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One of the biggest ironies of a child’s life is that the family - a child’s primary source for love, support, and security - can be the most abusive group that a child belongs to. The significance of the family in American society has been essential to our N ....

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.... the responsibility to protect children, even if it is from their own parents. (Bender and Leone, 1994, p. 12) Child abuse data is collected in many inconsistent ways from state to state and from study to study, many instances of abuse, especially neglect, are not always documented, and the definition of abuse varies from study to study. These inconsistencies make it very difficult to analyze and compare the statistics on child abuse and neglect. So what does the term "child abuse" mean in today’s society? The Child Abuse and Prevention Act (PL 100-294) defines child abuse and neglect as the physical or mental injury, sexual abuse, or exploita ....