[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 25, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-26356]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: October 25, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
 

Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment; Proposed 
Research and Demonstration Priorities for Fiscal Years 1995 and 1996 
AGENCY: National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN), 
Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF), Administration 
for Children and Families (ACF), Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Fiscal Years 1995 and 1996 Child Abuse and 
Neglect Research and Demonstration Priorities for the Administration 
for Children and Families.

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SUMMARY: The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) within 
the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) announces the 
proposed priorities for research on the causes, prevention, 
identification, and treatment of child abuse and neglect; on 
appropriate and effective judicial procedures; and for demonstration or 
service programs and projects designed to prevent, identify, and treat 
child abuse and neglect.
    Comments on the proposed priorities and suggestions for other 
topics are invited at this time. The actual solicitation of grant 
applications will be published separately in the Federal Register, at a 
later date, for each fiscal year, respectively. Solicitations for 
contracts will be announced, at a later date, in the Commerce Business 
Daily. Though these priority areas are proposed for Fiscal Years 1995 
and 1996, NCCAN recognizes that, pending the reauthorization of the 
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), these priorities may 
be supplemented and amended accordingly. Comments and recommendations 
about the reauthorization, though welcome, are not the focus of this 
announcement. In addition, no proposals, concept papers, or other forms 
of applications for funding should be submitted at this time.
    Section 105(a)(2)(B) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act of 1988 (CAPTA), as amended, requires the Department to publish 
proposed priorities for research and demonstration activities for the 
purpose of soliciting comments from the public, including individuals 
knowledgeable in the field of child abuse and neglect prevention and 
treatment. No acknowledgment 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 over the next two years. Copies of the 
final program announcement will be sent to all persons who comment on 
these proposed priorities.

DATES: In order to be considered, comments must be received no later 
than December 27, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to: David W. Lloyd, Director, 
National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, Attention: Comments/
Proposed Priorities--Research and Demonstration, P.O. Box 1182, 
Washington, D.C. 20013. Comments may also be submitted via Internet: 
<comments%acyf.nccan%[email protected]>

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The proposed new research and demonstration priority areas have 
been developed from recommendations from several sources.
     The National Research Council (NRC), Commission on 
Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (CBASSE), Panel on 
Research on Child Abuse and Neglect report, Understanding Child Abuse 
and Neglect (hereafter referenced as the NRC report) was produced by 
CBASSE in response to a request from the Administration on Children, 
Youth and Families (ACYF) in the Administration for Children and 
Families (ACF) to undertake a comprehensive review and synthesis of 
research on child abuse and neglect and to recommend research needs and 
priorities for the remainder of the decade;
     The American Psychological Society (APS) report on the 
field in Human Capital Initiative: Report of the National Behavioral 
Science Research Agenda Committee (APS Observer, February 1992);
     The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) report on the 
field, A Research Agenda for Child Welfare: A Special Issue of Child 
Welfare, LXXIII, No. 5 (September-October, 1994);
     Reviews of current literature on child abuse and neglect;
     Findings from recently completed studies;
     Suggestions received from the field;
     Hearings and reports of the Advisory Board on Child Abuse 
and Neglect;
     Meetings held by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Child 
Abuse and Neglect and its Research Committee; and
     Other Departmental organizations and professional 
associations.
    These recommendations have been considered in light of the vision 
and values of the Administration for Children and Families. The 
priorities described below especially embody the vision of building 
partnerships between the Federal government and individuals, families, 
front-line service providers, communities, American Indian tribes and 
Native communities, States and Congress to seek solutions that 
transcend traditional agency boundaries. More responsive services can 
be designed when gaps across services are bridged: when practitioners 
and researchers work together to ask and answer questions that will 
empower individuals to achieve active, healthy, productive lives in 
strong, supportive communities. Prevention efforts, especially, will 
have a positive impact on the quality of life and the development of 
children.
    Since 1975, NCCAN has funded hundreds of research and demonstration 
projects addressing prevention, intervention, and treatment issues in 
child abuse and neglect. The topics over these 19 years have spanned 
the many and diverse interests of the field, the needs of public social 
service agencies, and the private sector, providing seed money for some 
efforts and platforms for others. Descriptions of these discretionary 
activities are available from The Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and 
Neglect Information, P.O. Box 1182, Washington, D.C. 20013 (1-800-394-
3366), hereafter referred to as the NCCAN Clearinghouse, in the 
following volumes: Compendium of Discretionary Grants: Fiscal Years 
1975-1991 (April 1992); NCCAN Discretionary Grants: Profiles for Fiscal 
Year 1992 (June 1993); Profiles of Research and Demonstration Grants 
Addressing Issues of Child Neglect (June 1993); Profiles of Research 
Grants Funded by NCCAN: Fiscal Years 1988-1992 (March 1993); and 
Emergency Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Services Program (Fiscal 
Year 1991) (Revised April 1993).
    In addition to projects funded under priority areas selected as a 
result of this announcement, NCCAN intends to continue funding for:
     The Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information;
     The National Information Clearinghouse for Infants With 
Disabilities and Life-Threatening Conditions;
     The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS);
     The Consortium for Longitudinal Studies of Child 
Maltreatment;
     The National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect; and
     The project ``Measurement in Child Abuse and Neglect 
Research: An Update and Critical Review.''
    NCCAN is also actively pursuing Interagency Agreements to develop 
collaborative research and demonstration activities with members of the 
Inter-Agency Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect.
    More detailed information on these continuing projects supported by 
NCCAN as well as on other studies of child maltreatment are available 
through the NCCAN Clearinghouse.
    Since the amount of Federal funds available for new grants in FY 
1995 and 1996 is limited, respondents are encouraged to recommend how 
proposed issues should be prioritized.
    The remainder of this document presents the proposed research and 
demonstration priorities; it is organized according to the following 
headings:

