C Henry Kempe A 50 Year Legacy To The Field Of Child Abuse And Neglect

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.

A report on child abuse, offering guidelines for treatment of both the child and the family in an attempt to keep the abuse from recurring.

This two-volume encyclopedia surveys all aspects of violence and abuse in domestic/family environments, including specific types of abuse, laws and legal issues, and the impacts of abuse. Wide-ranging and authoritative, this resource provides extensive coverage of widely recognized forms of violence and abuse in family settings, including physical, verbal, and emotional abuse of spouses and intimate partners (both female and male) as well as children. In addition, the encyclopedia scrutinizes less recognized types of violence and abuse in households, such as abuse of siblings by other siblings and abuse of parents or grandparents by children and grandchildren (both minor and adult). Family Violence and Abuse is a valuable resource for readers seeking a better understanding of the true scope and impact of these various forms of violence and abuse; important factors that contribute to incidence of family violence and abuse; and the various laws, programs, and therapy alternatives that have been created to help victims of abuse and rehabilitate offenders.

As we near the 50th anniversary of the landmark article by C. Henry Kempe and his colleagues entitled “The Battered Child Syndrome”, which ushered in the modern era of professional attention by pediatricians and other child health professionals, we have reason for both celebration and concern. We can take heart that over the recent ve decades, a great deal of professional attention focused on the problem of child abuse and neglect. In every state of the country, there are mandatory repo- ing laws that require nurses, physicians, and social workers to report suspicions of maltreatment to the appropriate authorities for investigation. The act of repo- ing provides legal immunity to the reporter except when performed in bad faith. Progress in understanding the factors that place children at risk for harm from ph- ical abuse and neglect now permits prevention and intervention. The peer-reviewed literature dealing with child abuse and neglect has proliferated with high quality work being done and reported on the many dimensions related to the epidemi- ogy, mechanism, treatment, and prognosis of child maltreatment. Efforts are being directed toward developing an evidence-based approach to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. These are some of the positives. However, negatives exist and remain reasons for concern. Despite a tremendous amount of attention to the pr- lem of maltreatment, there are at least 3 million reports of suspected child abuse and neglect made annually, with nearly 1 million cases being substantiated.

The Fourth Edition of The APSAC Handbook on Child Maltreatment provides readers with the most up-to-date theory, research, and best practices in the field of child abuse and neglect. Edited by leading experts J. Bart Klika and Jon R. Conte, this best seller covers all aspects of child maltreatment, from physical abuse to sexual abuse and neglect, focusing on etiology, consequences, investigation, and treatment and systems. Updates include new content on assessment and mental health interventions, prevention, as well as global perspectives. Comprehensive and easy to read, the handbook will serve as an invaluable resource for students and professionals—both emerging and seasoned—across disciplines, but part of the same movement dedicated to improving the lives of maltreated children.

Is it possible to overcome the enduring problem of child maltreatment? In Eradicating Child Maltreatment, leading international figures in the field of child welfare address this enduring and thorny question, setting out a public health approach to prevention. It draws on groundbreaking research and practice on prevention and early intervention from around the globe spanning health, social care, education and criminal justice. Contributors describe what is known about the incidence of child maltreatment, how far we have succeeded in eradicating it, which preventative strategies have been proven to be effective, and offers evidenced recommendations for policy and practice. Aiming to draw us nearer to the goal of a world free from child maltreatment first articulated by the visionary paediatrician Dr. C. Henry Kempe in 1978, this important book provides new insights for professionals, managers, academics and policymakers across the range of child and family welfare services.