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13 - Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2009

By
Mia McFarlane ,
Howard J. Doueck  and
Murray Levine
Edited by
Bette L. Bottoms ,
Margaret Bull Kovera  and
Bradley D. McAuliff
Mia McFarlane
Affiliation:
Attorney Children's Legal Center in Buffalo, New York
Howard J. Doueck
Affiliation:
Professor of Social Work, Director of the doctorate program, and Chair of the Children and Youth concentration State University of New York at Buffalo
Murray Levine
Affiliation:
Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology and Adjunct Professor of Law State University of New York at Buffalo
Bette L. Bottoms
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Chicago
Margaret Bull Kovera
Affiliation:
Florida International University
Bradley D. McAuliff
Affiliation:
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
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Summary

In terms of numbers alone, child maltreatment is a significant social problem. Although recent studies suggest that rates of some types of maltreatment, especially sexual abuse, have decreased markedly in the last decade (Jones & Finkelhor, 2001), overall many children are harmed each year. For example, using a standard of “demonstrable harm as a result of maltreatment,” it has been estimated that 1,553,800, or 23.1/1,000 children, were victims of maltreatment during 1993 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996, pp. 2–9).

In this chapter, we review some examples of newly developed programs, community-based initiatives, and recent legislation designed and implemented to prevent child maltreatment. In this context, we find that although there have been some successes, such programs and legislation are as likely to have been driven by values, biases, and political considerations as they are to have been driven by a research-based understanding of the problem. Stated differently, there tends to be a gap between what we know empirically about prevention and what ultimately gets implemented. We conclude the chapter with some comments about how social scientists might help bridge this gap.

PREVENTING CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

The U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect (ABCAN) (1990) described the problem of child maltreatment and the system developed to help solve that problem as a national emergency. In a subsequent report, they called for a preventive strategy that would be “comprehensive, child-centered, family-focused, and neighborhood-based” (U.S. ABCAN, 1993, p. 16; see Small & Limber, this volume).

Type
Chapter
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Children, Social Science, and the Law , pp. 322 - 341
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2002

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  • Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
    • By Mia McFarlane, Attorney Children's Legal Center in Buffalo, New York, Howard J. Doueck, Professor of Social Work, Director of the doctorate program, and Chair of the Children and Youth concentration State University of New York at Buffalo, Murray Levine, Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology and Adjunct Professor of Law State University of New York at Buffalo
  • Edited by Bette L. Bottoms, University of Illinois, Chicago, Margaret Bull Kovera, Florida International University, Bradley D. McAuliff, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
  • Book: Children, Social Science, and the Law
  • Online publication: 24 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511500114.013
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  • Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
    • By Mia McFarlane, Attorney Children's Legal Center in Buffalo, New York, Howard J. Doueck, Professor of Social Work, Director of the doctorate program, and Chair of the Children and Youth concentration State University of New York at Buffalo, Murray Levine, Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology and Adjunct Professor of Law State University of New York at Buffalo
  • Edited by Bette L. Bottoms, University of Illinois, Chicago, Margaret Bull Kovera, Florida International University, Bradley D. McAuliff, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
  • Book: Children, Social Science, and the Law
  • Online publication: 24 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511500114.013
Available formats
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  • Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
    • By Mia McFarlane, Attorney Children's Legal Center in Buffalo, New York, Howard J. Doueck, Professor of Social Work, Director of the doctorate program, and Chair of the Children and Youth concentration State University of New York at Buffalo, Murray Levine, Distinguished Service Professor of Psychology and Adjunct Professor of Law State University of New York at Buffalo
  • Edited by Bette L. Bottoms, University of Illinois, Chicago, Margaret Bull Kovera, Florida International University, Bradley D. McAuliff, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
  • Book: Children, Social Science, and the Law
  • Online publication: 24 July 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511500114.013
Available formats
×