Children's Bureau Proposed Research Priorities for Fiscal Years 2006-2008., 5856-5858 [E6-1480]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 23 / Friday, February 3, 2006 / Notices
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Consideration will be given to
comments and suggestions submitted
within 60 days of this publication.
Dated: January 30, 2006.
Robert Sargis,
Reports Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06–1013 Filed 2–2–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184–01–M
I. Background
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and
Families
Children’s Bureau Proposed Research
Priorities for Fiscal Years 2006–2008.
Administration on Children,
Youth and Families (ACYF),
Administration for Children and
Families (ACF), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed child abuse
and neglect research priorities for Fiscal
Years 2006–2008
hsrobinson on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Children’s Bureau (CB)
within the Administration on Children,
Youth and Families (ACYF) announces
the proposed priorities for research on
the causes, prevention, assessment,
identification, treatment, cultural and
socio-economic distinctions, and the
consequences of child abuse and
neglect.
Section 104(a)(4) of the Child Abuse
Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA),
as amended by the Keeping Children
and Families Safe Act of 2003, Public
Law (Pub. L.). 108–36, requires the
Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) to publish
proposed priorities for research
activities for public comment and to
maintain an official record of such
public comment. The proposed
priorities are being announced for the
two-year period required by CAPTA.
Because the amount of Federal funds
available for discretionary activities in
Fiscal Years 2006–2008 is expected to
be limited, respondents are encouraged
to recommend how the proposed issues
should be prioritized.
The actual solicitation of grant
applications will be posted
electronically each fiscal year and will
be available online through https://
www.Grants.gov. Solicitations for
contracts will be announced, at later
dates, online at FedBizOps. (FY 05 was
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:00 Feb 02, 2006
Jkt 208001
the last year that CB discretionary grants
were published in the Federal Register.)
No proposals, concept papers or other
forms of application should be
submitted at this time.
No acknowledgement will be made of
the comments submitted in response to
this notice, but all comments received
by the deadline will be reviewed and
given thoughtful consideration in the
preparation of the final funding
priorities for the announcements.
DATES: In order to be considered,
comments must be received no later
than April 4, 2006.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
As noted above, Section 104(a)(4) of
CAPTA requires the Secretary to
publish proposed priorities for research
activities for public comment every two
years. In response to this legislative
mandate, CB has undertaken a review of
the current legislative language, the
results of the CAPTA funded research
since the last CAPTA announcement of
research priority areas in 1997, findings
from other relevant research, and input
from the field. Based on this review, this
notice of proposed research is being
disseminated for comment. The FY 2005
budget appropriated $31,640,000 for
child abuse discretionary activities to
support efforts designed to assist and
enhance national, State and local efforts
to prevent, identify and treat child
abuse and neglect. The program funds
projects to: Compile, publish and
disseminate training materials; provide
technical assistance; and demonstrate
and evaluate improved methods and
procedures to prevent and treat child
abuse and neglect. Under discretionary
funds, CB will continue to fund the
following clearinghouse and technical
assistance activities:
• The National Clearinghouse on
Child Abuse and Neglect Information;
• The National Resource Center on
Child Protective Services; and
• The National Child Abuse and
Neglect Data System (NCANDS)
technical assistance and technical
support program.
In addition, the child abuse
discretionary activities account funds a
number of research and demonstration
grants and contracts. The fourth
National Incidence Study of Child
Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4), is a
Congressionally mandated, periodic
research effort to assess the incidence of
child abuse and neglect in the United
States. Also, consistent with the
legislation’s preference for longitudinal
research efforts related to child
maltreatment, CB discretionary funds
PO 00000
Frm 00056
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
continue to support the Consortium for
Longitudinal Studies of Child
Maltreatment (LONGSCAN).
For those members of the public
interested in responding to this
announcement, information on previous
and continuing projects supported by
CB are available through the following
websites:
• The National Clearinghouse on
Child Abuse and Neglect Information
(https://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov);
• Children’s Bureau Reports/
Publications (https://www.acf.dhhs.gov/
programs/cb/publications/index.htm);
• LONGSCAN (https://
www.iprc.unc.edu/longscan);
• NIH Child Abuse and Neglect
Working Group Neglect Consortium
(https://obssr.od.nih.gov); and
• National Center for Children
Exposed to Violence (https://
www.nccev.org).
