Clinical research has documented a variety of problems that abused and
neglected children present as a result of their having been maltreate
d. When these children enter protective custody, however, they rarely
receive systematic screening and/or assessment of their current mental
health functioning as a part of case management. The Screening and Ev
aluation Project (SEP) is a clinical research study examining the rang
e of problems in 167 children entering protective custody. Both empiri
cal and theoretical grounds support the importance of early screening
and evaluation programs for children in these circumstances. Practical
issues in implementing such programs are also discussed.