It is the purpose of this chapter to protect the health and welfare of children by encouraging the reporting of children who are known to be or suspected of being abused or neglected; the providing of adequate services for the protection and treatment of abused and neglected children and to protect them from further harm; the identifying of the cause of children’s deaths, when possible; the identifying of those circumstances that contribute to children’s deaths; and the recommending of changes in policy, practices, and law to prevent children’s deaths.