The Prevention of Child Maltreatment: Using SafeCare® to Highlight Successes and Needs for Improvement in Prevention Efforts.

Abstract

Child maltreatment is a public health problem of considerable magnitude. Though substantial progress has been made in the prevention of child maltreatment, one incident of maltreatment is one too many. Intervention and/or prevention efforts must always be dynamic. In this commentary, we highlight recent prevention and policy efforts in the United States, using SafeCare, an evidence-based parent support program with a focus on the prevention of neglect, as an example. We describe broad-scale implementation efforts and offer a vision for what the field must do to realize public heath impact, highlighting recent advances of parent support models in policy, advocacy, and programs. Strategies that might improve current efforts are suggested to ensure the field not become static.