Policy Researcher Tutorial

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16. United States Code Service

The United States Code (U.S.C.) is the codification of "general and permanent laws" currently in force. With its subject (i.e. Title) arrangement, the Code brings together initial laws and subsequent amendments. Oftentimes, a single statute may have been broken up into many different sections of the U.S. Code, even scattered among different titles, if it deals with diverse subjects.

The U.S.C. is reissued every six years, with annual supplements in the intervening years. Citations to the United States Code are in the form of title number, section number, and subsection number (example, 42 U.S.C. 5119a). The Documents Center, second floor Hatcher Graduate Library, has the print edition and its index. Call Number: KF 62 .A2, 2000 edition, 2001 supplement. GPO Access provides an electronic version: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/.

The United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.) (Lexis/Nexis Congressional, Laws, United States Code) is a commercially produced version of the U.S.C. and includes notes on the history of laws and related legal cases. Of all the legislative history databases within LexisNexis Congressional, the United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.)(see Laws) best organizes federal legislation in force with its historic antecedents and court challenges.

A search on "child abuse" in the US Code gives 305 results. Drill down to Title 42, Public Health and Welfare:

Tip: If you want to read consecutive sections, the following search (with truncation of two or more digits) creates an index of all consecutive sections within a title, e.g.:

42

510!

At the bottom of the United States Code section you are scanning, look for the RESEARCH GUIDE and INTERPRETIVE NOTES AND DECISIONS with links to court decisions, but this may be beyond the scope of your assignment. It is mentioned here for your information only, and to highlight the fact that hotlinks integrate related documents within Lexis/Nexis Congressional.

 

TITLE 42. THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE  
CHAPTER 67. CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT AND ADOPTION REFORM  
GENERAL PROGRAM