title: Community differences in the implementation of Strong Communities for Children.
abstract: In 1993, the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect recommended a neighborhood-based strategy to prevent child abuse and neglect. The Board further recommended the development of Prevention Zones to allow for testing of the effectiveness of community-wide child protection efforts in neighborhoods of differing population density, ethnic and cultural composition, and social and economic resources. Following the Board's recommendation, this article presents the results of a trial of the effectiveness of a neighborhood-based strategy in low- and high-resource communities. Using management, survey, and administrative data, the research showed that both community types experienced declines in founded cases of and injuries suggesting child maltreatment for children under age 5. Low-resource communities experienced greater levels of mobilization, as measured by community and institutional engagement, and a greater number of positive outcomes related to changes in the quality of life for families and community norms relative to child and family well-being. In particular, the low-resource communities experienced the largest increases in receiving help from neighbors, neighboring, perceived household safety for neighborhood children, and observed positive parenting. High-resource communities experienced greater increases in intermediate outcomes related to self-reported parenting practices. The findings suggest that, ultimately, community mobilization can occur and be an effective means of preventing child maltreatment across community types. It appears, however, that community mobilization may play a more significant role in low-resource communities.
authors.affiliation: Kempe Center for Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 2305 Columbia Drive, Flower Mound, TX 75022, USA.
authors.forename: Jill D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: McLeigh
authors.affiliation: Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, Clemson University, USA.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: McDonell
authors.affiliation: Kempe Center for Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Colorado School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: Gary B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Melton
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000068216:Child Protective Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D019058:Community Networks / Q000458:organization & administration; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012449:Safety; D057566:Self Report; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States; D014838:Volunteers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Child abuse and neglect; Community; High-resource communities; Informal social support; Low-resource communities; Neighborhoods; Prevention