Child Abuse Prevention Paper

With increased awareness of child maltreatment, a variety of methods and interventions have emerged to address the problem. Professionals working to prevent child abuse have worked to expand public awareness as well as to increase the success of interventions provided by incorporating strategies from various disciplines to guide and influence practice. The greatest influence has been the public health framework, consisting of three levels of prevention programs; primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention activities are directed at the general population to prevent maltreatment before it occurs. These are programs and services that are made available to all members of a community and focus on raising the awareness of the problem, how to report the problem, and where to seek help. Primary prevention strategies include public awareness campaigns and public service announcements; increasing economic self-sufficiency of families, discouraging corporal punishment, increasing accessibility and affordability of health care, improving family support and strengthening families programs, helping families meet basic needs, educating parents in raising children, including child behavior, discipline,
Risk factors include parental substance abuse; parental mental health concerns, parental or child disabilities, young age of parents, low education, including lack of understanding of child development, lack of parental skills, and low income (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013; Merrick & Latzman, 2014). These programs and services include parent education programs at local schools, parent support groups, respite care for families that have special needs, home visiting programs that provide support and assistance in the home, and family resource centers (Childwelfare Informational Information Gateway,