Session: Child Maltreatment Prevention through Policy Change: From Data to Action (Society for Prevention Research 24th Annual Meeting)

The prevalence and consequences of child maltreatment (CM) make it a public health concern that requires early and effective prevention. Public policies can be critical in shaping every level of the social ecology, including individuals, families, and communities, and thus have the potential to play a key role in the prevention of CM. In order to protect children and youth and build an evidence-base of effective policy and prevention strategies, evaluations of public policies are needed, including those policies currently being implemented. The goal of this symposium session is to present a series of papers which provide history, context, and data to support CM prevention through policy change. The symposium supports the conference themes of Promoting Health Equity among Populations at Risk and Enhancing Physical, Social, and Economic Environments to Improve Health Equity by bringing together researchers from federal agencies who have been supporting research and program implementation in this area.

The first paper, “Adverse Childhood Experiences Impact Health and Wellness: Implications for Prevention” presents the public health framework of CM and other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). The authors will outline the history of the original CDC-Kaiser ACE study and provide an overview of CDC’s current ACE work and CDC’s Essentials for Childhood framework. In addition, the authors will highlight efforts used to inform prevention programs and policy, including how states’ have used their BRFSS ACE data to inform state prevention action.

The second paper, “The Implementation Experiences of Tribal Grantees in Coordinating Tribal TANF and Child Welfare Services” describes a descriptive study of the collaboration and service coordination between Temporary Assistance to Needy Families TANF and child welfare (CW) and the facilitators and barriers to collaboration. The authors conducted interviews and observational site visits in 14 sites. The authors will highlight the findings and discuss how they may have implications for policy and practice.

The third paper, “Do Policies Resulting in Welfare and Child Welfare Service Integration Prevent Child Maltreatment? Preliminary Findings from a Policy Research Study” describes a rigorous evaluation of whether TANF policies and program supports reduce rates of CM when they are delivered in an integrated welfare and child welfare service model. The authors utilize a multiple baseline, interrupted time series design examining CM and associated child welfare data spanning a period of 20 years (1995-2015). This project represents the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s first major investment in a policy evaluation examining CM outcomes.

At the conclusion of the presentations, the discussant will make some summary statements and moderate a discussion between the presenters and the symposium attendees.