The purpose of the child maltreatment uniform definitions and recommended data elements is to present a definition of child maltreatment, its associated terms, and recommended data elements for voluntary use by individuals and organizations in the public health community. The definitions and data elements are intended to promote and improve consistency of child maltreatment surveillance for public health practices. It is designed to be used by state and local health department staff to assist in and provide a framework for the collection of public health surveillance data on child maltreatment.