Preface

Child maltreatment threatens the safety and well-being of increasing numbers of American children. According to Child Maltreatment 1997: Reports From the States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, "child protective agencies investigated more than 2 million reports alleging maltreatment of more than 3 million children" (page xi, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC: 1998). Based on data reported by states and announced by Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala during April Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month (April 2000), in 1998, the child abuse and neglect incidence rate declined to 12.9 per 1,000 children, the lowest rate in more than 10 years. States estimated that child protective service agencies received about 2,806,000 referrals of possible maltreatment and of the 66 percent of those referrals investigated, states found that there were an estimated 903,000 children who were victims of abuse and/or neglect. Parents continue to be the main perpetrators of child maltreatment. The most common pattern of maltreatment (45%) was a child victimized by a female parent with no other perpetrators. Victims of physical abuse and sexual abuse, compared to victims of neglect and medical neglect, were more likely to be maltreated by a male parent acting alone. More than half of all victims, however, (54 percent) suffered neglect, while almost a quarter (23 percent) suffered physical abuse. Nearly 12 percent of the victims were sexually abused.

To combat this problem at the Federal level, the agencies and departments of the Government award grants to investigators engaged in research either directly focused on child abuse and neglect or applicable to this field. This support enables investigators to study the causes of abuse and neglect and the outcomes befalling its victims, as well as assessment techniques and interventions for prevention and treatment. Abstracts and Findings From Federally Funded Research on Child Abuse and Neglect presents information about the Federal effort to promote child well-being through these research activities.

Each year since 1992, the Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect has assembled a compendium describing the funding support its member agencies contribute to this research effort. This publication presents two primary categories of research activity: one section containing project profiles and descriptions for grants that were active in fiscal year 1998, and the other featuring summaries for which Federal grants ended prior to that funding period.

To gather the information for this publication, Federal agencies and the principal investigators who conducted the studies were contacted directly. The funding agencies, and the project officers who oversee the grants, determined which projects were to be included in the Abstracts section. As in previous editions, these studies have been categorized by the funding source. For the 1998 Findings, the final reports or journal articles used to develop abstract summaries for these completed studies were provided by the individual investigators responsible for their conduct. The abstracts include the purpose, methodology, and Summary of findings. The term "findings" is used in a broad sense, including process, outcome, and impact findings. For some projects or programs, a description of the research constitutes the finding or result. Again this year, an index of studies that specifies the types of abuse covered, including the co-occurrence of domestic violence or substance abuse, is a feature of the Compendium.

The development of a resource such as this publication would not have been possible without the efforts of the Interagency Research Committee and the agency representatives who participate in the activities of the Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect. The project officers who superintend grants within their agencies are essential partners in the collection of the information contained herein and in the daily work of advancing knowledge to prevent and treat child maltreatment.

This publication has been prepared under contract number ACF-105-97-1857 with Earl Moore and Associates, Inc. Photocopies of this and other publications are available from the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. For more information, please contact the Clearinghouse.

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information
330 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20447
(703) 385-7565 or
(800) FYI-3366, if outside the Washington, DC, metropolitan area
FAX: (703) 385-3206
E-mail: nccanch@calib.com
Website: http://www.calib.com/nccanch