Pursuing safety: Understanding harm, trauma, and interventions in families

Richard P. Barth, Jill Duerr Berrick, Melissa Jonson-Reid, Antonio R. Garcia, Johanna K.P. Greeson, John Gyourko and Brett Drake

Chapter 2 in Understanding Child Welfare, 2026, pp 17-41 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Child maltreatment is widely acknowledged as a serious and global concern for children, but vigorous debate exists about how best to respond. Even what should and should not be classified as abuse or neglect varies by state in the USA and across countries. This chapter briefly discusses the extent of child maltreatment and then focuses on the processes and controversies related to defining abuse or neglect, identifying who is responsible for reporting maltreatment, determining when CWS should intervene after a report, and balancing child safety and family privacy when assessing the need for deeper CWS involvement. We raise and inform the answers to questions concerning the extent to which child welfare should have a role in prevention through various forms of intervention or should be limited to responding to the most serious cases where maltreatment has already occurred.

Keywords: Child maltreatment definition; Maltreatment reporting; Maltreatment screening and risk assessment; In-home child welfare services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035359110
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