What is Child Abuse?

"Your Role in Protecting Children Against Child Neglect and Abuse"

According to the Child Protective Services Law there are three items that must be present in order to substantiate abuse. Those items identified by the law are a child, a perpetrator, and a situation that meets the criteria for one of the five types of child abuse. A child is a person under 18 years old. The person committing the abuse (perpetrator) must be a parent of the child, a person responsible for the child’s welfare, a person living in the child’s home, or a person with an ongoing intimate relationship with the parent who does not necessarily live in the home. The child should show evidence of serious physical injury, serious mental injury, serious physical neglect, sexual abuse or exploitation, or imminent risk.