Schools are very sensitive to the rapid social, economic, and demographic changes that the United States is presently undergoing. They are at a disadvantage compared to most other social institutions because, in serving a younger population, they have less lead time to prepare for changes in the complexion of society. Young people in today's world…

This digest familiarizes counselors with the four major types of child maltreatment: neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and exploitation, and emotional abuse or neglect. A definition is provided for each, along with relevant symptoms and statistics. The subsequent discussion focuses on identifying maltreatment and on counseling abused children.…

After defining numerous terms related to physical and mental child abuse and neglect and presenting information on the prevalence and causes of abuse, this document explains areas of immediate concern for schools: (1) identification; (2) communicating with the student about possible abuse; (3) reporting suspected abuse; (4) assisting the abused…