This dissertation examined disparities in initial placements and Length of Stay in Custody of children in North Carolina experiencing child maltreatment. This research examined how the Length of Stay in Custody and type of initial placement was associated with the age, race, and gender of children who had been removed from the care of their…

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is an urgent public health concern. Given the dire consequences for exploited youth, growing attention has been focused on the importance of preventing, identifying, and responding to CSEC in school settings. Despite calls for schools to be prepared to identify and respond to CSEC, limited specific…

Differential response (DR), also referred to as alternative response (AR), family assessment response (FAR), or multiple track response, was developed to incorporate family-centered, strengths-based practices into child protective services (CPS), primarily by diverting lower risk families into an assessment track rather than requiring the…

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…

This article describes the Durham Family Initiative (DFI), an innovative effort to bring together child welfare and juvenile justice systems to reach DFI's goal of reducing the child abuse rate in Durham, North Carolina, by 50% within the next 10 years. DFI will follow principles of a preventive system of care (PSoC), which focuses on nurturing…

Child welfare struggles to manage child abuse and neglect and to seek permanency for children, while being culturally responsive to the communities it serves. Family group conferencing, piloted in New Zealand and now used in the United States and other countries, is a strengths-based model that brings together families and their support systems to…

North Carolina's Child Abuse Reporting Law makes all citizens legally responsible for reporting incidents of child abuse and neglect. Professionals, such as doctors and teachers, must also give their professional opinions as to the nature, extent, and causes of the damaged child's condition. The basic purpose of the law is to identify children at…

This study re-examined the ability of intensive family preservation services (IFPS) to prevent out-of-home placements of children in abusive or neglectful families. A retrospective, population-based design was used. The sample comprised a statewide, six-year, archival population of high-risk child protective services children. The study ensured a…

In response to a request from the North Carolina Division of Social Services (DSS), Center for Child and Family Policy at The Terry Sanford Institute at Duke University evaluated the Multiple Response System reform for families reported for child maltreatment. The North Carolina State Legislature has mandated the evaluation of five key aspects of…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 16 indicators of well-being: (1) infant mortality rate; (2) infants born with low birth weight; (3) births to single teens; (4) children without insurance; (5) ninth graders who graduate; (6) high school dropout…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 20 key indicators of child well-being: (1) infant mortality; (2) low birth weight infants; (3) births to teens; (4) births to mothers with early prenatal care; (5) child deaths; (6) regulated child care enrollment;…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 16 indicators of well-being: (1) infant mortality rate; (2) infants born with low birth weight; (3) births to single teens; (4) children without insurance; (5) high school dropout rate; (6) SAT scores; (7) high…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 22 selected key indicators representing background demographics, economic, educational, health, and social well-being: (1) children poverty rate; (2) TANF recipients; (3) children in families receiving food stamps;…

This Kids Count report examines county and statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children from the 1970s through the 1990s. The statistical portrait is based on 40 indicators of well-being in five categories: (1) demographics; (2) physical well-being, including infant mortality rate and percent low birth weight; (3) intellectual…