A. Proposed Research Priorities
    1. Family Preservation and Family Support for Targeted CAN 
Populations
    2. Model Development for Centers of Excellence in Research
B. Proposed Demonstration and Service Priorities
    1. Demonstration Models on Neglect
    2. Guardian ad Litem Model Demonstration
C. Working Groups
    1. Research Definitions
    2. Ethics, Confidentiality, Informed Consent, and Reporting
D. Symposia
    1. Domestic Violence and Child Abuse and Neglect
    2. Prevention

II. Proposed Child Abuse and Neglect Research and Demonstration 
Priorities for FY 1995 and 1996

A. Proposed Research Priorities

1. Research on Child Abuse and Neglect With a Focus on the Impact of 
Community-Based Family Support and Family Preservation Programs on 
Child Abuse and Neglect.
    The research areas to be addressed in this priority are those that 
will expand the current knowledge base, build on prior research, 
contribute to practice, and provide insights into new approaches to the 
prevention of child maltreatment and preservation of families (i.e., 
physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment, or neglect) by 
family support and family preservation services as defined by the newly 
enacted Family Preservation and Family Support Services Program 
(Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, Subpart 2 of Title IV-B, 
the Child and Family Services Program of the Social Security Act). 
Congress has noted its interest in the outcomes and effectiveness of 
this legislation. For definitions of these services, see the 
legislation and Program Instructions. The Congressional intent of the 
legislative definition was further clarified in the Conference 
Committee Report.
    Copies of the Family Preservation and Family Support legislation, 
Program Instruction, and additional information about family support 
and family preservation programs are available from the NCCAN 
Clearinghouse--Child Welfare Desk (1-800-394-3366). Copies are also 
available on the ACF electronic bulletin board system (1-800-627-8886).
    States have reported to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data 
System (NCANDS) that in 1992 their child protective service (CPS) 
agencies received and referred for investigation approximately 1.9 
million reports involving approximately 2.9 million children who were 
the alleged victims of child abuse and neglect.
    Over half of the reports were received from professionals in the 
community, including educators, social service professionals, health 
professionals, and representatives of law enforcement and justice 
agencies. Following investigations conducted by CPS agencies, nearly 1 
million children, approximately 39 percent of those reported, were 
found to be substantiated or indicated victims of child maltreatment. 
Based on data from 37 States, it is estimated that approximately 18 
percent of children who were the substantiated victims of maltreatment 
were removed from the home. Extrapolating this ratio to all States, it 
suggests that in 1992 an estimated 82 percent (800,000) substantiated 
victims of child maltreatment remained at home, where they may have 
received further services. These findings also suggest that, in 1992, 
61 percent of those cases reported for child abuse and neglect are 
unsubstantiated and those children also remain in their homes. At this 
time, it is not known whether any follow-up, family preservation, or 
family support services are available for unsubstantiated cases to 
prevent the potential for future abuse and reporting.
    Given this lack of knowledge about these families, NCCAN is 
particularly interested in four populations and four outcomes. The 
proposed research studies should examine one or more of the populations 
to examine service outcomes of family support and family preservation 
services. The first group consists of families who receive family 
support services, but have had no previous contact with child 
protective services, otherwise known as families who are not ``in the 
system.'' The second group consists of families who have been referred 
to child protective services, whose cases were unsubstantiated or 
unfounded, but were found to need services, and were referred to family 
support programs. The third group consists of families who have been 
``in the system,'' whose child abuse or neglect cases were 
substantiated, who received family preservation or family support 
services, and whose cases are now closed. The fourth, and final, 
population would be those families whose child abuse or neglect cases 
have been substantiated, whose cases are ``open,'' whose children have 
not been removed, and who are receiving family preservation services.
    Outcomes of interest to NCCAN are: ``case-finding'' (families who 
have not been previously referred to CPS but, through participation in 
family support services, are discovered to be appropriate for 
reporting); the impact of family support and/or family preservation 
services on prevention; on recidivism; and on removal or non-removal of 
children. These four outcomes suggest a variety of research questions, 
as well as descriptive and/or experimental designs.
    Applicants should plan and design the proposed studies in 
collaboration with State and/or local CPS/IV-B agencies as well as 
community-based organizations (CBO) providing family support services 
