Foster care provides round-the-clock substitute care for nearly 700,000 U.S. children who are temporarily or permanently separated from their family of origin each year. Each state manages its own foster care system according to federal regulations. Despite numerous large-scale federal policy reforms over the past several decades, substantial…

The birth of a child can be a simultaneously joyous and challenging time for families. Virtually all parents will struggle with the enormous physical and emotional demands of parenting a very young child, but for too many California families those challenges are additionally compounded by poverty, housing instability, lack of social support, or…

Early childhood is a critical time for cognitive, social, and behavioral development. Many states have invested in comprehensive early childhood care and education systems that offer a wide range of supports and services to families from the prenatal period through school entry. Home visiting programs are an important component of state early…

The nation's child protection system (CPS) has historically focused on preventing maltreatment in high-risk families, whose children have already been maltreated. But, as Jane Waldfogel explains, it has also begun developing prevention procedures for children at lower risk--those who are referred to CPS but whose cases do not meet the criteria for…

This document presents descriptions of how state child abuse and neglect prevention projects are working to prevent child maltreatment through the use of Children's Trust Funds. Three common elements of Children's Trust funds are explained: (1) financing is through a distinct state fund and those funds are collected through surcharges on state…

Describes an innovative way of providing funds for the prevention of child abuse, established by law in Kansas and under consideration in several other states. Listed are proposals approved for funding as of January, 1981, for potentially replicable projects focusing on primary prevention of child and/or spouse abuse.(RH)

Analyzes the challenges, pressures, and uncertainties facing the public child protection systems with recommendations for strengthening child protective services agencies and expanding prevention and treatment resources. Articles in this special issue place typical agency practices in a historical context as they consider dimensions of the child…

This document discusses a project undertaken as a way to accurately identify, develop prevention strategies for, and treat the underlying causes of some 20 "symptoms" experienced in the communities of Louisiana. The information presented provides a means for diminishing the associated human and financial costs of these symptoms. The…

This hearing addresses issues in the reauthorization of the Child Abuse Challenge Grant Program, which provides federal funds to match state funding for child abuse prevention programs, and reauthorization of the Temporary Child Care for Handicapped Children and Crisis Nurseries Act, which provides respite care for families with children with…

Describes some of the problems that have been identified in federal research funding, administration, and support of research initiatives and training concerning child abuse and neglect. Remedies for these difficulties are outlined, research priorities are identified, and ways to rejuvenate the federal government's role in this area are suggested.…

The "CURA Reporter" is published quarterly to provide information about the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA), an all-University applied research and technical assistance center at the University of Minnesota that connects faculty and students with community organizations and public institutions working on significant public…

Experiences in prenatal life and early childhood that may cause personality disorders or criminal behavior in later life are examined in these proceedings of the Subcommittee on Childhood Experience as Causes of Criminal Behavior of the Standing Committee on Health, Welfare and Science. This issue, the fourteenth in a series of 19 hearings dating…

This report provides, in tabular and graphic format, the results of a national poll conducted for the Fight Crime: Invest in Kids campaign. The survey sought opinions of 780 police chiefs: all chiefs from cities with populations over 100,000, a sample of 288 chiefs from cities of less than 25,000, and a sample of 292 chiefs from cities of between…

Asserting that children who are abused or neglected are at risk of becoming future violent criminals, this report argues that this cycle of violence can be prevented by investing in recently confirmed abuse prevention and intervention strategies. The report presents information on the number of deaths each year due to abuse and neglect and calls…

Preventing child abuse is an endeavor that requires equal parts of caring, optimism, and pragmatism. Drawing on the experiences of more than 100 child abuse prevention projects, this field-tested manual integrates the abstract principles of program development and prevention with the real world experiences and challenges faced by prevention…