NCJ Number
208898
Date Published
2005
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper provides a rationale and model for a community approach to preventing child abuse and neglect.
Abstract
Under the predominant reactive model for addressing child abuse and neglect, the larger community typically takes no responsibility for seeing that a child's needs are met until that child has been so severely abused or neglected that community representatives feel obligated to intervene. Even then, the "community" usually takes the form of a single government agency. The community has a stake in preventing child abuse and neglect, because abused and neglected children develop mental, physical, and behavioral problems that draw disproportionately on the resources of the community and even threaten the community's safety. Community partnerships that focus on preventing child abuse and neglect encompass every community institution, including the police, schools, government agencies, neighborhood residents, health-care providers, parents, civic organizations, and religious organizations. In establishing a community partnership, a community must first identify itself by geographic boundary, district name, or how the residents in a given area define themselves as a community. This should be followed by a needs assessment regarding the prevention of child abuse and neglect. One of the most difficult adjustments in a partnership model will be for traditional child protection agencies to adopt a working style that involves planning and coordinating services with multiple agencies and organizations to ensure that the full resources of the community are brought to bear on circumstances related to child abuse and neglect.