Leveraging Family and Community Strengths to Reduce Child Maltreatment

Abstract

This article reviews and analyzes extant literature on the prevention of child maltreatment. We give an overview of protective factors that research finds to be efficacious in maltreatment prevention and pay particular attention to research that shows how health-based models and community-based models can leverage family and community strengths to that end. We go on to offer recommendations for potential future prevention programming, including an approach with untapped potential—the Prevention Zones framework. Finally, we discuss policy considerations and implications specific to the goal of increasing programming and services that leverage family and community strengths.