New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research (2014) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 1-14
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Addressing this public health problem will require an immediate, coordinated research response that is grounded in the complex environments and systems within which child abuse and neglect occurs and that has high-level federal support. This study was conducted in response to a request from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF)
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Also needed is a better understanding of what appear to be significant declines in physical and sexual child abuse but not neglect; why children have differential sensitivity to abuse of similar severity; why some child victims respond to treatment and others do not; how different types of abuse impact a child's developmental trajectory; and how culture, social stratification, and associated contextual factors affect the causes, consequences, prevention, and treatment of child abuse and neglect.
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is the official child abuse and neglect reporting system for cases referred to state child protection authorities. In fiscal year 2011, all states, the District of Columbia, and all territories contributed counts of the number of cases referred to child protective services, the case characteristics, and the case outcomes.
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, who identified interrelated but embedded factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect, these risk factors can be organized into individual-level, family, and contextual factors. Contextual factors represent the broader social systems that influence parental functioning, including macrosystem factors representing the social or cultural forces that contribute to and sustain abuse or neglect.
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Research in the field needs to include models that test causal pathways using rigorous research designs and analyses. This work would ideally involve longitudinal studies starting before the birth of the target children to permit better controlled studies of who does and does not commit child abuse and neglect and under what cultural, social, and individual circumstances.
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THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM Each year, more than 3 million referrals for child abuse and neglect are received that involve around 6 million individual children. Contrary to popular belief, most investigated reports of child abuse and neglect do not result in out-of-home placement; only about 20 percent of investigated cases lead to the removal of a child from his or her home.
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The child welfare system currently faces systemic concerns relating to a lack of organizational capacity to carry out some of the many promising practice and intervention models that are being developed. Barriers to sufficient organizational capacity include issues related to reduced funding; high caseloads; staff who are poorly trained, especially in addressing the social and emotional needs of the children who come in contact with the child protection services system; limited staff supervision; and a culture that does not necessarily support autonomy, quality practice, and critical thinking.
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In terms of prevention services, strategies such as early home visiting targeting pregnant women and parents with newborns are well researched and have demonstrated meaningful improvements in mitigating the factors commonly associated with an elevated risk for poor parenting, including abuse and neglect. Promising prevention models also have been identified in other areas, including public awareness campaigns, parenting education programs, and professional practice reforms.
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Research on child abuse and neglect is especially complex, involving diverse independent service systems, multiple professions, ethical issues that are particularly complicated, and levels of outcome analysis ranging from the individual child to national statistics. Moreover, the building of a national research infrastructure designed to adequately address the problem of child abuse and neglect will require a dedicated and trained cadre of researchers with expertise that spans the many domains associated with research in this field and the supports necessary to sustain high-quality, methodologically sound research endeavors.
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University-affiliated child abuse and neglect research centers also provide opportunities to train and support a new generation of researchers to ensure the growth of the field. POLICY Since the 1993 NRC report was issued, numerous changes have been made to federal and state laws and policies designed to impact the incidence, reporting, and negative health and economic consequences of child abuse and neglect.
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development of a national strategic research plan that is focused on priority topics identified by the committee and that delineates implementation and accountability steps across federal agencies (Recommendations 1-3)
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Apply multidisciplinary, multimethod, and multisector approaches. Leverage and build upon the existing knowledge base of child abuse and neglect research and related fields, as well as research definitions, designs, and opportunities.
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Mechanisms for Conducting Policy-Relevant Research Recommendation 8: To ensure accountability and effectiveness and to encourage evidence-based policy making, Congress should include sup port in all new legislation related to child abuse and neglect, such as reauthorizations of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, for evaluation of the impact of new child abuse and neglect laws and poli cies and require a review of the findings in reauthorization discussions. Recommendation 9: To ensure accountability and effectiveness, to sup port evidence-based policy making, and to allow for exploration of the differential impact of various state laws and policies, state legislatures should include support in all new legislation related to child abuse and neglect for evaluation of the impact of new child abuse and neglect laws and policies and require a review of the findings in reauthoriza tion discussions.
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1993. Understanding child abuse and neglect.
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