Chapin Hall Research Fellow Deborah Daro co-wrote a chapter in the book, “Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment.” The chapter highlights interventions that have demonstrated a reduction in child abuse and neglect reports and other child safety outcomes such as reported injuries and accidents. Daro also writes about interventions with documented effects on risk factors that correlate with child maltreatment, such as parental depression, parent-child attachment, and economic self-sufficiency. The review pays special attention to the evidence surrounding programs that target parents of newborns and young children. Effective and promising strategies cited in the chapter include home visitation programs, child assault prevention efforts, family support efforts, and early intervention programs. In addition to identifying promising models, the chapter pays particular attention to identifying promising practices, including the issues of appropriate target populations, scope, critical outcomes, staff characteristics, and replication methods. The chapter also addresses the key research and evaluation questions central to improving the design, implementation and integration of preventive services. The chapter concludes with a set of general practice and policy recommendations regarding service expansion and the importance of developing more community-focused interventions. Karen McCurdy, assistant professor of Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Rhode Island was the co-author.

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