II. Proposed Child Abuse and Neglect
Research Priorities for Fiscal Years
2006–2008
A. Legislative Topics
A number of research topics are
suggested in the 2003 reauthorization of
CAPTA, Section 104. The legislation
states that the Secretary shall, along
with other Federal agencies and
recognized experts in the field, carry out
a continuing interdisciplinary program
of research, including longitudinal
research, that is designed to provide
information needed to better protect
children from abuse or neglect and to
improve the well-being of abused or
neglected children, with at least a
portion of such research being field
initiated. Suggested research includes:
• The nature and scope of child abuse
and neglect;
• The causes, prevention, assessment,
identification, treatment, cultural and
socio-economic distinctions and
consequences of child abuse and
neglect, including the effects of abuse
and neglect on a child’s development
and the identification of successful early
intervention services or other services
that are needed;
• Appropriate, effective and
culturally sensitive investigative,
administrative and judicial systems,
including multidisciplinary,
coordinated decision making
procedures with respect to cases of
child abuse;
• The evaluation and dissemination
of best practices consistent with the
goals of achieving improvements in
child protective services systems of the
States in accordance with CAPTA,
Section 106(a), Grants to States for Child
Abuse and Neglect Prevention and
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03FEN1
hsrobinson on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 23 / Friday, February 3, 2006 / Notices
Treatment Programs, paragraphs (1)
through (14), which include:
i. The intake, assessment, screening
and investigation of reports of abuse and
neglect;
ii. Creating and improving the use of
multidisciplinary teams and interagency
protocol to enhance investigation, and
improving legal preparation and
representation;
iii. Case management, including
ongoing case monitoring and delivery of
services and treatment provided to
children and their families;
iv. Enhancing the general child
protective system by developing,
improving and implementing risk and
safety assessment tools and protocols;
v. Developing and updating systems
of technology that support the program
and track reports of child abuse and
neglect from intake through final
disposition and allow interstate and
intrastate information exchange;
vi. Developing, strengthening and
facilitating training;
vii. Improving the skills,
qualifications and availability of
individuals providing services to
children and families, and the
supervisors of such individuals, through
the child protection system, including
improvements in the recruitment and
retention of caseworkers;
viii. Developing and facilitating
training protocols for individuals
mandated to report child abuse or
neglect;
ix. Developing and facilitating
research-based strategies for training
individuals mandated to report child
abuse or neglect;
x. Developing, implementing or
operating programs to assist in obtaining
or coordinating necessary services for
families of disabled infants with lifethreatening conditions;
xi. Developing and delivering
information to improve public
education relating to the role and
responsibilities of the child protection
system and the nature and basis for
reporting suspected incidents of child
abuse and neglect;
xii. Developing and enhancing the
capacity of community-based programs
to integrate shared leadership strategies
between parents and professionals to
prevent and treat child abuse and
neglect at the neighborhood level;
xiii. Supporting and enhancing
interagency collaboration between the
child protection system and the juvenile
justice system for improved delivery of
services and treatment, including
methods for continuity of treatment
plans and services as children transition
between systems; or
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15:00 Feb 02, 2006
Jkt 208001
xiv. Supporting and enhancing
collaboration among public health
agencies, the child protection system
and private community-based programs
to provide child abuse and neglect
prevention and treatment services
(including linkages with education
systems) and to address the health
needs, including mental health needs, of
children identified as abused or
neglected, including supporting prompt,
comprehensive health and
developmental evaluations for children
who are the subject of substantiated
child maltreatment reports.
• Effective approaches to interagency
collaboration between the child
protection system and the juvenile
justice system that improve the delivery
of services and treatment, including
methods for continuity of treatment
plans and services as children transition
between systems;
• An evaluation of the redundancies
and gaps in services in the field of child
abuse and neglect prevention in order to
make better use of resources; or
• The nature, scope and practice of
voluntary relinquishment for foster care
or State guardianship of low-income
children who need health services,
including mental health services.
B. Other Topics
Prevention Practices: CB is interested
in research that builds on existing
knowledge about child abuse and
neglect prevention. CB initiated the
Emerging Practices in the Prevention of
Child Abuse and Neglect project as a
collaboration between the agency and
the professional community to describe
the current landscape of prevention
programs and generate new information
about effective and innovative
approaches to the prevention of child
maltreatment. Through a national
nomination process, several strategies
and features of child abuse prevention
programs were identified as holding
promise for reducing the incidence of
child maltreatment. Next, a grant
competition to fund replications of
effective prevention programs was held.
