A Nationwide Concern.

Child abuse became a powerful social issue in the 1980s, generating intense media attention, heightened public concern, congressional hearings, numerous books and articles, and increased workloads for child-protective-service (CPS) agencies. The first national studies to determine the prevalence of child abuse were conducted in 1974, and in 1979-1980 periodic National Incidence Reports were mandated by the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. In 1984 the American Humane Association (AHA) estimated that there were 1.7 million abused or neglected children in the United States. Although the methods employed in this and other studies provoked debate among experts, producing disagreement about the total numbers of abused children, there was broad agreement among professionals that the problem in America was widespread and probably growing. By 1980 nearly all states required social-service professionals who had contact with children to report any case of suspected child abuse — one factor that helped to...