Child maltreatment calls for a broad range of preventative policies and practices, but limited governmental funding and leadership has been devoted to the problem. Effective strategies to prevent ...maltreatment exist, but they have had limited uptake in the child welfare system. In this article, we trace how government responsibility for the prevention of child maltreatment became centered within the nation’s child protection response. Further, we discuss developments in prevention science, review the existing literature on the effectiveness of a range of prevention strategies, and present a public health approach to prevention. The article concludes with a set of recommendations to inform future efforts to prevent child maltreatment through approaches that seek to expand capacity for the implementation of evidence-based prevention programs, while addressing the adverse community experiences that exacerbate risk for child maltreatment.
•Fidelity assessment is a crucial component of the implementation and evaluation of health and human services interventions.•Fidelity assessment in community-based interventions requires ...collaborative approaches focused on capacity building.•Collaborative fidelity assessment planning may be feasible with systemic guidance and the use of appropriate tools.•Models of collaborative assessment planning should be further developed and tested to build the evidence base for various health and human services interventions implemented in community settings.
Fidelity assessment is considered a crucial component of a quality program implementation and evaluation, and the field of child welfare is increasingly recognizing the importance of fidelity assessment in establishing empirical support for child maltreatment prevention. However, fidelity is a complex construct that encompasses multiple dimensions, and program implementers in community-based interventions often face challenges in assessing fidelity in the context of multiple competing priorities with limited resources. As a result, very few child maltreatment prevention studies report detailed procedures for developing a fidelity assessment system. This descriptive research note seeks to fill this gap by describing the systematic process of engaging organizational leaders and service providers in fidelity assessment planning for the Family Success Network (FSN), a multi-component community-based maltreatment prevention model piloted to serve families in under-resourced communities in the Midwest. We discuss the model in the context of five key engagement constructs, including communication, partnership exchange, capacity-building, leadership, and collaboration.
In May 2021, a reauthorization of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) was introduced in the U.S. Senate. This reauthorization substantially amends provisions concerning infants ...affected by prenatal substance exposure (PSE) and decidedly shifts the policy from a child safety‐ to a public health‐focused approach to achieve the larger goals of healthy and safe child development and caregiver recovery from substance use disorder. Despite its honourable aspirations, no research has tested whether CAPTA “works.” To advance scholarship on this policy, we summarize the service needs for this population and clarify how the CAPTA reauthorization aims to address these needs. We then apply a health utilization theory to understanding the mechanisms of effect on maternal‐child outcomes. Based on this theoretical analysis, we discuss directions for future research.
Purpose
Children of young parents are at elevated risk for child abuse and neglect due to myriad challenges. Despite the dual need for parenting support and mental health support, most literature and ...programs separate these and do not address maltreated parenting youths’ intergenerational context. The current study explores parenting and mental health needs as intertwined, uplifting experiences of young adult mothers with child maltreatment histories, professionals serving them, and mothers’ own caregivers.
Method
Through a community-engaged research process, this grounded theory study was co-conceptualized and conducted through a university-community-based organization partnership. We conducted in-depth interviews with 23 participants: nine young, maltreated mothers aged 18–25 (M = 20.9) years, 14 professionals and two caregivers. Data were collected in the community and analyzed using grounded theory methods. We transcribed each interview and analyzed the transcripts using a structured process of open, focus, axial, and selective/theoretical coding. Rigor was enhanced through several strategies including reflexivity and member checking.
Results
Grounded theory analysis produced a detailed model of the process of accessing and receiving mental health and parenting support among young, maltreated mothers, including (1) Reckoning with the Impact of Childhood and Adolescent Trauma on Mental Health and Parenting; (2) Reaching Out; (3) Receiving Parenting Support; (4) Receiving Mental Health Support; and (5) Seeking a Change.
Conclusions
Findings support a comprehensive approach for supporting young parents in improving the trajectories of their families through integrated approaches to parenting and mental health intervention.
The Protective Factors Survey (PFS) is a self-report measure of multiple family-level protective factors against abuse and neglect. It is the only peer-reviewed valid and reliable tool collecting ...data on multiple protective factors, and is widely used by practitioners in child abuse prevention and related fields.
The objective of this study was to revise the PFS in response to feedback from practitioners, and analyze the internal structure of new items.
Data was collected from two Qualtrics panel samples (N = 213 and N = 109).
A team of researchers generated new items informed by the literature on protective factors against child maltreatment and best practices in survey design to address feedback from the field and improve sensitivity to change. We conducted focus groups with caregivers and practitioners to review new items, and then fielded revised items using panel data. We conducted exploratory factor analyses to obtain a small, integrated set of items that tap the targeted protective factors.
Exploratory factor analyses yield a five-factor solution. Four of the factors consisting of Family Functioning and Resilience, Nurturing and Attachment, Social Supports, and Concrete Supports. A fifth factor emerged consisting of items intended to capture Social Supports. We adapted these items to measure Caregiver/Practitioner Relationship.
