by Douglas J. Besharov and Lisa A. Laumann

About the authors: Douglas J. Besharov is a visiting professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs. He is the author of Recognizing Child Abuse: A Guide for the Concerned. Lisa A. Laumann is pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia.

For 30 years, advocates, program administrators, and politicians have joined to encourage even more reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. Their efforts have been spectacularly successful, with about three million cases of suspected child abuse having been reported in 1993. Large numbers of endangered children still go unreported, but an equally serious problem has developed: Upon investigation, as many as 65 percent of the reports now being made are determined to be “unsubstantiated,” raising serious...