Preventing the Recurrence of Abuse or Neglect

The following resources address strategies for working with families with a substantiated case of child abuse or neglect to increase child safety and prevent repeat maltreatment. Resources include State and local examples.

Household, Family, and Child Risk Factors After an Investigation for Suspected Child Maltreatment: A Missed Opportunity for Prevention
Campbell, Cook, LaFleur, & Keenan
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 164(10), 2010
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Analyzes the experiences of 164 children whose families experienced an investigation for suspected child maltreatment. The study determines that child protective services intervention did not result in improvements in common risk factors such as social support, family functioning, poverty, maternal education or depressive symptoms, and aggressive or depressive child behaviors.

Information Packet: Prevention of Repeat Maltreatment: Addressing Contributing Factors Based in an Ecological Model (PDF - 73 KB)
Boyd (2009)
Presents statistics on child maltreatment recurrence and summarizes a model for working with families to prevent repeat maltreatment.

Methodological Standards for Randomised Controlled Trials of Interventions for Preventing Recurrence of Child Physical Abuse and Neglect
Tanaka, Jamieson, Wathen, & MacMillan
Child Abuse Review, 19(1), 2010
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Synthesizes the results of 13 studies that examined the effectiveness of interventions to prevent the recurrence of physical abuse or neglect.

Nurse Home Visits Did Not Differ From Standard Care for Prevention of Recurrent Child Abuse
Peterson
Evidence-Based Nursing, 9(1), 2006
Summarizes the results of a study that found families experiencing child physical abuse or neglect who were served by a nurse home visiting program did not have a lower recurrence of maltreatment when compared to control families 3 years later. The study was based on the experiences of roughly 160 Canadian families.

Predicting and Minimizing the Recurrence of Maltreatment Literature Review (PDF - 462 KB)
Honomichl & Brooks (2009)
Presents factors and circumstances that predict repeated episodes of abuse or neglect as well as practices that may limit its recurrence.

The Prevention of Child Maltreatment Recidivism Through the Solution-Based Casework Model of Child Welfare Practice
Antle, Barbee, Christensen, & Sullivan
Children and Youth Services Review, 31(12), 2009
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Evaluates the effectiveness of the Solution-Based Casework model of child welfare practice to prevent recidivism of child maltreatment for families involved with the public child welfare system. The article presents results indicating that cases using the Solution-Based Casework model experienced far fewer recidivism referrals than those in which the model was not used.

Recidivism in the Child Protection System: Identifying Children at Greatest Risk of Reabuse Among Those Remaining in the Home
Dakil, Sakai, Lin, & Flores
Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011
View Abstract
Outlines the risk clusters that are associated with varied levels of risk of new abuse reports and substantiated reports in cases of children who remain in the home after abuse reports are identified.

Systematic Reviews of Interventions Following Physical Abuse: Helping Practitioners and Expert Witnesses Improve the Outcomes of Child Abuse
Montgomery, Gardner, Bjornstad, & Ramchandani (2009)
Examines the effectiveness of interventions to prevent recurrence of maltreatment and reduce adverse child outcomes in families where a child has experienced physical abuse. The interventions are grouped into three categories: child-focused, parent-focused, and family-focused.

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State and local examples

Arizona IV-E Waiver Expedited Reunification Demonstration Final Evaluation Report: April 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008
Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy, Arizona State University (2009)
View Abstract and Document
Describes the outcomes of a project in Phoenix, Mesa, and Tempe, AZ, that provided in-home and aftercare services to families of children placed in foster care to expedite reunification. The goals of the program were to reduce the amount of time children spend in foster care, decrease reentry into foster care, prevent the recurrence of maltreatment, and improve the well-being of children and families.

Hennepin-University Partnership Child Well-Being Re-entry to Foster Care Report (PDF - 614 KB)
Jones & LaLiberte (2010)
Presents a guide to evidence-based practices in preventing children from reentering the foster care system and a literature review that includes information on risk factors that contribute to the recurrence of child maltreatment. The report includes recommendations for Hennepin County, Minnesota, to reduce rates of reentry.

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