We have developed the PFS, 2nd Edition based on feedback from the field and focus groups with parents and practitioners. Initial evidence from the panel data suggests that the new subscales are internally consistent. Future research will establish reliability and validity.
A growing population of immigrant children and families to the U.S. from Latin American countries requires consideration of their unique historical, sociocultural, and linguistic contexts in child ...abuse and neglect prevention. In light of the Family First Prevention Services Act's focus on evidence-based child maltreatment prevention interventions, this systematic review analyzed interventions with relevance for use with immigrant populations coming from Latin American countries. Sixty-two interventions met inclusion criteria. This review revealed few gold standard interventions that address the unique needs of Latinx immigrant populations, highlighting a need for the development and study of interventions for these populations that are federally reimbursable.
Substance use during the perinatal period and while parenting can pose a significant risk to children's safety and well‐being. Mothers who have experienced child maltreatment are more likely to use ...substances than mothers without a history of maltreatment. This study explores how child welfare social workers experience supporting young, maltreated mothers struggling with substance use to prevent the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment. Semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted with four social workers working with young mothers with a history of maltreatment and substance use. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed two themes: (1) grappling with system challenges and (2) supporting strategies for disrupting intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment. The results highlight the need for systemic changes around support for social workers who work with young mothers who use substances and have a history of maltreatment, and substance use treatment and mental health programs themselves. Mothers need access to prenatal programs that are trauma‐informed, non‐judgemental and that support participants' basic needs and parenting skills.
Early intervention, promoted as being important to the prevention of child maltreatment, is challenged by the difficulty of identifying at risk families before patterns of abuse are established. A ...way of identifying these families before they reach the radar of statutory systems of child protection is through predictive risk modeling (PRM). Using large datasets PRM tools are able to use algorithms with significant capacity to ascertain and stratify children's risk of experiencing maltreatment in the future. In the process, however, they also identify families who may well benefit from support but are not on a maltreatment trajectory — the so called ‘false positives’ who would not be among those families later identified as mistreating their children. Whilst early identification of families through the use of PRM has the potential to offer opportunities to provide supportive services that could ameliorate future harm to children, it is clear that it also has the potential to mistakenly target and label families as potential child abusers. This article discusses challenges and opportunities associated with the use of PRM in child protection. It briefly discusses the development of PRM in New Zealand, and traverses some of the complex issues as systems attempt to better target limited resources in the context of fiscal restraint.
•Algorithms using administrative data can identify children at higher risk of abuse.•Predictive risk modelling creates opportunities to provide supportive services.•Early identification of family problems has benefits and limitations.
This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of an evidence-based parenting program—Triple P Positive Parenting Program—in shelter settings for families experiencing homelessness. The ...intervention has not previously been evaluated in a shelter setting, where there is a critical need for evidence-based parenting programs. Using a within-group pre- and post-intervention with 3-month follow-up design, 39 mothers residing in a shelter with a child ages 2–6 years participated. Results of this preliminary study showed positive effects of Triple P Discussion Groups. There were significant improvements in mother-reported parenting practices and child behavior across time, but no change in child maltreatment risk as measured by the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory. Mothers rated satisfaction with the program high immediately after the group and again three weeks later. Results showed Triple P Discussion Groups are acceptable and have some positive effects for this vulnerable population in need of parenting support. We discuss implications of findings, limitations of the study (including a 33% attrition rate), and recommendations for further study.
Highlights
Evaluated Triple P Discussion Groups delivered in shelters for homeless families.
Parenting improved; child problem behaviors reduced; no effects on abuse risk.
Mothers were highly satisfied with all aspects of the intervention.
Latinos comprise a rapidly growing segment of families seeking child maltreatment prevention services. Children of Latino families face an increased risk of maltreatment due to acculturation and ...immigration stressors. Currently the child maltreatment prevention field lacks a cadre of valid and reliable Spanish language tools to measure program outcomes and families' resources and needs at service entry. The Protective Factors Survey (PFS) is an evaluation tool used increasingly among child maltreatment prevention programs. The PFS is a measure of five family-level protective factors against child abuse and neglect: Family Functioning/Resiliency, Concrete Support, Social Support, Nurturing and Attachment, & Knowledge of Parenting/Child Development. In this study we test the validity, reliability and stability of a Spanish adaptation of the PFS (S-PFS) among seven agencies and 148 Latino participants across the nation. The results from this study indicate that the S-PFS is a valid, reliable and stable measure. Implications for the child maltreatment prevention field are discussed.
•We translated the S-PFS using forward/backward translation techniques.•We examined the psychometric properties of the Spanish adaptation of the PFS.•We conducted our analyses with structural equation modeling.•The S-PFS is reliable and stable from Time One to Time Two.•The S-PFS displays adequate content, concurrent, predictive and criterion validity.
