[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8627-S8628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  NIH RESEARCH ON CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT: CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE 
                                 PLANS

 Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today to bring to your 
attention an important report on child abuse and neglect. This report, 
released in April of this year, examines current research being 
conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health [NIH] into 
the area of child abuse and neglect. The report proposes ground-
breaking recommendations for improving the coordination of child 
maltreatment research across the NIH, with other divisions within the 
Department of Health and Human Services, and with other federal 
agencies. In addition, the report addresses the current gaps in 
research, identified in the National Research Council's 1993 report,

[[Page S8628]]

``Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect.'' The April, 1997, report by 
NIH emphasizes the need to provide more attention to training new 
research in the field and disseminating research results to the 
agencies and practitioners who are working on the frontlines.
  We are all concerned about the prevalence of child abuse and neglect. 
According to a 1995 state-by-state survey conducted by the National 
Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, over 3.1 million children were 
reported to be abused or neglected. Child abuse fatalities have 
increased by 39 percent from 1985 to 1995. The Department of Health and 
Human Services Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and 
Neglect, released in September, 1996, estimated that the number of 
child abuse and neglect cases in this country doubled between 1986 and 
1993.
  One critical and necessary step to stop child maltreatment is to 
support research that will enhance our understanding of the underlying 
causes of child abuse and neglect. This research also will improve our 
ability to identify and define abuse and neglect, and discover which 
intervention techniques are most successful in preventing and treating 
child maltreatment.
  The proposals for future NIH activities contained in the report give 
new meaning to the concept of knowledge translation and research 
application. The most important characteristic of the proposals are the 
efforts to move scientific knowledge from the research lab and 
demonstration site into professional practice. Parents, child welfare 
agencies, and practitioners will all benefit from this information and 
technology transfer. In the exchange, NIH researchers will benefit from 
the lessons learned by practitioners and be better able to target their 
research. Everyone will benefit from the increased coordination that is 
integral to the NIH effort. But most important, fewer children will 
suffer from abuse and neglect, once marriage between the research and 
practice is accomplished. This is a goal upon which we can all agree.
  I want to commend Dr. Harold Varmus, Director of NIH, for his 
leadership in this critical area. Under the direction of Dr. Varmus, 
Dr. Peter Jensen, Chief-Child and Adolescent Disorders Branch, at the 
National Institutes of Mental Health established a trans-NIH Working 
Group on child abuse and neglect. I would also like to thank the 
organizations which brought this issue to my attention and encouraged 
the formation of the Working Group--the National Association of Social 
Workers, National Child Abuse Coalition, Institute for the Advancement 
of Social Work Research, and the American Psychological Society.
  The Working Group has developed a bold plan for advancing research on 
child abuse and neglect, as evidenced by the April, 1997 report. This 
plan will make the optimal use of federal dollars though better 
coordination of NIH research activities and dissemination of research 
results to those who can make a difference in children's lives.

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