Frequently Asked Questions About Child Abuse and Neglect

There are less reports of child abuse made during the summer because children have less contact with mandated reporters, such as teachers and social workers, while they are not in school. The decrease in reports of child abuse during the summer does not mean there is less child abuse and neglect taking place.  The number of child abuse reports increases in September and continues through June. July and August are the months with the lowest number of child abuse reports. 

1) When adults give a history of injury that changes over time or with different inverviews during the investigation or treatment of the child. The story keeps changing.

2) When an adult blames another child for the injury and it is not consistent with the level of development for either child. Blaming another child for severe injuries is common.

3) The history of how the injury occurred is not consistent with the type or severity of the injury. Frequently the abuser will give themselves away with partial truths, such as "I shook the baby when he wouldn't wake up".

4) When the adult delays seeking treatment for the injured child. The abuser hopes the child's condition will improve without seeking help. Or they hide the incident until someone else finds the child injured.   

5) Other injuries are present that are unexplained or do not match the mechanism of injury. Bruises and injuries on different areas of the body that are not prominent or have normal pattern of injury distribution commonly associated with child's play. For example, scraped knees is common for children. But bruises on the belly or upper back are not commonly associated with play activity.   

6) When injuries that the child has do not match the level of development of the child (for example, bruises on a two-month old infant's face, back or buttocks from a "fall")  

Here is one example of a legal definition of child abuse (from the State of California):

Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect

To better understand this issue and to view it across States, see the Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect: Summary of State Laws (PDF - 442 KB) publication.

Physical Abuse
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11165.6; 11165.3

Child abuse or neglect includes:

       Physical injury inflicted by other than accidental means upon a child by another person

       Willful harming or injury of the child or the endangering of the person or health of the child

       Unlawful corporal punishment or injury

Willful harming or injuring of a child or the endangering of the person or health of a child means a situation in which any person willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon, unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is endangered.

One example of a legal definition of child neglect comes from the State of California:  
Neglect
Citation: Penal Code § 11165.2
Neglect means the negligent treatment or the maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for the child's welfare under circumstances indicating harm or threatened harm to the child's health or welfare. The term includes both acts and omissions on the part of the responsible person.


Severe neglect means the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to protect the child from severe malnutrition or medically diagnosed nonorganic failure to thrive. Severe neglect also means those situations of neglect where any person having the care or custody of a child willfully causes or permits the person or health of the child to be placed in a situation such that his or her person or health is endangered, including the intentional failure to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or medical care.


General neglect means the negligent failure of a person having the care or custody of a child to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision where no physical injury to the child has occurred.

Professionals Required to Report (State of California)
Citation: Penal Code §§ 11166; 11165.7
Mandated reporters include any of the following:


       Teachers, teacher's assistants, administrative officers, certificated pupil personnel employees of any public or private school


       Administrators and employees of public or private day camps, youth centers, youth recreation programs, or youth organizations


       Employees of child care institutions, including, but not limited to, foster parents, group home personnel, and personnel of residential care facilities


       Social workers, probation officers, or parole officers


       Any person who is an administrator or a counselor in a child abuse prevention program in any public or private school


       District attorney investigators, peace officers, firefighters, except for volunteer firefighters


       Physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists, dentists, licensed nurses, dental hygienists, optometrists, marriage counselors, family and child counselors, clinical social workers


       Emergency medical technicians I or II or paramedics


       State or county public health employees


       Coroners or medical examiners


       Commercial film and photographic print processors


       Child visitation monitors


       Animal control officers or humane society officers


       Clergy members, which includes priests, ministers, rabbis, religious practitioners, or similar functionary of a church, temple, or recognized denomination or organization


       Any custodian of records of a clergy member


       Employees of any police department, county sheriff's department, county probation department, or county welfare department


Employees or volunteers of Court Appointed Special Advocate programs

There are many risk factors that contribute to child abuse. All children are at risk for abusive experiences, but the risk goes up when one or more of the following characteristics are present:

