Pursuant to the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act of 2013 (P.L. 1 13-104), this statutory compilation report is being provided to the "congressional judiciary committees on the penalties for violations of laws prohibiting child abuse in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and each U.S. territory; including whether the laws of that jurisdiction provide for enhanced penalties when the victim has suffered serious bodily injury or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of any mental or emotional function."
This compilation of child abuse statutes was prepared by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys' Child Abuse Prosecution Project with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and input from the Zero Abuse Project. The compilation includes U.S. state and territory statutes regarding criminal physical child abuse and the corresponding penalties as of July 2020. Separate statutes regarding child endangerment, child sexual abuse, child fatalities as a result of abuse or neglect, second or subsequent offenses, aggravated offenses, related child abuse and neglect offenses, general assault and battery statutes, and the corresponding penalties are not included in this compilation. The report does not purport to contain every statute that prosecutors might use in their respective state or territory to prosecute child abuse, including abuse that results in serious bodily injury.