Learn about our training materials in Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse.

Books, Monographs, and Papers

Recognizing Child Abuse: A Guide for the Concerned

Douglas J. Besharov

Recognizing Child Abuse: The Trainer's Manual

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Abuse Realities: Over-Reporting and Poverty [PDF], Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, Fall 2000

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Abuse Reporting [PDF], 2000

Douglas J. Besharov and LisA A. Laumann

Four Commentaries: How We Can Better Protect Children from Abuse and Neglect [PDF], The Future of Children, Spring 1998

Douglas J. Besharov, Marcia Robinson Lowry, Leroy H. Pelton, and Michael W. Weber

Fixing Child Protection [PDF], Philanthropy Roundtable, January 1, 1998

Douglas J. Besharov

Good Parents Not Money [PDF], The Public Interest, Fall 1997

Douglas J. Besharov and Mark H. Lopez

The Politics of Child Abuse in America (book review) [PDF], American Political Science Review, March 1997

Douglas J. Besharov and Jacob W. Dembosky

Don't Call It Child Abuse If It's Really Poverty [PDF], Journal of Children and Poverty, Winter/Spring, 1997

Douglas J. Besharov and Lisa A. Laumann

Child Abuse Reporting [PDF], Social Science and Modern Society, May 1, 1996

Douglas J. Besharov and Lisa A. Laumann

The Children of Crack: A Status Report [PDF], Public Welfare, Winter 1996

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Abuse Reporting: The Need to Shift Priorities from More Reports to Better Reports [PDF], 1996

Douglas J. Besharov and LisA A. Laumann

Looking Beyond 30, 60, and 90 Days [PDF], Children and Youth Service Review, 1994

Douglas J. Besharov

Responding to Child Sexual Abuse: The Need for a Balanced Approach [PDF], The Future of Children, Summer/Fall 1994

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Protective Services Liability: When the System Fails [PDF], Trial, February 1994

Douglas J. Besharov

Intervening with Drug-Dependent Pregnant Women, 1994

Douglas J. Besharov

Overreporting and Underreporting Are Twin Problems, 1993

Douglas J. Besharov

Improving child protective services: how to expand and implement the consensus, Children Today, March 1992

Douglas J. Besharov

A Balanced Approach to Reporting Child Abuse, The Child, Youth, and Family Services Quarterly, Winter 1992

Douglas J. Besharov

Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse and Research on the Effects of Prental Drug Exposure, 1992

Douglas J. Besharov

Whose Life Is It Anyway? Pregnant Crack Users Act as Child Abusers, (PDF version), The National Law Journal, March 4, 1991

Douglas J. Besharov

Reducing Unfounded Reports [PDF], Journal of Interpersonal Violence, March 1991

Douglas J. Besharov

Crack Children in Foster Care: Re-examining the Balance between Children's Rights and Parent's Rights [PDF], Children Today, July/August, 1990

Douglas J. Besharov

Crack and Kids [PDF], Society, July/August, 1990

Douglas J. Besharov

Gaining Control over Child Abuse Reports: Public Agencies Must Address Both Underreporting and Overreporting [PDF], Public Welfare, Spring, 1990

Douglas J. Besharov

The Children of Crack: Will We Protect Them? [PDF], Public Welfare, Fall, 1989

Douglas J. Besharov

The Central Dilemma: Protecting Abused Children While Protecting Innocent Parents [PDF], 1988

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting and Investigation: Policy Guidelines for Decision Making [PDF], 1988

Douglas J. Besharov

How Child Abuse Programs Hurt Poor Children: The Misuse of Foster Care [PDF], Clearinghouse Review, 1988

Douglas J. Besharov

What We Know about Child Support Enforcement, October 29, 1987

Douglas J. Besharov

Reporting Out-of-Home Maltreatment: Penalties and Protections [PDF], Child Welfare, September/October 1987

Douglas J. Besharov

The Reauthorization of the Federal Child Abuse Act: The Need to Protect Parental Rights [PDF], The Journal of Family and Culture, Fall 1987

Douglas J. Besharov

New Remedies for Child Abuse [PDF], Philanthropy, Fall 1987

Douglas J. Besharov

The Future of Child Protective Services, Public Welfare, Winter 1987

Douglas J. Besharov, et al

Suffer the Little Children: How Child Abuse Programs Hurt Poor Families, Policy Review, Winter 1987

Douglas J. Besharov

Contending with Overblown Expectations: CPS Cannot Be All Things to All People, Public Welfare, Winter 1987

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Welfare Liability: The Need for Immunity Legislation [PDF], Children Today, September/October 1986

