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The Discovery of Child Abuse
In 1962, C. ... " The survey, which for the first time defined the "battered child syndrome," graphically catalogued brutality to young children, many of whom suffered multiple injuries. While earlier discoveries of the child abuse phenomenon had smoldered in the public consciousness, Kempes report ignited a broad-based national effort to find ways to protect children. Specifically, it led to calls for child abuse reporting systems, to ensure that whenever a "battered child" was even suspected, the case would be reported and measures taken to protect the child.
By 1966 all fifty states had passed legislation regulating child abuse, all of which mandated reporting. By 1986, every state but one required reporting of neglect, and forty-one states made explicit reference to reporting of emotional or psychological abuse. ...
The Avalanche of Child Abuse Reports
The state mandated reporting laws resulted in a meteoric rise in child abuse reports across the United States. In 1962, when Kempe and his colleagues published their report, there had been about 10,000 child abuse reports. By 1976, child abuse reports had risen to more than 669,000, and, by 1978 to 836,000.
Approximate Word count = 899
Approximate Pages = 3.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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