Hidden Meaning: A Comparative Legal Analysis of State Statutory Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect

• In Event: Legal Frameworks and Policy Analyses in Victim Rights

Abstract

Violence against children persists as a national public health crisis and site of individual trauma. However, state civil definitions of child maltreatment include considerable variation and diverse nomenclature. This study engaged in a comparative legal analysis of definitions of child abuse within state legal systems (encompassing physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect) to: (1) develop a system of state typologies based on shared definitional characteristics (2) explore correlations between typologies and per capita child abuse rates and (3) investigate alignment/misalignment with academic definitions and practitioner standards. Early results indicate that states with “high threshold” definitions have higher per capita rates of child maltreatment and significant asymmetry between public policy and academic research. Suggestions for bridging this gap and future directions are discussed.

Author

• Andrew Michael Garcia, East Texas A&M University