Child Maltreatment

Professional Resource Brief

Definitions

• View definitions for Child Abuse and Neglect (child maltreatment) at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  

Care, Services, and Support

• Childhelp®: National Child Abuse Hotline. Crisis intervention, information, and referrals to emergency, social service, and support resources. The hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with professional crisis counselors who, through interpreters, can provide assistance in 170 languages. All calls are anonymous and confidential. Text or telephone: (800) 4-A-CHILD (800) 422-4453. Online Live Chat is also available.
  
  
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC): 24-Hour Hotline. A hotline to assist the public in reporting missing and exploited children and in providing information to help locate these children. Telephone: (800) THE-LOST (800) 843-5678.
  
  
• National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC): Help for Crime Victims. Lists of Helplines— Toll-Free and Online Hotlines, for victims of all types of crime.
  
  The VictimConnect Resource Center's Talk to Someone offers a confidential, compassionate helpline and resources for victims of all crime.
  
  
• National Runaway Safeline (NRS). Telephone: (800) RUNAWAY (800) 786-2929 or chat live on the NRS website for confidential support and referrals to service providers.
  
  
• National Safe Place Txt 4 Help. Adolescents in crisis can text the word “safe” and current location (address, city, state) to 4HELP (44357). They will receive the address of the nearest safe place site and a phone number for the local youth agency. If there is no local shelter or safe place, they will be referred to the National Runaway Safeline
  
  For immediate help, reply with “2chat” to text interactively with a trained counselor. TXT 4 HELP is a free service offered to all youth in crisis.
  
  
• Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN): National Sexual Assault Hotline. Free, confidential counseling 24 hours a day in partnership with rape crisis centers across the country. Telephone: (800) 656-HOPE (800) 656-4673. The hotline also offers an online interface. Or search by state or zip code to find a local crisis center.
  
  
• Also see the Community Services Locator: An Online Directory for Finding Community Services for Children and Families.
  

Websites

• KEY RESOURCE   Child Welfare Information Gateway. Information and tools for child welfare professionals and others who work to help protect children and strengthen families. Select Child Abuse & Neglect from the left sidebar for definitions, statistics, and resources about signs and symptoms, risk and protective factors, perpetrators, the impact on individuals and society, and child fatalities. Select Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect for resources that help agencies and communities strengthen families, raise awareness, and implement prevention programs. Select Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect for resources about child abuse and neglect reporting and potential responses from the child welfare system. Also view state-specific resources, publications, training tools, an online library, and an event calendar. Some resources are available in Spanish.
  
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention. Webinars, reports, articles and other tools about preventing physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect by a parent, caregiver, or other person in a custodial role (e.g., clergy, coach, teacher). Includes definitions, data and statistics, risk and protective factors, prevention strategies, and information about the consequences of child maltreatment.
  
  Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. Framework, questionnaires, major findings, data and statistics, and publications about one of the largest investigations ever conducted to assess associations between childhood maltreatment and health and well-being later in life.
  
  Youth Violence. Facts, statistics, resources, and programs.
  
  
• Child Welfare League of America (CWLA). Background information, facts and statistics, and publications about child maltreatment and child protection. Includes legislative information and advocacy tools about child welfare services.
  
  
• FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention. Training and technical assistance information and resources for staff at federally funded community-based child-abuse-prevention programs and for other professionals working to prevent child maltreatment and support families. Includes an online learning center, evaluation tools, publications, a conference calendar, and a listserv.
  
  
• Military OneSource: Child Abuse and Domestic Abuse. Information for military families about reporting options, how to find help, safety planning, helping victims and those in crisis, and financial assistance.
  
  
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Information and resources for professionals and families about missing children, child molestation, child pornography, child prostitution, and child safety and prevention. Some materials are available in Spanish.
  
  
• National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS). Information about shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma for parents, health professionals, legal and law enforcement professionals, and educators. Includes educational materials, including materials for military families, training tools, and prevention programs. Most materials are available for purchase.
  
  
• National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW). Online training tutorials, literature reviews, reports, federal and state policy tools and legislation, and other resources for health, social services, and court professionals and legislators about systems and practice for families with substance use disorders who are involved in the child welfare and family judicial systems.
  
  
• National Children's Advocacy Center (NCAC). Online training courses, webinars, and ask-the-expert audio clips for law enforcement, criminal justice, child protective service, and health professionals about working as a team to recognize and support children and adolescents who are victims of child abuse. Includes annotated bibliographies and resource lists by the Child Abuse Library Online (CALiO) on a wide range of child abuse topics.
  
  
• National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). Information about and reports and instruments from this nationally representative, longitudinal survey of children and families who have been the subjects of investigation by Child Protective Services.
  
  
• Prevent Child Abuse America. Program and research information and materials that promote positive parenting and a communitywide approach to child abuse prevention. Includes contact information for state chapters.
  
  
• Stop It Now! Educational materials, media messages, training tools, and community-based program strategies about preventing child sexual abuse.
  
  
• Children's Safety Network (CSN). 2008. MCH Approach to Preventing Child Maltreatment. Newton, MA: Children's Safety Network (CSN). [Report].
  

Related MCH Digital Library Resources

• Child Abuse organizations list
• Children and Adolescents Exposed to Violence resource brief
• Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide (Includes the section Inappropriate Use of Seclusion and Restraints), family resource brief, school resource brief
• Home Visiting resource brief
• Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) professional resource guide, family resource brief
• Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief

Child Maltreatment: Resource Brief, 2nd ed. June 2013. Updated: December 2014, July 2021, Nover 2024.

Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Reviewers: Jennifer Allison, Ph.D., Children's Safety Network; Sally Fogerty, B.S.N., M.Ed., Children's Safety Network; Rebecca Hunt, M.P.A., Children's Safety Network; Shree Mohanty, M.A., M.S., R.D., L.D., Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Region V; Olivia Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Digital Library; Morrisa B. Rice, M.H.A., R.E.H.S., R.S., HRSA Office of Women's Health; and Ellen Schmidt, B.S., M.S., O.T.R., Children's Safety Network.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Digital Library.