Child Maltreatment - Prevention Strategies

Tips for you and your family

*If you suspect child abuse or neglect, call your local child protective services (CPS) agency or the CPS agency in the state in which the abuse occurred. The Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline at 800-422-4453 (TDD 800-222-4452) can tell you where to file your report and can help you fill out the report. In many states, the identity of persons reporting abuse or neglect is kept confidential and will not be released to persons reported.

*Never shake a baby or young child. Shaking a baby or child can cause severe injury and even death.

*Take a break from a situation if you feel yourself losing control. Ask a friend or relative to watch your children for a little while. Offer to help other parents so they can take a break.

Other things you can do

*Help develop parenting resources at your local library.

*Volunteer at an organization that provides family support services.

*Teach children, parents, and educators prevention strategies that can help to keep children safe.

Links to Information

All Kids Count
750 Commerce Drive, Suite 400
Decatur, Georgia 30030
Phone: 800-874-4338
Fax: 800-765-7520
www.allkidscount.org
Works to consolidate all of the health services provided to a child in one file. These integrated information files may be useful to parents, medical professionals, and educators who care for children and may also provide valuable data to public health officials.

American Academy of Pediatrics
141 Northwest Point Boulevard
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-1098
Phone: 847-434-4000
Fax: 847-434-8000
www.aap.org
Nonprofit organization dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.

American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
P.O. Box 26901
CHO 3B-3406
Oklahoma City, OK 73190
Phone: 405-271-8202
Fax: 405-271-2931
www.apsac.org
Brings together all the disciplines that respond daily to child maltreatment, disseminates research and practical information, publishes a quarterly newsletter and national interdisciplinary guidelines, and provides professional networking opportunities through national conferences and state chapters.

Childhelp USA
15757 N 78th Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
National Child Abuse Hotline: 800-4-A-CHILD (422-4453)
Phone: 480-922-8212
TTD: 800-2-A-CHILD (222-4453)
www.childhelpusa.org
Has an anonymous, toll-free hotline available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Childhelp USA offers crisis intervention, information, literature, and referrals to the 55,000 agencies in their database and can handle calls in 140 languages.

Generation Five
2 Massasoit Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
Phone: 415-285-6658
Fax: 415-265-6668
E-mail: info@generationfive.org
www.generationfive.org
Nonprofit organization that brings together diverse community leaders working to end child sexual abuse within five generations. Programs provide leadership training to community members, activists, and agency professionals and fosters national strategy and information exchange on child sexual abuse. Collaborates with service providers to ensure that affordable, culturally-relevant support is available to survivors, offenders, and affected families.

International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)
25 W 560 Geneva Road, Suite L2C
Carol Stream, IL 60188
Phone: 630-221-1311
Fax: 630-221-1313
www.ispcan.org
Works to prevent cruelty to children in every nation, in every form: physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, homeless children, child fatalities, child prostitution, children of war, emotional abuse, and child labor. ISPCAN is committed to increasing public awareness of all forms of violence against children, developing activities to prevent such violence, and promoting the rights of children in all regions of the world.

Keeping Kids Alive: The Center for Child Death Review
2438 Woodlake Circle, Suite 240
Okemos, MI 48864
Phone: 800-656-2434
Fax: 517-324-7365
childdeathreview.org/state.htm
Promotes, supports and enhances child death review methodology and activities at the state, community and national levels. It builds public and private partnerships to incorporate Child Death Review (CDR) findings into efforts that improve child health. Building on the extensive knowledge of current CDR programs, the Center actively involves states in the development of Center services.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)
Charles B. Wang International Children's Building
699 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3175
Phone: 800-THE-LOST (843-5678)
www.missingkids.com
Provides assistance to parents, children, law enforcement, schools and the community in recovering missing children and raising public awareness about ways to help prevent child abduction, molestation, and sexual exploitation. Sponsors the CyberTipLine for online reporting of the sexual exploitation or molesting of children. One special program offered by the Center is the NetSmartz Workshops for teaching internet safety.

National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information
330 C Street SW
Washington, DC 20447
Phone: 800-394-3366 or 703-385-7565
Fax: 703-385-3206
Web site: nccanch.acf.hhs.gov
Offers online statistics and information about child welfare, child abuse and neglect prevention and state statutes regarding child abuse and neglect.

National Resource Center on Child Maltreatment
P.O. Box 441470
Aurora, CO 80044-1470
Phone: 303-369-8008
Fax: 303-369-8009
E-mail: NRCCM@gocwi.org
www.gocwi.org/nrccm/
Provides information, training, and technical assistance to state, local, and tribal child protection agencies.

Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America)
200 S. Michigan Avenue, 17th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604-2404
Phone: 312-663-3520
Fax: 312-939-8962
www.preventchildabuse.org
Builds awareness, provides education, and inspires hope to everyone involved in the effort to prevent the abuse and neglect of our nation's children. Working with chapters in 39 states and the District of Columbia, PCA America provides leadership to promote and implement prevention efforts at both national and local levels.

Shaken Baby Alliance
P.O. Box 150734
Ft. Worth, TX 76108
Phone: 877-636-3727
E-Mail: info@shakenbaby.com
www.shakenbaby.com
Provides support for shaken baby syndrome (SBS) victim families (including adoptive and foster parents), advocates justice for SBS victims, and increases SBS awareness. Works collaboratively with all agencies and professionals in a community effort.

STOP IT NOW!
P.O. Box 495
Haydenville, MA 01039
Phone: 413-268-3096
E-mail: info@stopitnow.com
www.stopitnow.org
National, public health-based organization working to prevent and ultimately eradicate child sexual abuse. Through public education, policy advocacy, research and evaluation, STOP IT NOW! calls on abusers and potential abusers to stop their abusive behavior and get help. Provides a toll-free helpline for confidential information: 1-888-PREVENT (773-8368) Monday-Friday (except federal holidays) 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Eastern time.

Disclaimer

Some of these sites are not CDC sites. CDC is not responsible for the content of web pages found at links to such sites. Links to nonfederal organizations are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not indicate an endorsement of these organizations by CDC or the federal government.