Resources and Tools
Child Abuse and Neglect Resources and Tools
This page provides access to resources and tools on topics related to child abuse and neglect. The materials meet PPN standards of scientific rigor, objectivity, and user friendliness and include links to reports, databases, fact sheets, and a variety of other resources that are among the best research-based materials available on this topic.
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PPN Issue BriefReports, Briefs and Other PublicationsWeb SitesDatabases and Tools |
PPN Issue Brief
Promising Practices for Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
This PPN Issue Brief provides a concise overview of research-based information on issues related to the problem of child abuse and neglect.
Reports, Briefs and Other Publications
Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention: Reports from the Field and Ideas for the Future
To better inform the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Child Abuse Prevention Program's grant making strategies, PPN conducted a project to take the pulse of the prevention field as well as identify new, innovative methods for preventing child abuse and neglect. This working paper reports on the project and its findings.
Read the paper at rand.org
Child Maltreatment 2006, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, 2008
The latest Child Maltreatment annual report reports statistical data from the states on reports of maltreatment, characteristics of the children involved and their perpetrators, fatalities tied to maltreatment, and services provided to prevent maltreatment or to address the consequences of maltreatment.
Read the report at the Administration for Children and Families website
Child Welfare Outcomes 2002-2005: Report to Congress
Released in 2008, this report is the latest in a series of Child Welfare Outcomes Reports that are designed to inform Congress, the States, and the public about State performance on key child welfare outcomes and change in performance over time.
Federal, State, and Local Spending to Address Child Abuse and Neglect in SFY 2006
This 2008 Child Trends summarizes key findings from a survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia regarding their child welfare expenditures in SFY 2006.
Making the Case for Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: An Overview of Cost Effective Prevention Strategies
This report from the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention provides and overview of a range of prevention strategies that have been found to have some evidence of being able to preventing child abuse and neglect.
Child Abuse: Prevention Programs Need Greater Emphasis
This 1999 GAO report argues that child abuse and neglect prevention services, such as home visiting, should receive a greater share of federal funding.
Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development
This report provides a straightforward summary of the interactions between early brain development, childhood emotional experiences and trauma. Drawing from this research, it concludes by making a case for increased services to counter the disadvantages faced by children who experience trauma or neglect.
Violence in the Lives of Children
This data brief from Child Trends reviews data on the types of violence experienced by U.S. children, including exposure to violence through media to abuse by parents and peers. Differences by age, gender, and race/ethnicity are discussed along with priorities for filling gaps in the data that is available on this topic.
Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities: Statistics and Interventions
This 2008 brief report presents statistical information on maltreatment-related fatalities of children including who are the victims and perpetrators and how communities often respond.
Total Estimated Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States
This 2007 brief from Prevent Child Abuse America enumerates the types of costs incurred due to child abuse and neglect in the US and estimates the total to be at least $104 billion (in 2007 dollars). This number is derived from approximations to the direct costs (e.g., hospitalization, child welfare services, law enforcement) as well as indirect costs (e.g., special education, juvenile delinquency, mental health and health care) resulting from child maltreatment.
Updated Trends in Child Maltreatment, 2006
Based on National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data, this fact sheet presents the change in reports of neglect and sexual and physical abuse for US States from 2005-2006 and 1992-2006.
Web Sites
Children's Bureau
A Bureau within the Administration for Children & Families, the Children's Bureau seeks to achieve its mission of providing for the safety, permanency and well being of children through leadership, support for necessary services, and productive partnerships with States, Tribes, and communities. The Bureau administers several grant programs, monitors State child welfare services, conducts research, and provide training and technical assistance to child welfare organizations.
Visit the Children's Bureau website
National Data Analysis System
This website provides access to a comprehensive collection of child welfare and related data that allows users to develop customized statistical reports on a broad range of topics.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, this web site provides access to print and electronic publications, websites, and online databases covering a wide range of topics including prevention, family strengthening, out-of-home care, adoption, and much more.
Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study is an ongoing study on the connections between adverse childhood experiences, including child abuse and neglect, and adult physical and mental health problems, including cancer and suicide attempts. The study is a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Kaiser Permanente.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Child Maltreatment Resources
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have compiled several conceptual and statistical fact sheets including Understanding Child Maltreatment and Child Maltreatment: Facts at a Glance.
Databases and Tools
LINKS, Child Trends
LINKS (Lifecourse Interventions to Nurture Kids Successfully) is a compendium of programs that take place outside of the school. The programs they include have been evaluated using an experimental design and have been shown to enhance child development. They include programs that have been shown to be effective in improving children's education and cognitive development, social and emotional health, life skills, physical health, behavior problems, teen pregnancy, positive citizenship, and mental health.
Emerging Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Health and Human Services
Published as a component of the Child Abuse Prevention Initiative administered by the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, this study identifies best practices in the field of child abuse prevention. Prevention programs were nominated for the project and reviewed by an advisory group of experts. The "Demonstrated Effective" program category meets PPN evidence criteria, and one program is summarized under this category.
National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect
This data archive provides researchers a wealth of data for secondary analysis on a range of issues related to child abuse and neglect. One dataset available from the Archive is the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) which consists of child-specific data of all investigated reports of maltreatment to State child protective service agencies. Links to publications based on researching using the datasets are also available.
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