one of the owners has supposedly gone missing.

• Counterfeit Son (Harcourt, 2000)
  by Elaine Marie Alphin
  When serial killer Hank Miller is killed in a shoot-out with police, his abused son Cameron adopts the identity of one of his father's victims in order to find a better life.

• Crimes Against Children: Child Abuse and Neglect (Chelsea House, 2000)
  by Tracee De Hahn
  Crime, justice, and punishment series. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102) and index.

• Dawn (Chicken House/Scholastic, 2009)
  by Kevin Brooks
  Fifteen-year-old Dawn, who cares for her alcoholic mother, tries to suppress a painful childhood memory as she contemplates killing God, whom she blames for her father's disappearance.

• Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey (Simon and Schuster Books, 1996; 2004)
  In the journal she is keeping for English class, sixteen-year-old Tish chronicles the changes in her life when her abusive father returns home after a two-year absence.

• Doppelganger (HarperCollins, 2006)
  by David Stahler
  When a sixteen-year-old member of a race of shape-shifting killers called doppelgangers assumes the life of a troubled teen, he becomes unexpectedly embroiled in human life--and it is nothing like what he has seen on television.

• Friction: A Novel (Atheneum Books, 2003)
  by E. R. Frank
  When a new girl at the private school Alex attends starts rumors about Alex's favorite teacher, Alex and her eighth-grade classmates are not sure how to act around him or with each other.

• Girl Reporter Stuck in Jam! (HarperCollins, 2000)
  by Linda Ellerbee
  Intrepid eleven-year-old journalist Casey Smith is so busy trying to get a story for the newspaper about a victim of physical abuse that she neglects her friend Ringo, the school's first male cheerleader.

• Gossamer (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
  by Lois Lowry
  While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the frightening Sinisteeds.

• Halinka (Holt, 1998)
  by Mirjam Pressler
  While living in a home for emotionally disturbed girls in Germany just after World War II, twelve-year-old Halinka carefully hides her thoughts, feelings, and even her hopes.

• Hate you (Delacorte Press, 1999)
  by Graham McNamee
  Nursing hatred for the father who choked her and damaged her voice as a child, seventeen-year-old Alice writes songs she feels she cannot sing and seeks to reconcile her feelings for herself and her father.

• Hold My Hand and Run (Dutton Children’s Books, 2000)
  by Margaret McAllister
  When the beatings she receives from her cruel aunt get worse, Kazy decides to run away from her home in seventeenth-century England and take her little sister Beth with her.

• I was a Teenage Fairy (Joanna Colter Books, 1998)
  by Francesca Lia Block
  A feisty, sexy fairy helps a young girl heal traumas of her past.

• Itch (Henry Holt, 2008)
  by Michelle D. Kwasney
  In 1968, after the death of her beloved Gramps, Delores "Itch" Colchester and her grandmother move from Florida to an Ohio trailer park, where she meets new people and, when she learns that a friend is being abused by her mother, tries her best to emulate her plain-spoken grandfather.

• Iqbal: A Novel (Atheneum Books, 2003)
  by Francesco D’Adamo
  A fictionalized account of the Pakistani child who escaped from bondage in a carpet factory and went on to help liberate other children like him before being gunned down at the age of thirteen.

• Iqbal Masih and the Crusaders Against Child Slavery (Holt, 1998)
  by Susan Kuklin
  An account of the former Pakistani child labor activist whose life and unexplained murder has brought to the attention of the world the evil of child bondage.

• Jumping the Scratch (Laura Geringer Books, 2006)
  by Sarah Weeks
  After moving with his mother to a trailer park to care for an injured aunt, eleven-year-old Jamie Reardon struggles to cope with a deeply buried secret.

• La Casita Azul (Tigrillo/Groundwood Books, 2003)
  by Sandra Comino
  In the forgotten little town of Azul in rural Argentina, there is a magical house. No one has lived there for almost as long as anyone can remember. But once a year, at midnight, the house turns blue, and twenty-four hours later it turns white again. For twelve-year-old Cintia, the little blue house is a refuge from life with her angry father. When the house is suddenly put up for sale, she and her best friend Bruno set out to save it.

• The Last Exit to Normal (Alfred A. Knopf, 2008)
  by Michael B. Harmon
  Yanked out of his city life and plunked down into a small Montana town with his father and his father's boyfriend, seventeen-year-old Ben, angry and resentful about the changed circumstances of his life, begins to notice that something is not quite right with the little boy next door and determines to do something about it.

