NCJ Number
187279
Date Published
October 2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper describes successful interventions to prevent child abuse.
Abstract
Prevention of child abuse has traditionally included three levels: Primary (targeting the whole community to prevent abuse before it starts), Secondary (targeting children at risk of being abused and adults at risk of abusing), and Tertiary (to prevent recurrence in families where children have already been abused). The paper describes "Best Practice" programs in Australia and the United States: (1) Boston Community Intervention to Reduce the Risk of Child Abuse; (2) Colorado Rethink Parenting and Anger Management Program; (3) Child Abuse Prevention Unit in Health Classes in Schools in Birmingham, Alabama; (4) "Don't Shake the Baby", Franklin County, Ohio; (5) Elmira, New York, Prenatal/Early Infancy Project; (6) Illinois Project 12-Ways; and (7) Family CARE, Australia. The paper observes that Australian measurement outcomes of early intervention programs which aim to prevent child abuse and neglect and enhance child and family welfare are not rigorous enough and often rely on descriptive data for analysis. It further comments upon the need for longitudinal data in cohorts of Australian children, both within the general population (to provide population benchmarks) and within those groups of children at increased risk. References