Using case examples, the first chapter reviews the problem of child abuse and neglect, including physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, sexual abuse, growth failure, physical neglect, abandonment and failure to provide adequate supervision, medical neglect, and educational neglect. The second chapter provides an overview of the scope of child maltreatment, as it reviews studies on the scope of child maltreatment, differences in various study data, and fatality following child abuse. The historical perspective provided in the third chapter discusses children in early American Society, the beginning of efforts at child protection, and the growth of the child- protection movement. The historical overview also considers child abuse legislation; the politics of child abuse; voluntary organizations working in child abuse and neglect; and multidisciplinary, corporate, and international perspectives. A chapter on factors associated with child maltreatment is followed by a chapter on intervention. The latter chapter addresses the report, intake, assessment, the criminal or civil court proceedings, the decision to remove a child from the home, and the child protective services worker as witness. A chapter describes interviewing techniques, and another profiles various types of treatment models and methods. A discussion of child maltreatment prevention distinguishes among strategies for primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention. The concluding chapter outlines steps in treatment evaluation. A summary and suggested readings accompany each chapter. Appended Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, resources and national organizations concerned with child maltreatment, and Canadian Provincial and Territorial agencies concerned with Child Abuse, 234 references, and a subject index