This Handbook examines core questions still remaining in the field of child maltreatment. It addresses major challenges in child maltreatment work, starting with the question of what child abuse and neglect is exactly. It then goes on to examine why maltreatment occurs and what its consequences are. Next, it turns to prevention, treatment and intervention, as well as legal perspectives. The book studies the issue from the perspective of the broader international and cross-cultural human experience. Its aim is to review what is known, but even more importantly, to examine what remains to be known to make progress in helping abused children, their families, and their communities.

The book series, "Child Maltreatment: Contemporary Issues in Research and Policy." will consist of a state of the art handbook (to be revised every five years) and two to three volumes per year. The first volume in this series is a legacy to C. Henry Kempe. This is a timely publication because 2012 marks 50 years after the appearance of the foundational article by C. Henry Kempe and his colleagues, "The Battered-Child Syndrome." This volume capitalizes on this 50 year anniversary to stand back and assess the field from the perspective that Dr. Kempe's early contributions and ideas are still being played out in practice and policy today. The volume will be released at the next ISPCAN meeting, also in 2012.

The book series, "Child Maltreatment: Contemporary Issues in Research and Policy." will consist of a state of the art handbook (to be revised every five years) and two to three volumes per year. The first volume in this seriesis a legacy to C. Henry Kempe. This is a timely publication because 2012 marks 50 years after the appearance of the foundational article by C. Henry Kempe and his colleagues, "The Battered-Child Syndrome." This volume capitalizes on this 50 year anniversary to stand back and assess the field from the perspective that Dr. Kempe's early contributions and ideas are still being played out in practice and policy today. The volume will be released at the next ISPCAN meeting, also in 2012. "

The second edition of this successful handbook, edited by well-known experts in this field, includes core questions in the field of child abuse and neglect. It addresses major challenges in child maltreatment work, starting with "What is child abuse and neglect?" and then examines why maltreatment occurs and what are its consequences. The handbook also addresses prevention, intervention, investigation, treatment as well as civil and criminal legal perspectives. It comprehensively studies the issue from the perspective of a broader, international and cross-cultural human experience. Apart from a thorough revision of existing chapters, this edition includes many new chapters covering recent developments in this area and other issues not covered in the first edition. There is more focus on substance abuse, psychological abuse, and on social and community involvement and public health provisions in the prevention of child maltreatment. The handbook examines what is known now and more importantly what remains to be researched in the coming decades to help abused and neglected children, their families and their communities, thereby taking the field forward.

Every day in the United States, children and adolescents are victims of commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. Despite the serious and long-term consequences for victims as well as their families, communities, and society, efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to these crimes are largely under supported, inefficient, uncoordinated, and unevaluated. Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States examines commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States under age 18. According to this report, efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to these crimes require better collaborative approaches that build upon the capabilities of people and entities from a range of sectors. In addition, such efforts need to confront demand and the individuals who commit and benefit from these crimes. The report recommends increased awareness and understanding, strengthening of the law's response, strengthening of research to advance understanding and to support the development of prevention and intervention strategies, support for multi-sector and interagency collaboration, and creation of a digital information-sharing platform. A nation that is unaware of these problems or disengaged from solutions unwittingly contributes to the ongoing abuse of minors. If acted upon in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, the recommendations of Confronting Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States can help advance and strengthen the nation's emerging efforts to prevent, identify, and respond to commercial sexual exploitation and sex trafficking of minors in the United States. Table of Contents Front Matter Summary Part I: Understanding Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States 1 Introduction 2 The Nature and Extent of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States 3 Risk Factors for and Consequences of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors 4 Legal Framework Part II: Current and Emerging Strategies 5 The Legal System 6 Victim and Support Services 7 Health and Health Care 8 The Education Sector 9 The Commercial Sector 10 Multisector and Interagency Collaboration Part III: Recommendations 11 Overall Conclusions and Recommendations Appendixes Appendix A: Disentangling the Language of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors in the United States Appendix B: Lessons Learned from International Efforts to Respond to Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Sex Trafficking of Minors Appendix C: Site Visit Methodology and Summaries Appendix D: Workshop and Site Visit Agendas Appendix E: Biosketches of Committee Members and Staff Index