Notes that the majority of prevention efforts offer services to individual parents, families, or children with the goal of altering behaviors and attitudes that contribute to risk. Identifies what is known about the efficacy of prevention, highlights the most promising elements of prevention programming, and summarizes critical outstanding…

For several decades, we have witnessed a surge in public policies aimed at ending child maltreatment, youth violence, and adult domestic violence. Commensurate with this increased interest has been a growing body of research on each issues etiology, affected population, and the public policy and prevention impacts. Even a cursory review of the…

Examines public attitudes toward parental discipline practices, incidences of parental practices, the public's support for and involvement in child abuse prevention efforts, and the public's perceptions of causes of child maltreatment. Found that most persons view physical punishment and repeated yelling and swearing at children as harmful.…

In 1988 the William Penn Foundation awarded nearly $6 million to agencies in the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) area for a variety of programs aimed at preventing child abuse. The 4 programs selected targeted parents who most needed but were least likely to have access to parent education and support services. The Foundation appointed the National…