Funds were awarded to eight sites
nationwide to replicate the University of
Maryland’s ‘‘Family Connections’’
project. While this work is contributing
to the body of knowledge about the type
and range of problems in the U.S. for the
prevention of maltreatment, it is clear
that much more can and must be
learned about the effectiveness of
prevention programs in terms of what
works and for whom. Research interests
may include: The efficacy of prevention
in the field of child maltreatment;
rigorous study on all the major
prevention models and strategies; and
PO 00000
Frm 00057
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
5857
integrating child abuse and neglect
research into prevention practices.
Child Protection Systems: CB is
interested in research that examines
effective State-level strategies employed
to improve child protection systems.
Questions may include: the degree to
which changes in Child Protection
Systems (CPS) systems policy and
practice are tied to better outcomes;
determining the variations in local
agencies that result in different
outcomes; and whether or not child
safety and well-being are improved by
privatizing part or all of the child
welfare system. Other research interests
may include: Effective responses for
children at risk of being harmed;
barriers to consistency in CPS
operations, such as differences in the
level of resources; lack of clear laws and
policy and the competing desire for
local autonomy in government
functions; the means by which CPS
agencies try to understand the standards
of the community they serve through
outreach to additional panels and
review teams (fatality review team,
citizen review panels, external case
reviews); and collaborations between
CPS and other agencies. In addition, CB
continues to be interested in building on
previous research to explore overrepresentation of minorities in the child
welfare system, particularly research to
identify and disseminate lessons
learned from promising practices that
have been effective in reducing the rates
of over-representation of children of
color in the child welfare system.
Services: CB is interested in research
focused on the assessment of service
needs and services provided. Research
questions may include: What services
are children and families receiving; to
what degree are services responsive to
the needs of the target population; and
what are the outcomes that result from
various services. Other research may
focus on case planning and intervention
such as examining the development and
implementation of comprehensive
family assessment, safety planning,
engaging families and monitoring risk
assessment over the life of CPS cases, as
well as increasing knowledge of parent
and child engaging in the case planning
process.
The findings from the initial Child
and Family Service Reviews (CFSR) of
all 50 States, the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico, identify strengths and
needs within State programs, as well as
areas where technical assistance can
lead to program improvements. CB
encourages research on areas in which
States were found to be weak based on
the CFSRs. State performance on
identifying and responding to children’s
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03FEN1
hsrobinson on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
5858
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 23 / Friday, February 3, 2006 / Notices
mental health issues, in particular, was
found to be one of the weakest in the
CFSRs. Areas of interest for research
may examine CPS procedures for
identifying and responding to children’s
mental health issues as well as the
prevalence, type and severity of mental
health problems among children
identified in State child welfare
systems. In addition, findings from the
National Survey of Child and
Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) show
that high rates of mental health
problems among parents, coupled with
low rates of identification and referral,
is a serious issue. CB is interested in
research that examines mental health
services to parents.
Program Evaluation of Priority Area
Initiatives (or Evaluation of Programs
Addressing Administration Priorities):
The current Administration has focused
funding in areas of healthy marriage
promotion, fatherhood initiatives,
community and faith-based
organizations and youth development in
ensuring the healthy development of
children. CB is interested in research to
evaluate programs employing these
strategies to prevent child abuse and
neglect. Research topics may include
the evaluation of the effectiveness of
these programs as well as the
dissemination of promising practices.
Secondary Data Analysis: CB
encourages the utilization of existing
data sources particularly the use of
service data through the National Child
Abuse and Neglect Data System
(NCANDS). CB is interested in
secondary data analyses using NCANDS
focusing on service utilization,
recurrence and perpetrators.
Service utilization: While not all
States provide complete service data to
NCANDS, for those States that do
provide complete service data, the
following areas could be examined: The
services that are most often provided to
victims of maltreatment; differences in
service patterns that exist between
children who are first-time victims and
children who are repeat victims;
differences in service patterns that exist
between child victims who remain in
their homes and those who are removed;
and the variations in service patterns
within States according to county
characteristics.