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Abuse: Arrest and Prosecution Decision-Making [PDF], American Criminal Law Review, Fall, 1986

Douglas J. Besharov

Introduction to "Special Issue--Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect: Where Are We Now?" [PDF] Family Law Quarterly, Summer 1986

Douglas J. Besharov

The Misuse of Foster Care: When the Desire to Help Children Outruns the Ability to Improve Parental Functioning [PDF], Family Law Quarterly, Summer 1986

Douglas J. Besharov

Unfounded Allegations--a New Child Abuse Problem [PDF], The Public Interest, Spring 1986

Douglas J. Besharov

An Overdose of Concern: Child Abuse and the Overreporting Problem [PDF], Regulation, November/December 1985

Douglas J. Besharov

"Doing Something" about Child Abuse: The Need to Narrow the Grounds for State Intervention [PDF], Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 1985

Douglas J. Besharov

Proving Child Abuse: A guide for Practice under the New York Family Court Act [PDF], Family Life Development Center, 1984

Douglas J. Besharov

Foster Care Reform: Two Books for Practitioners [PDF] (book review), Family Law Quarterly, Summer 1984

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Welfare Malpractice: Suing Agencies and Caseworkers for Harmful Practices [PDF], Trial, March 1984

Douglas J. Besharov

Malpractice in Child Placement: Civil Liability for Inadequate Foster Care Services [PDF], Child Welfare, May/June 1984

Douglas J. Besharov

Liability in Chile Welfare [PDF], Public Welfare, Spring 1984

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Protection: Past Progress, Present Problems, and Future Directions [PDF], Family Law Quarterly, 1983/1984

Douglas J. Besharov

Santosky v. Kramer: An Unfortunate Misunderstanding [PDF], Child Abuse and Neglect, 1983

Douglas J. Besharov

Parents' Right to Counsel in Proceedings to Terminate Parental Rights: Factors to Consider [PDF], 1982

Douglas J. Besharov

Toward Better Research on Child Abuse and Neglect: Making Definitional Issues and Explicit Methodological Concern [PDF], Child Abuse and Neglect, 1981

Douglas J. Besharov

Behind Closed Doors: Although There Were Nearly a Million Reported Cases of Child Abuse Last Year, Our Justice System Fails to Protect Our Most Helpless Victims of Violence [PDF], Family Advocate, 1980/1981

Douglas J. Besharov

Putting Central Registers to Work: Using Modern Management Information Systems to Improve Child Protective Services [PDF], Chicago-Kent Law Review, 1978

Douglas J. Besharov

Building a Community Response to Child Abuse and Maltreatment [PDF], Children Today, September/October 1975

Douglas J. Besharov

 

Op-Eds

Children Deserve Chance to Live; The System Won't Accept the Uncomfortable Truth: Some Parents Are Beyond the Help of Treatment Programs, (PDF version), The Orlando Sentinel, December 22, 1996

Douglas J. Besharov

When Home is Hell: We Are Too Reluctant to Take Children From Bad Parents, (PDF version), The Washington Post, December 1, 1996

Douglas J. Besharov

Child Abuse: Threat or Menace? (PDF version), Slate, October 3, 1996

Douglas J. Besharov and Jacob W. Dembosky

Ignoring the Danger Signs of Child Abuse, (PDF version), Newsday, April 21, 1996

Douglas J. Besharov

How To Save Children, (PDF version), The New York Times, January 13, 1996

Douglas J. Besharov

The Tightrope of Abuse Reporting [PDF], The Times Educational Supplement, June 3, 1994

Douglas J. Besharov

Lessons from the McMartin Case, (PDF version), The Christian Science Monitor, February 9, 1990

Douglas J. Besharov

The Tragedy of Child Abuse: We all share the blame for the death of Bradley McGee (PDF version), The St. Petersburg Times, September 3, 1989

Douglas J. Besharov

Let's Give Crack Babies a Way Out of Addict Families, (PDF version), The New York Newsday, September 3, 1989

Douglas J. Besharov

Get the Message Out: Crack and Pregnancy Don't Mix [PDF], The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 20, 1989

Douglas J. Besharov

Crack Babies: The Worst Threat is Mom Herself, (PDF version), The Washington Post, August 6, 1989

Douglas J. Besharov

The Child-Abuse Numbers Game [PDF], The Wall Street Journal, August 4, 1988

Douglas J. Besharov

Overreach of the Guardian State [PDF], The Wall Street Journal, April 2, 1984

Douglas J. Besharov

To Protect the Abused [PDF], The New York Times, December 1, 1980

Douglas J. Besharov