• Learning to Swim: A Memoir (Scholastic, 2000)
  by Ann Warren Turner
  A series of poems convey the feelings of a young girl whose sense of joy and security at the family's summer house is shattered when an older boy who lives nearby sexually abuses her.

• Life is Fine (Delacorte Press, 2007)
  by Allison Whittenberg
  With a neglectful mother who has an abusive, live-in boyfriend, life for fifteen-year-old Samara is not fine, but when a substitute teacher walks into class one day and introduces her to poetry, she starts to view life from a different perspective.

• Little Chicago (Front Street, 2002)
  by Adam Rapp
  An eleven-year-old boy tries to cope with being sexually abused, neglected, and treated cruelly at school.

• Looking for JJ (Harcourt, 2007)
  by Anne Cassidy
  Seventeen-year-old Alice, released from prison with a new identity after serving six years for murdering a child, tries to keep her anonymity from the British tabloids, while haunted by memories of her past trauma.

• The Maestro (Puffin Books, 1998)
  by Tim Wynne-Jones
  Fleeing from his brutal father, fourteen-year-old Burl arrives at the remote cabin of an eccentric genius who in just one day changes the young man's life forever.

• The Missing Girl (Harper Teen, 2008)
  by Norma Fox Mazer
  In Mallory, New York, as five sisters, aged eleven to seventeen, deal with assorted problems, conflicts, fears, and yearnings, a mysterious middle-aged man watches them, fascinated, deciding which one he likes the best.

• Nicholas Dane (Henry Holt, 2010)
  by Melvin Burgess
  When his single mother dies of a heroin overdose, fourteen-year-old Nick is sent into England's institutional care system, where he endures harsh punishment and sexual abuse, and witnesses horrors on a daily basis before emerging, emotionally scarred but still alive. Loosely based on "Oliver Twist."

• Our Gracie Aunt (Hyperion, 2002)
  by Jacqueline Woodson
  When a brother and sister are taken to stay with their mother's sister because their mother neglects them, they wonder if they will see their mother again.

• Out of the Blue (Peachtree, 2009)
  by S.L. Rottman
  After moving to Minot, North Dakota, with his mother, the new female base commander, Air Force dependent Stu Ballentyne gradually becomes aware that something terrible is going on in his neighbor's house.

• Pictures in the Dark (Bloomsbury, 2004)
  by Patricia McCord
  Life with their mentally ill mother becomes unbearable for twelve-year-old Sarah and fifteen-year-old Carlie as they are deprived of food and forbidden to use the bathroom.

• Racing the Past (Henry Holt, 2001)
  by Sis Boulos Deans
  After the death of his abusive father, eleven-year-old Ricky tries to help his younger brother deal with his residual fears and discovers that running helps him deal with his own anger and the taunts of a bullying classmate.

• Rage: A Love Story (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009)
  by Julie Anne Peters
  At the end of high school, Johanna finally begins dating the girl she has loved from afar, but Reeve is as much trouble as she claims to be as she and her twin brother damage Johanna's self-esteem, friendships, and already precarious relationship with her sister.

• Rat (Boyds Mills Press, 2002)
  by Jan Cheripko
  Even though he cannot play basketball because of an injured right arm, the result of a birth defect, fifteen-year-old Jeremy is friendly with the team until he has to appear as a witness against the coach he saw molesting a cheerleader.

• The Rules of Survival (Dial Books, 2006)
  by Nancy Werlin
  Seventeen-year-old Matthew recounts his attempts, starting at a young age, to free himself and his sisters from the grip of their emotionally and physically abusive mother.

• The Safe Zone: A Kid’s Guide to Personal Safety (Morrow Junior Books, 1998)
  by Donna Chalet
  Discusses various self-defense options which may be used when in an uncomfortable or unsafe situation and suggests what solutions might work in real life.

• The School for Dangerous Girls (Scholastic, 2009)
  by Eliot Schrefer
  Sent to a remote, run-down reform school in Colorado, fifteen-year-old Angela is placed with the better girls, but upon learning that her "dangerous" friends are being isolated and left to live as animals, she takes radical steps to join them and help them escape.

• Sights (Delacorte Press, 2001)
  by Susanna Vance
  Despite years of abuse at the hands of her drunken father, Baby Girl has always believed that she was special, partly because of her "gift" of seeing the future, until she and her mother set out to begin a new life on their own.

