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 murders, have surged in the United States and some authorities say the number of cases is vastly underestimated. Child neglect is also included in the legal definitions of child abuse to cover cases of malnutrition, abandonment, and inadequate care for the safety of a child. Where reported, inadequate foster care services and a legal system that struggles to accommodate the impressionable nature of children, who are often developmentally incapable of distinguishing fact from fantasy , complicate cases of child abuse. During 1985 and 1996, there was a rate of 50 percent. increase in reported cases of child abuse. As of 1996, three million cases of child abuse are reported each year in the United States. That same year, some 1,200 children died from abuse across the country. The abuser's treatment has had limited success, and child welfare agencies are overwhelmed. Recently, efforts have begun to focus on primary prevention of child maltreatment. Primary prevention of child abuse must be equipped on several levels before it can be successful. Prevention, on a social level, is very important and could potentially 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. Make health care more available and affordable, increase and develop coordination of social services, advance the identification and treatment of psychological problems, alcoholism and drug abuse, provide more affordable child care and prevent the birth of unwanted children. Family-level prevention plans include helping parents meet their basic needs, identifying substance abuse and domestic violence issues, and educating parents about behavior, discipline, safety, and child development. child. In the case of child maltreatment, primary prevention is defined as any intervention designed with the aim of preventing child maltreatment before it occurs. In 1993, three million children in the United States were estimated to have been abused. Thirty-five percent of these child abuse cases were confirmed. Data from a variety of reporting sources indicates that improved reporting could lead to a significant reduction in paperwork...and increasing attempts to improve their skills as parents or caregivers could help save those most vulnerable, our children, from the nightmare of abuse and neglect.BIBLIOGRAPHY1. Bass, Ellen. The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Abuse. New York: Harper and 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 Animal Welfare Association; http://www.americanhumane.org/5. The Gallup Organization. (1995). Disciplining America's Children: A Gallup Poll Report. Princeton, New Jersey6. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, National Childhood Data System