Apsac Handbook On Child Maltreatment

by John E. B. Myers

Below in an introduction for a research paper on the APSAC handbook on Child Maltreatment.

The APSAC handbook on Child Maltreatment begins by discussing the child protection system in the United States. Included topics are the history of child protection, programs that help prevent child abuse., Child Protection Services, adoption and foster care, and prosecution of child maltreatment.

This handbook is large, 449 pages and 22 chapters. It is broken down into five parts that the author feels is relevant to today's social work major.

Child Maltreatment

The textbook breaks child protection down into three time frames:

• colonial times to 1875
• 1875 to 1962
• The modern era, when the government began to get involved with child protection.

The book goes into great detail on how government involvement has evolved to an increase interest in protecting children from all forms of abuse. The press also began to publish articles and news stories that helped draw needed attention to the issue. "The Battered-Child Syndrome" by Henry Kempe helped make child abuse a national concern. One could also see the Child welfare Gateway for additional information.