• Signal (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009)
  by Cynthia C. DeFelice
  After moving with his emotionally distant father to the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, twelve-year-old Owen faces a lonely summer until he meets an abused girl who may be a space alien.

• Split (Alfred A. Knopf, 2010)
  by Swati Avasthi
  A teenaged boy thrown out of his house by his abusive father goes to live with his older brother who ran away from home years ago to escape the abuse.

• Stained (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2005)
  by Jennifer Jacobson
  In Weaver Falls, New Hampshire, in 1975, seventeen-year-old Jocelyn looks for answers when her lifelong neighbor and friend, Gabe, turns up missing and she learns that, while her boyfriend has been telling everything to a priest, Gabe has been keeping terrible secrets.

• Stick (Feiwel and Friends, 2011)
  by Andrew Smith
  Thirteen-year-old Stark "Stick" McClellan's brother has always defended him against those who tease him for his thinness and facial deformity, so when Bosten, having admitted he is gay, must leave home and their abusive parents, Stick sets out to find him.

• Strong at Heart: How It Feels to Heal from Sexual Abuse (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005)
  [compiled] by Carol Lehman
  Every year more than half a million young people are sexually abused or assaulted in North America. This groundbreaking book brings readers face-to-face with nine survivors who speak with candor and courage about the abuse they experienced, how they have healed, and how they are moving forward with their lives. White, black, Latino, and Native American, these everyday heroes come from a wide range of communities and have found different ways to cope with and overcome sexual trauma. Through moving personal stories and striking photographs they take readers into their lives, offering insight and hope for anyone affected by this all-too-common childhood experience. In this book about healing, young readers and their families will find additional information in the resource section, a comprehensive guide to the best help lines, books, films, and websites on healing and resilience.

• Suckerpunch (Harper Teen, 2008)
  by David Hernandez
  Shy, seventeen-year-old Marcus and his sixteen-year-old brother, Enrique, accompanied by two friends, drive from their home in southern California to Monterey to confront the abusive father who walked out a year earlier, and who now wants to return home.

• Tadpole (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003)
  by Ruth White
  In rural Kentucky in 1955, Serilda Collins, single mother of four lively girls, discovers that her orphaned nephew is being subjected to brutality.

• 33 Snowfish (Candlewick Press, 2003)
  by Adam Rapp
  A homeless boy, running from the police with a fifteen-year-old, drug-addicted prostitute, her boyfriend who just killed his own parents, and a baby, gets the chance to make a better life for himself.

• Touching Spirit Bear (HarperCollins, 2001)
  by Ben Mikaelsen
  After his anger erupts into violence, Cole, in order to avoid going to prison, agrees to participate in a sentencing alternative based on the Native American Circle Justice, and he is sent to a remote Alaskan Island where an encounter with a huge Spirit Bear changes his life.

• The Truth or Something: A Novel (Holt, 2002)
  by Jeanne Willis
  Growing up poor and neglected in post-World War II England, young Mick, longing to be part of a loving family as he is shuttled from home to home, must harden himself against disappointment and cruelty--and, finally, against the abusive father he only recently met.

• Waiting for Christopher: A Novel (Candlewick Press, 2002)
  by Louise Hawes
  Shortly after moving with her mother to Florida, a lonely, fourteen-year-old bibliophile is reminded of her infant brother who died and decides to care for an abused, abandoned child with help from a new friend.

• What Comes After (Candlewick Press, 2011)
  by Steve Watkins
  When her veterinarian father dies, sixteen-year-old Iris Wight must move from Maine to North Carolina where her Aunt Sue spends Iris's small inheritance while abusing her physically and emotionally, but the hardest to take is her mistreatment of the farm animals.

• When Jeff Comes Home (Putnam, 1999)
  by Catherine Atkins
  Sixteen-year-old Jeff, returning home after having been kidnapped and held prisoner for three years, must face his family, friends, and school and the widespread assumption that he engaged in sexual activity with his kidnapper.

• Where People Like Us Live (Laura Geringer Books/ Harper Teen, 2009)
  by Patricia Cumbie
  In 1978, when her restless father moves the family to Racine, Wisconsin, fourteen-year-old Libby quickly becomes friends with neighbor Angie, but there is something strange about Angie's stepfather and when Libby learns the truth, she must make a very difficult choice.

• You Don’t Know Me: a Novel (Frances Foster Books, 2001)
  by David Klass
  Fourteen-year-old John creates alternative realities in his mind as he tries to deal with his mother's abusive boyfriend, his crush on a beautiful but shallow classmate, and other problems at school.