The importance of cooperation and information sharing between hospitals and child protective services was evident throughout conference sessions. Four panels were convened that represented a range of hospital-based responses to child abuse and neglect. The first panel discussed the initial identification of abuse by hospital personnel and hospital staff training to ensure proper identification and treatment of abused and neglected children. This panel also noted the role of the child abuse team attorney in the reporting of child abuse and the release of information. The second panel reviewed issues surrounding the care provided to children as inpatients and highlighted several community-based programs. The third panel addressed the role of multidisciplinary teams in hospital-based responses to child abuse and neglect, while the fourth panel outlined hospital-community partnerships in service provision, research, and prevention. Suggestions for the future evolution of hospital-community responses to child abuse and neglect were discussed, and conference participants called for a new paradigm to foster a real commitment to serving abused and neglected children. Additional information on the conference and participants is appended. References, tables, and figures