The Nation - News from Feb. 26, 1986

Reports of child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse, are increasing nationwide, with no weakening of substantiation for these sordid tales, a child welfare group said. Taking issue with suggestions that the problem has been exaggerated, the Child Welfare League of America said that the increasing numbers of such reports had led many state agencies to pay less attention to cases involving older children in order to concentrate on those “too young to run.” The problem is exacerbated by dwindling federal support for efforts to prevent child abuse, organization officials told reporters.