Child Maltreatment: Prevention Strategies

Child maltreatment is a serious problem that can have lasting harmful effects on victims. The goal for child maltreatment prevention is simple—to stop child abuse and neglect from happening in the first place. However, the solutions are as complex as the problem.

Prevention efforts should ultimately reduce risk factors and promote protective factors. In addition, prevention should address all levels that influence child maltreatment: individual, relationship, community, and society. Effective prevention strategies are necessary to promote awareness about child maltreatment and to foster commitment to social change.

Effective and Promising Programs

• California Evidence-based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare
  This organization provides on-line access to information about evidence-based child welfare practices in a simple, straightforward format. Evidence-based practices are those that have empirical research supporting their efficacy.
  
  
• Child-Parent Centers
  Child-Parent Centers (CPCs) provide comprehensive educational and family support to economically disadvantaged children and their parents. The program requires parental participation and emphasizes a child-centered, individualized approach to social and cognitive development.
  
  
• First Reports Evaluating the Effectiveness of Strategies for Preventing Violence: Early Childhood Home Visitation
  The Task Force on Community Preventive Services, an independent nonfederal task force, conducted a systematic review of scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of home visiting programs in preventing violence. This report summarizes the findings and recommendations.
  
  
• Nurse-family Partnership
  Nurse-Family Partnership is an evidence-based nurse home visitation program that improves the health, well-being and self-sufficiency of low-income, first-time parents and their children.
  
  
• U.S. Triple P System Trial
  The U.S. Triple P System Trial, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found lower rates of substantiated abuse cases, child out-of-home placements, and reductions in hospitalizations and emergency room visits for child injuries in nine study counties in South Carolina where parenting interventions were implemented.
• Systematic Reviews
  • Chadwick Center on Children and Families. Closing the quality chasm in child abuse treatment: identifying and disseminating best practices [PDF 2 MB]. San Diego, CA: 2004.
    
  • Chaffin M, Friedrich, B. (2004). Evidence-based treatments in child abuse and neglect. Children and Youth Services Review. 2004;26:1097-1113.
  • Daro D, McCurdy, K. Interventions to prevent child maltreatment. In Doll L, Bonzo S, Sleet D, Mercy J, Hass E, editors. Handbook of Injury and Violence Prevention. New York (NY): Springer; 2007.p.137-156.
  • Sweet M, Appelbaum M. (2004). Is home visiting an effective strategy? A meta-analytic review of home visiting programs for families with young children. Child Development. 2004;75(5):1435-1456.
    
    
• Violence Prevention Evidence Base
  This database, developed by The Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, provides access to abstracts from published studies that have measured the effectiveness of interventions to prevent violence. To be included in the database, studies must have measured the impact of interventions directly on violence. Studies have been selected through a systematic review of published academic literature. The abstracts can be searched by violence type, keywords, and geographical area of implementation.
  
  
• World Report on Violence and Health [PDF 176 KB]
  This report is the first comprehensive review of violence on a global scale. Chapter 3 provides detailed information on child maltreatment, including prevention strategies.

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Guidelines and Planning Tools

• Developing and Sustaining Prevention Programs
  The Child Welfare Information Gateway provides resources on developing a prevention program, conducting a community needs assessment, funding, collaborating, evaluating program effectiveness, and building community support.

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Other Resources

• CDC's Extramural Research Program
  CDC funds universities, medical centers and other outside organizations to conduct research related to child maltreatment prevention.
  
  
• Preventing Child Maltreatment: Program Activities Guide [PDF 303 KB]
  This guide describes CDC's public health activities and research to prevent child maltreatment.
  

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