Resources to Help Prevent Abuse

Abuse, whether physical, emotional, or sexual is a terrible life-altering thing.  A child or adult can be abused at any point in his/her life and spend many years trying to overcome the effects.  Please use the resources below if you know of abuse or think you or a child is in danger of being abused.

The Child Help USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) is a confidential, toll-free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week hotline staffed with professional counselors.

The child abuse hotline offers crisis intervention, information, literature and referrals.  Since its inception the Child Help Hotline has taken more than 2 million calls from children in the midst of abuse, troubled parents, individuals concerned that abuse is occurring, and others requesting child abuse information.

Child Welfare Information Gateway is a U.S. government site that has excellent information about the subject of child abuse.

Life Call provides information on shelters for pregnant women and birth mothers.

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act is a Federal law that addresses child abuse and neglect.  It was originally enacted in 1974 (P. L. 93-247) and has been amended several times.   While this Act along with its amended version and companion laws addresses many important adoption issue, it has little practical every day use for adopting persons.  For the text of the Act see Law.Cornell.edu.

PreventChildAbuse.org (Prevent Child Abuse America) promotes and implements prevention efforts at both the national and local levels.