evidence” is found in about 40 percent of those million cases. However, as Asseal asserts, “Most of the remaining 60 percent ... involve a caseworker entering a parent's home and making a subjective decision that a child is not getting adequate care, food, or shelter. If even a fraction of those judgments result from misunderstandings, tens of thousands of families are being wrongly separated.”

There is tremendous pressure on Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies to “act quickly,” according to author Timothy W. Maier. He says, “They know that five American children die every day of abuse, and the Number 1 killer for children under age 2 is abuse. This leads them to step on parental toes whenever they think it is necessary `for the good of the child.'” Maier continues, “The general rule is for CPS agencies to remove the child first.” But one of the main issues is, where does the “suspicion” begin? How can we have 600,000 cases a year that in many instances cannot be substantiated? Maier cites examples, from “an anonymous complaint as minor as someone reporting a mother spanking a child in public,” to “retaliation [that] may fall upon parents who complain against school administrators or psychologists.” Further, Maier asserts that if we couple these minor or false allegations with the rising foster care “cottage industry” (he says that “for many, foster care is a livelihood”), we have now created an entire “child-abuse industry.” This is not to say that real, horrific, and substantiated abuse doesn't occur – it does. But reports have to be weighed against many factors.

Another aspect of this “child-abuse industry” is seen in the decrease in sexual abuse cases being reported. While some argue the “decline may be partially due to decreased reporting and changes in the procedures used by CPS agencies ... there is strong evidence that a real decline in child abuse [has] occurred,” according to David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. But some are reluctant to acknowledge that, says Finkelhor, because they fear “that if people believe sexual abuse is waning, their vigilance and concern about the problem and their willingness to support funding will disappear.”

Unless society finds a solution to more effective child abuse reporting and case substantiation, we will continue to support a “child-abuse industry” that separates good parents from healthy children.

Resources
Asseal, Shaun. "Child Abuse Is Overreported." Family Violence. Ed. J.D. Lloyd. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001.
Finkelhor, David, and Lisa M. Jones. "Child Sexual Abuse Has Declined." Child Sexual Abuse. Ed. Angela Lewis. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005.
Maier, Timothy W. "The Foster Care System Exposes Children to Abuse." Child Abuse. Ed. Bryan J. Grapes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001.

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