Recurrence: To date, recurrence has
largely been examined for six-month
periods using NCANDS data. The Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Planning
and Evaluation undertook a longitudinal
analysis of NCANDS data examining
repeated CPS involvement. Using a
multiyear dataset of 1,396,998 children,
this research examined the proportion
of reported children who re-reported,
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15:00 Feb 02, 2006
Jkt 208001
the proportion of child victims who had
a recurrence of maltreatment and the
factors associated with these repeated
events. The findings showed that rereporting was relatively common—
about one-third of children had at least
one repeated report of maltreatment
within a five-year period. For the most
part, the same factors were related to
both re-reporting of all reported
children and recurrence among victims
of maltreatment. Findings were also
similar when analyses examined only
the presence of a single subsequent
event or the number and type of
multiple subsequent events. Both rereporting and recurrence occurred more
frequently among younger children. Rereporting and recurrence were more
likely to occur in a short time following
the initial maltreatment report, usually
within a few months. Most children
who experienced more than one rereport or re-victimization experienced
these events within a short time after
the initial event. Areas for further
research might examine: Factors that are
predictive of a second investigation;
report sources that are the most likely to
be associated with a second
investigation; services that decrease
subsequent investigation; and services
that decrease subsequent victimization.
Perpetrators: CB continues to be
interested in perpetrators, with the
notion that understanding who this
group is and what their characteristics
are, can help to inform more effective
intervention and prevention efforts. The
Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Planning and Evaluation undertook an
analysis of NCANDS data examining
some of these questions. The analysis
focused on male perpetrators of child
maltreatment and identifies clear
subgroups of male perpetrators. The
findings suggest that interventions of all
types may need to be more highly
differentiated for these different groups.
Follow-up of interest includes research
to gain a clearer picture of how the
various categories of perpetrators fit
within households to provide insights
into the service and recidivism
outcomes.
C. Field Initiated Research on Child
Abuse and Neglect
The generation of new knowledge for
understanding critical issues in child
abuse and neglect improves prevention,
identification, assessment and
treatment. Research areas to be
addressed may be those that will
expand the current knowledge base,
build on prior research, contribute to
practice enhancements, inform policy,
improve science and provide insights
into new approaches to the assessment,
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Frm 00058
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
prevention, intervention and treatment
of child maltreatment (i.e., physical
abuse, sexual abuse, emotional
maltreatment or neglect) on any of the
topics listed in (A) Legislative Topics,
(B) Other Topics, above, or any other
child maltreatment topic.
In addition to the topics cited above,
practitioners and researchers are
encouraged to propose other relevant
subjects for research topics in child
abuse and neglect.
Joan E. Ohl,
Commissioner, Administration on Children,
Youth and Families.
[FR Doc. E6–1480 Filed 2–2–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 2005P–0023]
Determination That TEQUIN
(Gatifloxacin) Injection, 10 Milligrams
per Milliliter (200 Milligrams), Was Not
Withdrawn From Sale for Reasons of
Safety or Effectiveness
AGENCY:
Food and Drug Administration,
HHS.
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY: The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has determined
that TEQUIN (gatifloxacin) injection, 10
milligrams (mg) per milliliter (mL) (200
mg), was not withdrawn from sale for
reasons of safety or effectiveness. This
determination will allow FDA to
approve abbreviated new drug
applications (ANDAs) for gatifloxacin
injection, 10 mg/mL (200 mg).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Elaine Tseng, Center for Drug
Evaluation and Research (HFD–7), Food
and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers
Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301–594–
2041.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1984,
Congress enacted the Drug Price
Competition and Patent Term
Restoration Act of 1984 (the 1984
amendments) (Pub. L. 98–417), which
authorized the approval of duplicate
versions of drug products approved
under an ANDA procedure. ANDA
sponsors must, with certain exceptions,
show that the drug for which they are
seeking approval contains the same
active ingredient in the same strength
and dosage form as the ‘‘listed drug,’’
which is typically a version of the drug
that was previously approved. Sponsors
of ANDAs do not have to repeat the
extensive clinical testing otherwise
E:\FR\FM\03FEN1.SGM
03FEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5856-5858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1480]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Children's Bureau Proposed Research Priorities for Fiscal Years
2006-2008.
AGENCY: Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF),
Administration for Children and Families (ACF), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of proposed child abuse and neglect research priorities
for Fiscal Years 2006-2008
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Children's Bureau (CB) within the Administration on
Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) announces the proposed priorities
for research on the causes, prevention, assessment, identification,
treatment, cultural and socio-economic distinctions, and the
consequences of child abuse and neglect.
