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April 2006Vol. 7, No. 3A Comprehensive Approach to Prevention

Growing concerns about the consequences associated with the nearly 1 million cases of child maltreatment reported each year have led to increased focus on effective child abuse and neglect prevention programs.

A recent publication, Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention: Strategies for State and Local Policymakers, looks at programs that have shown some success in reducing risk to children and explores how other jurisdictions and agencies might apply the lessons learned. Two different complementary strategies are discussed:

  • Coordination of prevention efforts across public agencies, including the use of common intake and assessment forms; coordinated case management; and co-locating staff
  • Development of a community-based model of prevention, including a differential response system and a local decision-making body

Examples of these types of programs are provided. An appendix describes Federal funding sources that may be used to support prevention efforts.

Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention was written by A. Szekely and published by the Finance Project, a nonprofit research firm. The publication is available on the Finance Project website:

www.financeproject.org/publications/childabuseSB.pdf (Editor's note: Link no longer active)