Child Abuse Prevention

Prevention
Given these possible causes, most professionals agree that there are three levels of prevention services; primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary prevention.

Primary prevention
Primary prevention consists of activities that are targeted at the community level. These activities are meant to impact families prior to any allegations of abuse and neglect. Primary prevention services include public education activities, parent education classes that are open to anyone in the community, and family support programs. Primary prevention can be difficult to measure because you are attempting to impact something before it happens, an unknown variable.

Secondary prevention
Secondary prevention consists of activities targeted to families that have one or more risk factors including families with substance abuse, teen parents, parents of special need children, single parents, and low income families. Secondary prevention services include parent education classes targeted for high risk parents, respite care for parents of a child with a disability, or home visiting programs for new parents.

Tertiary prevention
Tertiary prevention consists of activities targeted to families that have confirmed or unconfirmed child abuse and neglect reports. These families have already demonstrated the need for intervention, with or without court supervision. Prevention supporters consider 'tertiary prevention' synonymous with treatment, and entirely different from prevention through family support.

INDEX

1 Effects of child abuse on the child and development
2 Causes of child abuse
3 Prevention
Primary prevention
Secondary prevention
Tertiary prevention
4 Treatment
5 Child abuse prevention organizations
Child help USA
ISPCAN (International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect)
Children of the Underground
6 Reporting of child abuse
Authorities