In 1994, there were over 664,0 reports of child abuse/neglect and about 90,0 children in foster care in california. Between 1987 88 and 1994 95, the number of children served by the child welfare services cws system, after controlling for changes in population, increased 27 percent. This report presents a variety of information on the subject of child abuse and neglect. It is designed to serve both as a reference document and as a vehicle for stimulating further discussion and policy development on these issues.

Chapter 1 defines child abuse and neglect and describes the child welfare services system. In chapter 2, we present trends and characteristics regarding child abuse and neglect in california. Finally, in chapter 6 we provide an assessment of the cws program and discuss policy implications suggested by the information provided in the preceding chapters.

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State law defines child abuse as 1 physical injury inflicted on a child by another person, 2 sexual abuse, or 3 emotional abuse. Child neglect is defined as negligent treatment which threatens the child's health or welfare. The different types of child abuse/neglect can be categorized as follows: sexual abuse is the victimization of a child by sexual activities, including molestation, indecent exposure, fondling, rape, and incest. physical abuse is bodily injury inflicted by other than accidental means on a child, including willful cruelty, unjustifiable punishment, or corporal punishment. emotional abuse is nonphysical mistreatment, resulting in disturbed behavior by the child, such as severe withdrawal or hyperactivity.

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Emotional abuse includes willfully causing any child to suffer, inflicting mental suffering, or endangering a child's emotional well being. general neglect is the negligent failure of a parent/guardian or caretaker to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, or supervision where no physical injury to the child has occurred. severe neglect refers to those situations of neglect where the child's health is endangered, including severe malnutrition. exploitation means forcing or coercing a child into performing activities that are beyond the child's capabilities or which are illegal or degrading, including sexual exploitation. The cws system is run by the county welfare departments, which investigate allegations of child abuse/neglect and provide case management and support services to the children and their families.

The state's cws program consists of four main components: emergency response is the initial intake point for the program. Social workers are required to respond to reports of child abuse/neglect and determine whether an in person investigation is necessary. family maintenance provides support services to prevent abuse/neglect while the child remains in his or her home. Generally, these services include counseling, parent training, respite care, and temporary in home care. family reunification provides support services to the family while the child is in temporary foster care.

Typically, these services include counseling, emergency shelter care, parent training, and teaching homemaking skills. permanent placement provides management and placement services to children in foster care who cannot be returned to their families. Children who are served by the cws system generally come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may decide that the child should be made a dependent of the court. The juvenile dependency process involves a series of hearings and case reviews and may result in several outcomes such as foster care placement or adoption. County welfare departments may offer services to children and their families without involving the juvenile dependency process when there is a voluntary agreement for such services between the family and the county welfare department. The chart on the following pages shows the flow of a report of child abuse/neglect through the child welfare system.

reports of child abuse/neglect are received by county welfare departments through the emergency response component of the cws program. In some cases, the county social worker may determine that the child should be placed in temporary foster care. A dependency petition is filed for each emergency response case that is not closed immediately, requesting that the child be declared a dependent of the court.

A detention hearing is held to approve the temporary removal of the child from his or her home. At the jurisdictional hearing, the court determines whether or not abuse/neglect has occurred as stated in the petition. If abuse/neglect was found, a dispositional hearing is conducted to determine a remedygenerally, the court may order family maintenance or family reunification services.

review hearings are held, generally every six months, to review family maintenance and family reunification efforts. If family reunification efforts fail, a permanency planning hearing is held to determine the long term plan for the child. The plan must include one of the following goals: long term foster care placement, guardianship, or adoption. The state collects information regarding the incidence of child abuse/neglect through reports made by county welfare departments.

It is difficult, however, to measure the actual incidence of child abuse/neglect for several reasons. First, the definitions and guidelines used for determining child abuse/neglect are not precise. Second, some people may be reluctant to report child abuse or neglect because they do not want to become involved. Finally, it may be difficult for government agencies to substantiate a report, even though abuse or neglect has occurred. In california, the number of child abuse/neglect reports per 1,0 children increased 76 percent between 1985 and 1994. While this suggests that child abuse/neglect has increased significantly, data are not available on the number of reports that were actually substantiated that is, where it was determined that abuse or neglect had occurred.

The california child abuse reporting law requires certain professionals to report known or suspected child abuse. Legally mandated reporters include certain employees of schools such as teachers or day care facilities, health practitioners physicianurses, clinical social workers , child protective agencies county welfare, probation, police departments , and commercial film and photographic print processors. Based on data from january 1993, 54 percent of the reports came from legally mandated reporters.