This handbook was written to heighten public awareness and understanding about child abuse and to serve as a practical aid for persons who work with children, who are in the field of child abuse prevention, and who are mandated to report suspected cases of child abuse under the California Child Abuse Reporting Law. It provides an overview of the laws, practices, and procedures for the prevention, detection, reporting, treatment, investigation, and prosecution of child abuse. It is designed to assist educators, health practitioners, law enforcement officers, child care workers, social workers, probation officers, and the general public in understanding their respective responsibilities under state law. The first section examines the issues of physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment, and the extent of the problem. The second section is concerned with identifying the child abuser. The third section addresses professional responsibilities for reporting child abuse by the schools, child care providers, the medical community, child welfare services, probation, law enforcement, and the legal community. The fourth section concerns prevention, intervention, and treatment, and the final section examines the role of the community. Appendices contain child abuse reporting forms; California Child Abuse Reporting Law, and sections on dependency proceedings, child abuse crimes, investigation of child abuse crimes, guidelines for investigation of child abuse in group homes or institutions, and confidentiality. (NB)