ABSTRACT
Child maltreatment, which typically includes sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and emotional abuse, is highly prevalent in our society. Over the past two decades, a great deal of research and public attention has been focused on trying to determine the prevalence of maltreatment, ways to identify potential perpetrators, strategies to prevent or reduce the risk of child abuse, and interventions for children who have suffered abuse. School psychologists and educators are in a unique position to identify children who may be at risk and/or have experienced child abuse. They can also play an important role in ameliorating the potentially damaging long-term effects of child maltreatment. Since most children attend school (with the exception of home-schooled children) during the majority of their waking hours, educators and school psychologists probably spend more time with children than any other adult in their lives. As a result, educators and school psychologists share the responsibility for ensuring the safety and well-being of children and are forced into the sometimes unwelcome role of identifying and intervening in the lives of children who experience child abuse. The purpose of this chapter is to provide information on child maltreatment so that educators and school psychologists can become more fully aware of the scope and magnitude of child maltreatment. Hopefully, this information will serve as a useful resource and will assist educators and school psychologists in identifying children who experience maltreatment, perhaps prevent children from being abused, and enable educators and school psychologists to refer children for appropriate services. The first section of the chapter focuses on prevalence of child maltreatment, followed by a discussion on the effects associated with the different types of child abuse. The third section provides an overview of school-based abuse prevention programs, followed by a discussion on issues related to the mandated reporting of child maltreatment.