Section 104(a)(4) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
(CAPTA), as amended by the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of
2003, Public Law (Pub. L.). 108-36, requires the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish proposed
priorities for research activities for public comment and to maintain
an official record of such public comment. The proposed priorities are
being announced for the two-year period required by CAPTA. Because the
amount of Federal funds available for discretionary activities in
Fiscal Years 2006-2008 is expected to be limited, respondents are
encouraged to recommend how the proposed issues should be prioritized.
The actual solicitation of grant applications will be posted
electronically each fiscal year and will be available online through
https://www.Grants.gov. Solicitations for contracts will be announced,
at later dates, online at FedBizOps. (FY 05 was the last year that CB
discretionary grants were published in the Federal Register.) No
proposals, concept papers or other forms of application should be
submitted at this time.
No acknowledgement will be made of the comments submitted in
response to this notice, but all comments received by the deadline will
be reviewed and given thoughtful consideration in the preparation of
the final funding priorities for the announcements.
DATES: In order to be considered, comments must be received no later
than April 4, 2006.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
As noted above, Section 104(a)(4) of CAPTA requires the Secretary
to publish proposed priorities for research activities for public
comment every two years. In response to this legislative mandate, CB
has undertaken a review of the current legislative language, the
results of the CAPTA funded research since the last CAPTA announcement
of research priority areas in 1997, findings from other relevant
research, and input from the field. Based on this review, this notice
of proposed research is being disseminated for comment. The FY 2005
budget appropriated $31,640,000 for child abuse discretionary
activities to support efforts designed to assist and enhance national,
State and local efforts to prevent, identify and treat child abuse and
neglect. The program funds projects to: Compile, publish and
disseminate training materials; provide technical assistance; and
demonstrate and evaluate improved methods and procedures to prevent and
treat child abuse and neglect. Under discretionary funds, CB will
continue to fund the following clearinghouse and technical assistance
activities:
The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect
Information;
The National Resource Center on Child Protective Services;
and
The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS)
technical assistance and technical support program.
In addition, the child abuse discretionary activities account funds
a number of research and demonstration grants and contracts. The fourth
National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4), is a
Congressionally mandated, periodic research effort to assess the
incidence of child abuse and neglect in the United States. Also,
consistent with the legislation's preference for longitudinal research
efforts related to child maltreatment, CB discretionary funds continue
to support the Consortium for Longitudinal Studies of Child
Maltreatment (LONGSCAN).
For those members of the public interested in responding to this
announcement, information on previous and continuing projects supported
by CB are available through the following websites:
The National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect
Information (https://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov);
Children's Bureau Reports/Publications (https://
www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/index.htm);
LONGSCAN (https://www.iprc.unc.edu/longscan);
NIH Child Abuse and Neglect Working Group Neglect
Consortium (https://obssr.od.nih.gov); and
National Center for Children Exposed to Violence (https://
www.nccev.org).
II. Proposed Child Abuse and Neglect Research Priorities for Fiscal
Years 2006-2008
A. Legislative Topics
A number of research topics are suggested in the 2003
reauthorization of CAPTA, Section 104. The legislation states that the
Secretary shall, along with other Federal agencies and recognized
experts in the field, carry out a continuing interdisciplinary program
of research, including longitudinal research, that is designed to
provide information needed to better protect children from abuse or
neglect and to improve the well-being of abused or neglected children,
with at least a portion of such research being field initiated.
