Child abuse is the physical or emotional abuse of a child by a parent, guardian, or other person. Reports of child abuse, including sexual abuse, beatings and murder, have increased in the United States, and some authorities believe the number of cases is largely under-reported. Child neglect is also included in legal definitions of child abuse to cover cases of malnutrition, neglect, and inadequate care of a child's safety. When reported, inadequate foster care services and a legal system that has difficulty accommodating the suggestible nature of children, who are often unable to distinguish fact from fiction, complicate child abuse cases. During the years 1985 and 1996, there was a 50% increase in reported cases of child abuse. In 1996, three million cases of child abuse were reported annually in the United States. That same year approximately twelve hundred children died from abuse across the country. Treatment of the abuser has had only limited success, and child protection agencies are overwhelmed. Recently, efforts have begun to focus on the primary prevention of child abuse. Primary prevention of child abuse must be implemented at many levels before it can be successful. Prevention, on a social level, is very important and could save a life. According to the American Humane Association, prevention should include expanding families' financial self-sufficiency by discouraging corporal punishment and other forms of violence. Making health care more available and accessible by increasing and developing the coordination of social services, evolving the identification and treatment of psychological problems and alcohol and drug abuse, providing more accessible childcare and preventing the birth of unwanted children. Family-level prevention plans include helping parents meet their basic needs, identifying substance abuse and spousal abuse problems, and educating parents about behavior, discipline, safety, and child development. In the case of child abuse, primary prevention is defined as any intervention designed to prevent child abuse before it occurs. In 1993, three million children in the United States were reportedly victims of abuse. 35% of these child abuse cases were confirmed. Data from various reporting sources indicate that improved reporting could lead to a significant...... middle of paper......and increasing attempts to improve their skills as parents or caregivers could help save the most vulnerable people, our children, from the nightmare of abuse and abandonment.BIBLIOGRAPHY1. Bass, Elena. The courage to heal: A guide for women survivors of child abuse. New York: Harper & Row, 1997.2. Davis, Laura. Stop domestic violence. New York: Macmillan, 1998.3. TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/4. American Humane Association; http://www.americanhumane.org/5. The Gallup Organization. (1995). Disciplining children in America: A Gallup poll report. Princeton, NJ6. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. (1998). Child Maltreatment 1996: State Reports to the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.7. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System