In the United States, two approaches have developed to exercise collective influence on how parents raise their children. One is mandatory public intervention in families who have placed their children at risk, exemplified by the child welfare system. The other is voluntary offers of assistance, for example, child abuse prevention services that…

This brief discusses the findings of the Fourth Federal National Incidence Study on Child Maltreatment (NIS 4), which reports a significant reduction in the overall rate of child maltreatment since the 1993 NIS. The study reflects substantial drops in the rates of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. However, no significant changes…

Deborah Daro and Kenneth Dodge observe that efforts to prevent child abuse have historically focused on directly improving the skills of parents who are at risk for or engaged in maltreatment. But, as experts increasingly recognize that negative forces within a community can overwhelm even well-intentioned parents, attention is shifting toward…

The Durham Family Initiative (DFI) is one of two community-based child abuse prevention efforts that comprise The Duke Endowment's Child Abuse Prevention Initiative. Beginning in 2002, the Endowment provided support to the Durham Family Initiative (DFI) in North Carolina and Strong Communities in South Carolina to develop a comprehensive approach…

The Duke Endowment launched its Child Abuse Prevention Initiative in 2002 by funding two program sites, the Durham Family Initiative in Durham, North Carolina, and Strong Communities in Greenville, South Carolina. Both sites aimed to reduce rates of child abuse, improve parenting practices and behaviors, strengthen community service systems, and…

Early intervention efforts to promote healthy child development have long been a central feature of social service and public health reforms. Today, prenatal care, well-baby visits, and assessments to detect possible developmental delays are commonplace in most communities. Recently, child abuse prevention advocates have applied a developmental…

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…

This report summarizes key findings of a series of national public opinion polls to determine the public's attitudes and actions with respect to child abuse prevention. Findings are reported for four areas: public attitudes toward specific parental discipline practices; the frequency of specific parental discipline practices; the public's support…

This commentary notes that solid empirical evidence on the effectiveness of classroom-based child sexual abuse prevention programs is lacking. Prevention efforts need to target potential victims, potential perpetrators, and those aspects of the social fabric that nurture abusive behaviors; and the merits of prevention efforts must be discussed…

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…

The purpose of this paper is to summarize current trends in child abuse prevention and to provide program administrators and policymakers with guidelines for implementing successful new parent programs in their communities. Contents address: (1) the scope of the child abuse problem; (2) a theoretical framework or conceptual model for use in…

In October 1985, the Board of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (NCPCA) adopted a goal and extablished a plan to reduce child abuse 20 percent by 1990. With data collected through March 1990, this document reports progress made toward realizing objectives articulated in the NCPCA's 5-year plan. After an overview in Section…

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…