Suggested research includes:
The nature and scope of child abuse and neglect;
The causes, prevention, assessment, identification,
treatment, cultural and socio-economic distinctions and consequences of
child abuse and neglect, including the effects of abuse and neglect on
a child's development and the identification of successful early
intervention services or other services that are needed;
Appropriate, effective and culturally sensitive
investigative, administrative and judicial systems, including
multidisciplinary, coordinated decision making procedures with respect
to cases of child abuse;
The evaluation and dissemination of best practices
consistent with the goals of achieving improvements in child protective
services systems of the States in accordance with CAPTA, Section
106(a), Grants to States for Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and
[[Page 5857]]
Treatment Programs, paragraphs (1) through (14), which include:
i. The intake, assessment, screening and investigation of reports
of abuse and neglect;
ii. Creating and improving the use of multidisciplinary teams and
interagency protocol to enhance investigation, and improving legal
preparation and representation;
iii. Case management, including ongoing case monitoring and
delivery of services and treatment provided to children and their
families;
iv. Enhancing the general child protective system by developing,
improving and implementing risk and safety assessment tools and
protocols;
v. Developing and updating systems of technology that support the
program and track reports of child abuse and neglect from intake
through final disposition and allow interstate and intrastate
information exchange;
vi. Developing, strengthening and facilitating training;
vii. Improving the skills, qualifications and availability of
individuals providing services to children and families, and the
supervisors of such individuals, through the child protection system,
including improvements in the recruitment and retention of caseworkers;
viii. Developing and facilitating training protocols for
individuals mandated to report child abuse or neglect;
ix. Developing and facilitating research-based strategies for
training individuals mandated to report child abuse or neglect;
x. Developing, implementing or operating programs to assist in
obtaining or coordinating necessary services for families of disabled
infants with life-threatening conditions;
xi. Developing and delivering information to improve public
education relating to the role and responsibilities of the child
protection system and the nature and basis for reporting suspected
incidents of child abuse and neglect;
xii. Developing and enhancing the capacity of community-based
programs to integrate shared leadership strategies between parents and
professionals to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect at the
neighborhood level;
xiii. Supporting and enhancing interagency collaboration between
the child protection system and the juvenile justice system for
improved delivery of services and treatment, including methods for
continuity of treatment plans and services as children transition
between systems; or
xiv. Supporting and enhancing collaboration among public health
agencies, the child protection system and private community-based
programs to provide child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment
services (including linkages with education systems) and to address the
health needs, including mental health needs, of children identified as
abused or neglected, including supporting prompt, comprehensive health
and developmental evaluations for children who are the subject of
substantiated child maltreatment reports.
Effective approaches to interagency collaboration between
the child protection system and the juvenile justice system that
improve the delivery of services and treatment, including methods for
continuity of treatment plans and services as children transition
between systems;
An evaluation of the redundancies and gaps in services in
the field of child abuse and neglect prevention in order to make better
use of resources; or
The nature, scope and practice of voluntary relinquishment
for foster care or State guardianship of low-income children who need
health services, including mental health services.
B. Other Topics
Prevention Practices: CB is interested in research that builds on
existing knowledge about child abuse and neglect prevention. CB
initiated the Emerging Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and
Neglect project as a collaboration between the agency and the
professional community to describe the current landscape of prevention
programs and generate new information about effective and innovative
approaches to the prevention of child maltreatment. Through a national
nomination process, several strategies and features of child abuse
prevention programs were identified as holding promise for reducing the
incidence of child maltreatment. Next, a grant competition to fund
replications of effective prevention programs was held. Funds were
awarded to eight sites nationwide to replicate the University of
Maryland's ``Family Connections'' project. While this work is
contributing to the body of knowledge about the type and range of
problems in the U.S. for the prevention of maltreatment, it is clear
that much more can and must be learned about the effectiveness of
prevention programs in terms of what works and for whom. Research
interests may include: The efficacy of prevention in the field of child
maltreatment; rigorous study on all the major prevention models and
strategies; and integrating child abuse and neglect research into
prevention practices.
Child Protection Systems: CB is interested in research that
examines effective State-level strategies employed to improve child
protection systems. Questions may include: the degree to which changes
in Child Protection Systems (CPS) systems policy and practice are tied
to better outcomes; determining the variations in local agencies that
result in different outcomes; and whether or not child safety and well-
being are improved by privatizing part or all of the child welfare
system. Other research interests may include: Effective responses for
children at risk of being harmed; barriers to consistency in CPS
operations, such as differences in the level of resources; lack of
clear laws and policy and the competing desire for local autonomy in
government functions; the means by which CPS agencies try to understand
the standards of the community they serve through outreach to
additional panels and review teams (fatality review team, citizen
review panels, external case reviews); and collaborations between CPS
and other agencies. In addition, CB continues to be interested in
building on previous research to explore over-representation of
minorities in the child welfare system, particularly research to
identify and disseminate lessons learned from promising practices that
have been effective in reducing the rates of over-representation of
children of color in the child welfare system.
Services: CB is interested in research focused on the assessment of
service needs and services provided. Research questions may include:
What services are children and families receiving; to what degree are
services responsive to the needs of the target population; and what are
the outcomes that result from various services. Other research may
focus on case planning and intervention such as examining the
development and implementation of comprehensive family assessment,
safety planning, engaging families and monitoring risk assessment over
the life of CPS cases, as well as increasing knowledge of parent and
child engaging in the case planning process.
