Battered Child Syndrome Law and Legal Definition
Battered Child Syndrome refers to injuries sustained by a child as a result of physical abuse usually inflicted by an adult caregiver who can be a parent or custodian. It is a form of child abuse. In medical or other settings, suspected battered child syndrome is usually reported to investigatory agencies that initiate immediate questioning of caretakers and careful examination of a child. Pursuant to the research done on battered-child syndrome, the Children's Bureau of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare drafted a model statute requiring physicians to report serious cases of suspected child abuse. The phrase battered child syndrome was first used by Dr. Henry Kempe and his colleagues in 1962 in an article entitled “The Battered Child Syndrome,” which appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Battered Child Syndrome is also termed as Parent Infant Trauma Syndrome (P.I.T.S)
Legal Definition list
Related Legal Terms
- Abused Child
- Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act
- Administration for Children and Families
- Administration on Children, Youth, and Families
- Adopted Child
- Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980
- Adult Child With a Disability
- After-Born Child
- Aggravated Sexual Assault Against a Child
- Aid to Families With Dependent Children AFDC
