"CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT ACT"
The Public Law 100-294

Defines child abuse and neglect as being any physical
or mental injury, act of sexual abuse or exploitation,
negligent treatment, or maltreatment of any child under
the age of 18, unless the child protection law of the State
in which the child resides specifies a younger age for
cases not involving sexual abuse, by a person, including
any employee of a residential facility or any staff person
providing out-of-home care, who is responsible for the child's
welfare under circumstances which indicate that the child's
health or welfare is harmed or threatened thereby.

The Act defines sexual abuse as: the use, employment, persuasion,
inducement, enticement or coercion of any child to engage in,
or assist any other person to engage in, any sexually explicit
conduct (or any simulation of such conduct) for the purpose of
producing any visual depiction of such conduct, or rape,
molestation, prostitution, or other form of sexual exploitation
of children, or incest with children.



1984 Child Abuse Amendments of (P.L. 98-457)

As a result of the above amendment to the Child Abuse Act, the act
now also includes the withholding of medically indicated treatment
for an infant's life-threatening conditions as child abuse.