Although society imposes much more rigid child care standards on institutions than on its families, the closed nature of the institution makes it difficult to prove from the outside that many residents are being harmed. Institutional maltreatment is classified into four levels: physical and mental abuse or neglect which results in harm to the child; treatment that is illegal; practices which may be inappropriate, such as unnecessary physical force or arbitrary decisions concerning behavior standards; and failure to provide optimal treatment. An examination of factors which can lead to child abuse in institutions (unless there are extraordinary efforts to the contrary) covers characteristics of children sent to institutions, the physical and psychological pressures placed on the staff, overcrowding, scarcity of allowable sanctions, and lack of support systems. Laws which govern reporting child abuse are discussed, as are investigative procedures with emphasis on the Draft Federal Standards. Gudelines for institutional policies and procedures regarding abusive treatment are presented. Topics considered include staff behavior, residents' rights, treatment plans, and family involvement. Finally, approaches which can restrain institutional maltreatment are described, such as staff selection procedures, and citizen reviews. The appendixes contain standards on residential institutions, a sample policy on residents' rights and a sample disciplinary code for residents. Diagrams and a bibliography of 20 citations are provided.