This article presents information to prosecutors' offices, law enforcement, child protective services, health care and treatment agencies, victim advocates, courts, and other interested agencies across the country with information on child abuse in an effort to educate staffs, encourage information sharing, and promote closer working relationships between agencies to better serve and protect children. Over 1,700 children die each year from abuse while hundreds of thousands more survive the physical and sexual abuses inflicted on them. Topics covered in this article include: child abuse case characteristics and statistics; statute of limitations; impacts of child maltreatment; costs of child abuse and maltreatment; preventing and responding to child abuse and neglect; reporting incidents of child abuse; and issues related to successful investigation and prosecution. 41 references