Author Description

This unique compilation reproduces official documents about child abuse and missing children. Contents include: Portable Guide To Investigating Child Abuse - Law Enforcement Response to Child Abuse * Recognizing When a Child's Injury or Illness Is Caused by Abuse * When Your Child Is Missing: A Family Survival Guide * The Crime of Family Abduction - A Child's and Parent's Perspective * Investigating Child Fatalities * Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Child Sexual Abuse * Battered Child Syndrome: Investigating Physical Abuse and Homicide * Burn Injuries in Child Abuse * Law Enforcement Response to Child Abuse * Diagnostic Imaging of Child Abuse * Forming a Multidisciplinary Team To Investigate Child Abuse.Law Enforcement Response - Child abuse is a community problem. No single agency has the training, manpower, resources, or legal mandate to intervene effectively in child abuse cases. No one agency has the sole responsibility for dealing with abused children. When a child is physically assaulted or sexually abused, the ideal response is for doctors to treat injuries, therapists to counsel the child, social services professionals to work with the family, law enforcement officers to arrest the offender, and attorneys to prosecute the case. This is possible only if the agencies and organizations involved have an established process for working together to respond to child abuse cases. The most effective community response involves establishing a child protection team that includes professionals from the medical, mental health, criminal justice, social services, and education fields who understand and appreciate the different roles, responsibilities, strengths, and weaknesses of the other team members and can cooperate and coordinate their efforts. Law enforcement's role in child abuse cases cannot be overstated. It spans the entire case from the initial call, through the investigation, to the court proceedings. Law enforcement officers investigate and determine if a cr