It's found in the bitter fighting between divorcing spouses; it's found in the backyard feuding of neighbors who detest each other; it's found in the hurtful scorn of once-in-love turtledoves, reeling from broken romances.

The "it" referred to is a false child abuse report made by one party against another simply to cause grief for someone that's either not liked or for revenge.

Has your former husband, wife or lover spurned your love and attention? Do your neighbors leave their grass clippings on your lawn or they won't stop their cat from thinking your flower garden is the perfect sandbox?

Don't get mad -- get even. Report that neighbor or your former lover to the local Department of Human Services or Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Agency. Let them suffer through the humiliation and suspicion of a child abuse investigation.

False child abuse reports are insidious. Not only do they cast very serious aspersions on another's character, but they waste the time and energy needed to investigate and halt true abusive situations.

And they are much more prevalent than one would think.

But a step has been taken in the right direction with the passage of into law of Act 1351 of the 1997 Arkansas Legislative session, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Pollan of Ft. Smith. This bill calls for increasing the penalty from a month of incarceration to not more than an year for the filing of a false child abuse report. It also adds a provision for a prison term of up to six years if the offense is repeated.

All I can say is that it's about time something was done to strongly discourage adults from traumatizing children as a way to get even with each other.

And don't think the children who are wrongfully reported as being abused aren't affected by these happenings -- they are.

I remember one case several years ago where a student was hauled into a school restroom by the school counselor and a representative of the state human services department, and was asked to strip off his clothes. Both the counselor and the rep were looking for evidence of child abuse.

The young man, who was going though that awkward stage boys go through where they gain weight in preparation of a major growth spurt, was extremely self-conscious about his body. Having to strip in front of a stranger and a school representative was extremely humiliating for him.

Why did this happen to him? Well, it turned out the boy's father was mad at the boy's mother, his ex-wife and in an effort to cause her some grief, had called the Department of Human Services and filed a false report. His motive supposedly for doing this was so his ex-wife would be harassed and humiliated by charges she had abused her son.

Did anything ever happen to the father for filing a false claim? No, not one thing. Did anyone try to stop him from doing it again? No, in fact this same man has pulled this stunt about four or five times now on his ex-wife. Each time she has been completely cleared of all charges.

And to really confuse the issue, each time he alternates the agency he reports to. One time he might call SCAN, the next time Human Services, to give the impression that he's not a chronic troublemaker.

Over the past 10 years, not only has this particular person filed false charges against the mother but also against her best friend and a man she had been dating. The most ironic thing about this whole mess, according to the child's mother, is that the reason she divorced her husband was because he had been abusive to her.

And so, in some sort of guerilla warfare of a broken marriage, her ex-husband continues to try to abuse her, using as his favorite a weapon, a system which is supposed to help children -- not harm them.

Another case reported to me involved feuding neighbors. I'm not sure if the original spat erupted over lawn clippings being left out or music being played too loudly, but whatever the cause, it eventually escalated into an all-out war of nasty notes and midnight trash dumpings.

The first indication that this battle had turned strange was when one of the neighbors came home from work to find a note from the Department of Human Services stuck inside her screen door indicating that she had been reported for neglecting her child.

Not only did she have to endure having a social worker prowl through her pantry and refrigerator, cupboard and bedroom closets, hut said she also had to endure an interview where her own parents child-raising methods were brought into question.

She was cleared of all charges.

Another case I saw reported on a television magazine show was where a couple actually lost their children over a false report. This was one of the oddest cases I'd ever heard about also. It turned out that the person who filed the original report was someone the children's father worked with, someone who had developed a crush or passion for him, and in an effort to get rid of the man's wife, filed a false report of child abuse against her. Talk about your "Fatal Attraction." I guess his children didn't have any bunnies the woman could boil, so she just decided to get rid of the kids and his wife by this method.

Although two of the cases of false reports mentioned above were committed against women, there is every indication that women file as many false reports against ex-spouses and neighbors as men do.

The most insidious aspect of filing false abuse charges is that it wastes the time and energy of child abuse investigators, police and the court system.

How many real criminals are running around out on bond because their trials have been delayed only because docket space has been taken by a false child abuse charge?

There are reports almost daily of the tremendous backlog of child abuse cases at the Department of Human Services. Children are going without vitally-needed protection simply because the time needed to research their cases has been stolen by someone filing a false child abuse report.

I'm glad that finally a step has been taken in the right direction.

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