The Prevention of Child Maltreatment: Using SafeCare® to Highlight Successes and Needs for Improvement in Prevention Efforts

Abstract

Child maltreatment is a public health problem of considerable magnitude. Though substantial progress has been made in the prevention of child maltreatment, one incident of maltreatment is one too many. Intervention and/or prevention efforts must always be dynamic. In this commentary, we highlight recent prevention and policy efforts in the United States, using SafeCare, an evidence-based parent support program with a focus on the prevention of neglect, as an example. We describe broad-scale implementation efforts and offer a vision for what the field must do to realize public heath impact, highlighting recent advances of parent support models in policy, advocacy, and programs. Strategies that might improve current efforts are suggested to ensure the field not become static.

PROTOCOL: Effectiveness of home‐based interventions to prevent child neglect: A systematic review

“…Home-based child neglect prevention programs vary from country to country or from organization to organization (Ash, 2017;CDC, 2016;Curry, 2018;Guastaferro, 2022;HHS, 2018;UNICEF, 2023;Van, 2020). We will focus on all formal home-based programs that provided support to families or individuals via the following groups (Donisch, 2022;HHS, 2020):…”

“…The prevention of child abuse and neglect has become a public health priority, given its now well documented impact on the health and wellbeing of a developing child (Berger, 2015; Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2016;Guterman, 2013). Over the past few decades, the evidence base that supports preventive interventions has increased significantly, with promising findings emerging from various preventive strategies, particularly home-based interventions (Ash, 2017;Guastaferro, 2022). The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) supplemented in-person group and home-based programs with innovative remote and digital delivery modalities to enhance prevention of violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect (UNICEF, 2023).…”

Prevalence, Risks and Prevention of Child Maltreatment in the Middle East

“…A 50% decline in crimes against children and maltreatment episodes were observed following the implementation of the nurse-family partnership program [123]. The SafeCare and Incredible Years programs also aim to improve parenting skills for reducing the prevalence of child maltreatment episodes [124,125]. These programs also aim to foster primary care of parents and develop holistic strategies to effectively mitigate child maltreatment risk factors [126].…”

Structural Validity and Internal Consistency of the Adolescents and Children Risk of Abuse and Maltreatment Parental Scale (ACRAM-PS)

“…However, child maltreatment is a complex, multidimensional, and heterogeneous construct that encompasses a great number of risk factors as caregiver's characteristics, neglect of several types, abuse, corruption, labor exploitation, etcetera (Guastaferro & Lutzker, 2021;Zhang et al, 2022). There is a lack of consensus about its definition and subsequent operationalization: some definitions include broad terms which are hardly operationalizable (WHO, 2020); some do not specify subtypes of maltreatment (Runyan & English, 2006); and some consider risk as a potential harm, while others only address existent harm to the child or adolescent (Fallon et al, 2010).…”