Community/society: high unemployment, poverty, criminal activity and lack of social services

Family: unwanted or unplanned pregnancy, criminal history, single parent, substance abuse, mental health problems, emotional immaturity, poor coping, low self-esteem, lack of parenting skills, and personal history of child maltreatment

Child: disabled child, prematurity, disagreeable personality features

As a child develops and grows into adolescence the effects of child maltreatment begin to manifest as poor academic performance, poor school attendance, substance abuse, promiscuity, aggression, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, suicide ideation, smoking addiction and teen pregnancy. 

Child maltreatment also continues to effect adults that were abused as children. Their symptoms may include post-traumatic stress disorder, un-employment, low self-esteem, depression, suicide ideation, alcohol abuse, tobacco abuse, substance abuse, promiscuity, domestic violence, adult child abusers, unplanned pregnancy, high-risk behavior and obesity.  

There are several main types of child abuse for which the cases are most frequently filed. The abuse can physical – if a child is malnutritioned, underhydrated, is lacking supervision or shelter, hit, choked, thrown, kicked, shaken or suffers any physical act that caused or potentially endangered child’s life or health it is considered that a child has been abused. Physical abuse may also include cases when medical or mental healthcare was not provided when required, and a child suffers severe injury or death as a result of withholding healthcare. Sexual abuse is a frequent type of abuse where children get molested by adults – it is required that all types of abuse be reported. If your child has experienced any of the above it is then the time to act. A child can be compensated for his or her "general or noneconomic damages" - which includes past and future physical pain, mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, physical impairment, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, humiliation and emotional distress. No fixed standard exists for deciding the amount of these damages. The jury must use its judgment to decide a reasonable amount based on the evidence and its common sense. A child can also be compensated for his or her "special or economic damages" - which includes medical and other expenses (e.g. attendant care, equipment expenses, transportation expenses, housing expenses, supervisory expenses, education expenses and many others - including respite expenses so that parents of severely injured children can take a break and be able to pay top notch professionals to care for the their child while they rejuvenate), and the lost earning capacity of a child. If the jury decides that a child has suffered damages that will continue for the rest of his or her life, it must determine how long he or she will probably live. According to published government sources, it is possible to estimate the number of years a child is expected to live. Some people live longer and others die sooner. This published information is evidence of how long a person is likely to live but is not conclusive. In deciding a child's life expectancy, a jury should also consider, among other factors, a child's health, and other pertinent factors such as habits, activities and lifestyle. The Keane Law Firm employs nationally-recognized life expectancy experts to prove this in a scientifically-acceptable manner. We have helped many families to correct the injustice caused by somebody else’s wrongdoing. Call The Keane Law Firm immediately to discover your options.

Generally, any sudden changes in behavior or school performance could indicate abuse. However, these are not the only observable signs. If you notice unexplained bruising, loss of weight, observe your child to be always watchful as if a child is preparing for something to happen, if your child is too passive, quiet, withdrawn or compliant, stays late in school – then your child might be abused. If your child refuses to discuss problems with you, it is better to seek help as early as possible to make sure that your child does not incur a deep psychological and/or physical trauma and there may be more children involved. If that has happened to your child, we can help by investigating and filing a case on your behalf to ensure proper compensation to your child and that the abuser gets punished. Child abuse is not acceptable and should never be tolerated. We will devote all our efforts to your case and promise to do everything legally possible to help your child and you with such a complicated matter. After reporting suspected abuse to the proper governmental protective services agency (see a list of numbers to call in the Resources section of this website), call The Keane Law Firm as soon as possible thereafter so that we can protect the child's legal rights against the abuser, and those who were obligated to prevent the abuse.

In California, certain professionals are required to report known or suspected child abuse. The California Child Abuse Reporting Law is found in Penal Code Sections 11165-11174.3.