The Child Maltreatment Prevention Landscape: Where Are We Now, and Where Should We Go?

• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220978361

ANNALS, AAPSS, 692, November 2020 97

DOI: 10.1177/0002716220978361

The Child

Maltreatment

Prevention

Landscape:

Where Are We

Now, and

Where Should

We Go?

By

BRENDA JONES HARDEN,

CASSANDRA SIMONS,

MICHELLE JOHNSON-

MOTOYAMA,

and

RICHARD BARTH

978361ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYTHE CHILD MALTREATMENT PREVENTION LANDSCAPE

research-article2020

Child maltreatment calls for a broad range of preventa-

tive policies and practices, but limited governmental

funding and leadership has been devoted to the prob-

lem. 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 preven-

tion science, review the existing literature on the effec-

tiveness 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 imple-

mentation of evidence-based prevention programs,

while addressing the adverse community experiences

that exacerbate risk for child maltreatment.

Keywords: maltreatment prevention; prevention science;

prevention programs; child maltreatment;

child welfare

Child maltreatment arises from highly varied

influences on children and families, such as

parental mental health, intimate partner relation-

ships, intergenerational caregiving experiences,

community characteristics, and socioeconomic

status. The prevention of child maltreatment

requires an equally broad view and response.

From the inception of the child protection sys-

tem in the United States, child welfare policies

have laid the blueprint for a largely reactive child

protection response. Meanwhile, interdisciplinary

research and development occurring outside of

Brenda Jones Harden is Alison Richman Professor of

Children and Families at the University of Maryland

School of Social Work. She is a scientist-practitioner

who conducts research on the effects of interventions to

prevent maltreatment of young children, including

home visiting, early childhood education, and parent-

ing interventions.

Correspondence: Brenda.Jones-Harden@ssw

.umaryland.edu

98 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

the child welfare policy framework in fields such as behavioral science, early care

and education, pediatric primary care, child development, child psychology, and

others have produced an array of programs with demonstrated effectiveness in pre-

venting child maltreatment, such as early childhood education and parenting inter-

ventions. However, widespread implementation of effective child maltreatment

prevention strategies has been slow and uneven.

In this article, we trace how governmental responsibility for child maltreatment

prevention became centered within the nation’s child welfare system, initially cre-

ated to ensure the protection of children who were at risk for or had experienced

abuse or neglect. We also discuss developments in prevention science, present a

public health approach to prevention, and review the existing literature on the

effectiveness of a range of prevention strategies. 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 adoption and implemen-

tation of evidence-based prevention programs, while addressing the adverse com-

munity experiences that exacerbate risk for a host of adverse childhood

experiences, of which child maltreatment is one of the most deleterious.

Child Protection and Child Maltreatment

Prevention: A Brief History

In 1912, Congress established a broad role for the federal government in the wel-

fare of children with the creation of the U.S. Children’s Bureau. In the wake of the

Great Depression, the Social Security Act of 1935 furthered the government’s role

in ensuring children’s welfare by creating the Aid to Dependent Children (ADC)

cash assistance program and expanding the role of the Children’s Bureau in its

implementation through cooperation with state public welfare agencies. Public

assistance in the form of ADC, and later Aid to Families with Dependent Children

(AFDC) in 1962, continued as a single federal response to child and family need

Cassandra Simons is a postdoctoral research associate in the Center for Early Childhood

Education and Intervention at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research inves-

tigates the academic socialization beliefs of low-income and underserved families as well as the

effectiveness of early childhood preventative interventions.

Michelle Johnson-Motoyama is an associate professor at The Ohio State University College of

Social Work and faculty affiliate of the Institute for Population Research. Her research exam-

ines the effects of social policies and programs in preventing child maltreatment and reducing

social disparities in child and family health and well-being.

Richard Barth is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. He has

designed interventions and conducted evaluations addressing child abuse prevention, parent

training, child fatalities, and evidence-based practices in child welfare. He is past-president of

the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and chairs the Executive Committee

of the Grand Challenges for Social Work.

NOTE: The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Patricia Kohl, Washington

University, to the conceptualization of this article.