Innovative cross-system and community approaches for the prevention of child maltreatment

Because of the complexity and depth of problems facing children and families today, child protection can be best accomplished through a community effort--not simply through the efforts of the traditional child welfare system and other child- and family-serving agencies. Community-based initiatives supporting families and individuals are promising mechanisms through which to efficiently reach a wide range of community members consistent with a public health model. This conceptual paper describes the principles of community-based approaches for the prevention of child maltreatment and briefly describes four initiatives that are providing comprehensive, community-based prevention.