FSU Faculty and Prevent Child Abuse America Examine Public Policy Impacts on Child Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence

Prevent Child Abuse America was recently awarded a three-year grant for more than $1.05 million by the Center for Disease Control. The project examines the prevention effects of key public policy strategies, such as paid family leave and child care provisions, on the rate of child abuse and neglect and intimate partner violence (IPV). 

The grant is managed by PCA America Chief Research and Strategy Officer Dr. J. Bart Klika (principal investigator), a research faculty affiliate of the FSU College of Social Work. FSU social work Associate Professor Dr. Lisa Schelbe will work with Dr. Klika to oversee an FSU social work doctoral student who will provide critical assistance on the project. 

As the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization dedicated to primary prevention of child abuse and neglect, PCA America seeks through the project to better understand the impact of policy on the field of child welfare and violence prevention. 

Violence against children and youth, including child maltreatment and exposure to IPV, is common in communities across the United States and internationally. A review of 2016 population-based surveys worldwide estimates that one billion children, almost half of children worldwide, experience direct violence annually. A 2019 study also found a significant overlap in types of violence in the U.S., with 16 percent of children experiencing four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child maltreatment and IPV.

 “A successful public health approach to the prevention of child maltreatment and IPV prioritize strategies that can have the greatest impact on the most people,” explained Dr. Melissa Merrick, president and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America and co-principal investigator of the grant. “Through effective public policy, we can create the conditions for health, well-being, and prosperity for children and families and can prevent violence in the home before it occurs.”

Research shows that children who experience violence are at increased risk for adverse outcomes across their lives, including problems with mental and physical health, delinquency and crime, and future economic opportunity. It is estimated that the victims of child abuse and neglect, from a single year, will incur lifetime costs of nearly $2 trillion to remediate the consequences of the abuse.

Numerous studies also indicate an association between indicators of financial hardship and child maltreatment. Policies that work to improve financial difficulties of families after the birth of a child and aid in securing safe and consistent child care may assist families in multiple ways, which includes: helping them remain in the labor force, increase wages, decrease family and interpersonal stress, and reduce child maltreatment and IPV exposure. 

“We are excited about the opportunity to build the evidence around policy strategies to prevent family violence. The findings of our work will be critical in current and future policy discussions for how to best support families by reducing parental stress; ensuring safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments for children; and keeping families gainfully employed while caring for their children,” stated Dr. Klika.

Additionally, the grant will explore whether the effects of these policies are similar across key populations. “Well-intentioned policies can have unintended consequences, potentially perpetuating inequalities,” continued Dr. Merrick. “If our goal is to create more equitable outcomes for children and families, we must understand for whom and under what conditions these policies are working.”

Over the next three years, PCA America will work with research collaborators from across the country to carry out the grant's work. Several of these researchers are recipients of the Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being. “Doris Duke Fellows are providing key leadership to the field through their research and practice, and we are honored to have a number of them on our research team,” said Dr. Klika. Both Dr. Lisa Schelbe and Dr. Klika are Doris Duke Fellows and were in the inaugural cohort of fellows (2011). 

To learn more about the project, contact Dr. Klika at jklika@fsu.edu. Visit preventchildabuse.org to learn more about PCA America.