A public health strategy to prevent child maltreatment: Lessons from five case study states

This presentation will share findings of the Public Health Leadership for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment Initiative (PHL); a three-year project to assist and support state public health efforts in primary prevention of child maltreatment. PHL is a joint project of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, CDC Foundation, and CDC. In 2010, PHL conducted site visits with five states to understand existing efforts and opportunities and challenges of creating a public health strategy for child maltreatment prevention. These agencies were selected based on information provided by state health departments as part of PHL's 2009 child maltreatment prevention environmental scan. Criteria for selection included: commitment to child maltreatment prevention as a public health issue; collaborations and partnerships; data analysis and surveillance capacity; variety of programs and services that promote the health and well-being of families (i.e., primary prevention of child maltreatment) and geographic location. Case study findings and expert input were synthesized to extract key elements to help health departments' structure efforts to increase capacity for primary prevention of child maltreatment. State public health agencies have much to contribute to the prevention of child maltreatment through promotion of safe, stable and nurturing environments for children. This presentation will discuss the eight key elements as a framework for building public health's role in state child maltreatment prevention systems and share recommendations and tools for state health departments, which are currently under development by the PHL Initiative.