PHYSICAL: Shaking, beating, burning, failure to provide necessities of life (e.g., adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care). A child is physically injured by other than accidental means. A child is being subjected to willful cruelty or unjustifiable punishment. Any kind of contact with a child could be considered a sexual act. It will depend on the intent of the person making the contact.

It is repeated mistreatment or neglect of a child by parent(s) or other guardian resulting in injury or harm. Under California Law, child abuse is a crime. Children need protection because they are vulnerable and often unable to speak for themselves. The California Child Abuse Reporting Law, along with other state laws, provides the legal basis for action to protect children and allow intervention by public agencies if a child is maltreated.

Physical, emotional, sexual and spiritual abuse can all occur. Physical abuse can occur as beatings, electroshock, torture, confinement, forced ingestion of drugs, blood, and feces. Emotional abuse involves trickery, deceit, and blaming the victim. Sadistic sex with children and non-consenting adults and forced perpetration of sexual abuse are forms that sexual abuse can take.

Children should tell a person they can trust, such as a parent, teacher, relative or friend, if they are being abused, even if they are worried about what might happen next.

involving one or both parents Tragically, though, it most often happens at home and usually the abuser is known to the child. Generally, the abuser is a caretaker. A caretaker can be a parent, stepparent, relative or baby-sitter.

Child abuse happens often. It is estimated that as many as a million cases of abuse and neglect happen each year. Its effects are severe: Often, abused children become teenagers/adults who act in criminal and other antisocial violent behavior. Even Death: Parents who habitually abuse their children may very well end up killing them. Hundreds of such cases happen every year in the United States.

REPEATED INJURIES: Bruises, welts, burns. Parents may seem unconcerned, deny that anything is wrong, or give unlikely explanations for the injuries. NEGLECTED APPEARANCE:Children often are badly nourished, inadequately clothed, are left alone or are wandering at all hours, always seem as if nobody cares. (Sometimes, though, over-neatness may be a sign of abuse.) DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR: Very aggressive, negative behavior constantly repeated can signal a desperate need for attention and help.

All children have the right to grow up in a safe environment. Child abuse, in all its forms, has a more lasting and negative effect on children, families and the whole community than most people realize. its worst, its destructive impact haunts its victim throughout life and prevents the child from becoming a productive adult. Frequently, parents who were mistreated as children will mistreat their own children.

There are several things you can do about it. Learn more about child abuse and how it is treated. Don't ignore child abuse, REPORT IT! Be supportive and helpful to families having problems. If you or your family need help coping with children, ask for it. Social service agencies are there to help you. To report child abuse or neglect in Los Angeles County, call the Child Abuse Hot Line at 1-800-540-4000 (California only). From outside California, call (213) 639-4500.

State officials tell us they are ill-equipped to handle the range of concerns abused and neglected children and their families experience. Their limited resources go to the most serious cases of maltreatment, while other families with less serious problems receive little, if any, attention. Families where there is abuse and neglect experience a range of social and health problems. Most states site parental alcohol and drug abuse as their most pervasive child safety concern.

When a person notifies the Department of Children's Services regarding possible abuse or neglect of a child, Children's Services social work staff determines how quickly to proceed with an investigation by assessing the referral information and focusing on the present and future risks to the child. Considering the condition of the child and the risk of future maltreatment helps a social worker determine how quickly to respond to a CPS referral and what priority to assign that referral.

Most parents and caregivers realize that physical discipline can go too far. Yet many people feel that hitting a child is okay as long as the child isn't hurt. They may believe that it sends a clear and direct message about unacceptable behavior. However, this approach has some problems. Physical punishment: May work at first because it shocks a child. But it becomes less effective as it is repeated or if it comes with anger and rejection.

This is a very difficult answer and the answer is not available for several reasons pertaining to the newness of the program, the taboos around this subject and the unreported cases. Several child abuse cases go unreported out of fear or shame. cases have been unveiled and supported between 1997 and 2002. In 2003, the Family Protection Department inaugurated four new offices for its work in the governorates of Irbid, Balqq, Zarqa, and Aqaba.

Child abuse occur in the place where it is least expected; home, and from adults entrusted for the care of children; parents or guardians. In many cases, if the abuser is not a parent/guardian, s/he is certainly known to the child, especially in the case of sexual abuse.

Sometimes there are no obvious physical signs of sexual abuse, and a physician must examine the child to confirm the abuse.

If you suspect a possible child abuse, you should contact your local branch of the Family Protection Department and discuss with them the situation. You should inform the FDP the name of the child, the address of the child and the suspected incident. Do not make judgments about the parent or the child, just inform them of what you suspect and give all the details you have and think will be useful in investigating the case.

The Family Protection Department (FPD) is your first option and has authority to investigate the reported case. The Family Protection Department is a division of the Public Security Directorate that deals with sensitive issues related to domestic violence and child abuse. Its role is to investigate, prevent and reduce child abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence utilizing a victim-centered and human rights based approach.