The findings from the initial Child and Family Service Reviews
(CFSR) of all 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico,
identify strengths and needs within State programs, as well as areas
where technical assistance can lead to program improvements. CB
encourages research on areas in which States were found to be weak
based on the CFSRs. State performance on identifying and responding to
children's
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mental health issues, in particular, was found to be one of the weakest
in the CFSRs. Areas of interest for research may examine CPS procedures
for identifying and responding to children's mental health issues as
well as the prevalence, type and severity of mental health problems
among children identified in State child welfare systems. In addition,
findings from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being
(NSCAW) show that high rates of mental health problems among parents,
coupled with low rates of identification and referral, is a serious
issue. CB is interested in research that examines mental health
services to parents.
Program Evaluation of Priority Area Initiatives (or Evaluation of
Programs Addressing Administration Priorities): The current
Administration has focused funding in areas of healthy marriage
promotion, fatherhood initiatives, community and faith-based
organizations and youth development in ensuring the healthy development
of children. CB is interested in research to evaluate programs
employing these strategies to prevent child abuse and neglect. Research
topics may include the evaluation of the effectiveness of these
programs as well as the dissemination of promising practices.
Secondary Data Analysis: CB encourages the utilization of existing
data sources particularly the use of service data through the National
Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). CB is interested in
secondary data analyses using NCANDS focusing on service utilization,
recurrence and perpetrators.
Service utilization: While not all States provide complete service
data to NCANDS, for those States that do provide complete service data,
the following areas could be examined: The services that are most often
provided to victims of maltreatment; differences in service patterns
that exist between children who are first-time victims and children who
are repeat victims; differences in service patterns that exist between
child victims who remain in their homes and those who are removed; and
the variations in service patterns within States according to county
characteristics.
Recurrence: To date, recurrence has largely been examined for six-
month periods using NCANDS data. The Office of the Assistant Secretary
for Planning and Evaluation undertook a longitudinal analysis of NCANDS
data examining repeated CPS involvement. Using a multiyear dataset of
1,396,998 children, this research examined the proportion of reported
children who re-reported, the proportion of child victims who had a
recurrence of maltreatment and the factors associated with these
repeated events. The findings showed that re-reporting was relatively
common--about one-third of children had at least one repeated report of
maltreatment within a five-year period. For the most part, the same
factors were related to both re-reporting of all reported children and
recurrence among victims of maltreatment. Findings were also similar
when analyses examined only the presence of a single subsequent event
or the number and type of multiple subsequent events. Both re-reporting
and recurrence occurred more frequently among younger children. Re-
reporting and recurrence were more likely to occur in a short time
following the initial maltreatment report, usually within a few months.
Most children who experienced more than one re-report or re-
victimization experienced these events within a short time after the
initial event. Areas for further research might examine: Factors that
are predictive of a second investigation; report sources that are the
most likely to be associated with a second investigation; services that
decrease subsequent investigation; and services that decrease
subsequent victimization.
Perpetrators: CB continues to be interested in perpetrators, with
the notion that understanding who this group is and what their
characteristics are, can help to inform more effective intervention and
prevention efforts. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning
and Evaluation undertook an analysis of NCANDS data examining some of
these questions. The analysis focused on male perpetrators of child
maltreatment and identifies clear subgroups of male perpetrators. The
findings suggest that interventions of all types may need to be more
highly differentiated for these different groups. Follow-up of interest
includes research to gain a clearer picture of how the various
categories of perpetrators fit within households to provide insights
into the service and recidivism outcomes.
C. Field Initiated Research on Child Abuse and Neglect
The generation of new knowledge for understanding critical issues
in child abuse and neglect improves prevention, identification,
assessment and treatment. Research areas to be addressed may be those
that will expand the current knowledge base, build on prior research,
contribute to practice enhancements, inform policy, improve science and
provide insights into new approaches to the assessment, prevention,
intervention and treatment of child maltreatment (i.e., physical abuse,
sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment or neglect) on any of the topics
listed in (A) Legislative Topics, (B) Other Topics, above, or any other
child maltreatment topic.
In addition to the topics cited above, practitioners and
researchers are encouraged to propose other relevant subjects for
research topics in child abuse and neglect.
Joan E. Ohl,
Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families.
[FR Doc. E6-1480 Filed 2-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P