The Legislature finds and declares that child abuse is a growing concern in this state, and that current methods of coping with child abuse problems are resulting in family breakups that are both expensive and nonproductive to the state. It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the establishment of a State Office of Child Abuse Prevention to plan, improve, develop, and carry out programs and activities relating to the prevention, identification and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

(Amended by Stats. 1990, Ch. 756, Sec. 1.)