for a CPS/IV-B agency (e.g., Family Resource Center, Head Start Center, 
non-custodial father program). Comments are also solicited regarding 
the suitability of denying consideration to applications that do not 
achieve and document this collaboration.
2. Model Development for Centers for Excellence in Research
    NCCAN is interested in funding one or more multi-disciplinary 
Centers for Excellence in Child Abuse and Neglect Research. These 
Centers would be partnerships among university and State or community-
based agencies that provide child welfare services, including mental 
health services. Special consideration will be given to locating at 
least one such Center at a historically black college or university. 
All proposals submitted for this priority must describe and defend the 
model proposed for the Center. The primary goal of these Centers is to 
foster collaboration, building on models used in medical research at 
the National Institutes of Health and the Preventive Intervention 
Research Center (PIRC) that successfully focused efforts on cancer and 
diabetes. Models are described below (for more details, see NRC, pp. 
358-359). At this time, NCCAN does not endorse any particular model. 
Comments are solicited regarding the merits of requiring that models 
proposed under this announcement make provisions for multi-disciplinary 
research that include social work, law, nursing, medicine, psychology, 
sociology, social anthropology, and education and demonstrate respect 
for cultural diversity and provide opportunities and services with 
cultural sensitivity.
    Since 1982, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), has 
supported a number of Preventive Intervention Research Centers (PIRC). 
The PIRCs were developed, in part, as a response to several major 
problems faced similar to those currently being experienced by the 
field of child abuse and neglect. The goal of a PIRC is to provide a 
productive research environment where teams of investigators from a 
variety of disciplines interact and develop a program focused on the 
promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental and behavioral 
disorders and dysfunctions. Historically, the Centers provide support 
for a set of interrelated research projects and core or infrastructure 
functions. For more details about this model, see the NIMH Program 
Announcement PAR 94-038 (January, 1994).
    The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, of the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), funds 10 Injury 
Control Research Centers. The Centers are multi-disciplinary and each 
is housed in a university. Each Center focuses on a unique aspect of 
injury control appropriate to its technical expertise and community 
setting. The Centers conduct applied research; provide opportunities 
for faculty development; provide training for community practitioners, 
other scientists, and students; provide technical assistance; 
disseminate findings and materials; and promote specific prevention 
initiatives relevant to their research findings and community needs.
    Activities undertaken by the proposed Centers for Excellence in 
Research on Child Abuse and Neglect would include but not be limited 
to:
     Guidance and management of graduate and post-graduate 
Research and Medical Research Fellowships in Child Abuse and Neglect;
     Research opportunities for new researchers/career 
development (faculty);
     Support for the development of minority researchers;
     Training for professionals which replicates, adapts, and 
builds on the culturally relevant needs assessment and curriculum tools 
including, but not limited to, those developed under an NCCAN grant 
(#90-CA-1443) by the People of Color Leadership Institute (POCLI).
    These products are available through the NCCAN Clearinghouse (1-
800-394-3366); and
     Development and piloting of new methodologies and 
measures, or refinement of existing measures, for research and 
evaluation in child abuse and neglect. Development activities must 
include testing the validity and reliability of new and/or existing 
instruments with new populations and across cultures.
    The themes for Centers for Excellence should include 
identification, prevention and treatment, with a special focus on, but 
not limited to, neglect, cultural sensitivity, disability, and training 
about child abuse and neglect.

B. Proposed Demonstration and Service Priorities

1. Demonstration Models on Neglect
    The intent of this priority is to fund service models for the 
prevention of neglect. These models should make provision for both the 
early identification of families at risk of neglect and the 
identification of chronically neglectful families, and neglected 
children (in placements or reunified) who may be in need of special 
services.
    Designing services for families that neglect children is a 
challenge. Both ecological and psychosocial factors influence the 
manifestation of neglect. The many differences and distinctions among 
neglectful families, including cultural distinctions, dictate a service 
model based on careful assessment of the family and services designed 
specifically for them.
    The U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect focuses on the 
ecological aspects. The Advisory Board's report, Neighbors Helping 
Neighbors, (1993), recommends several strategies for strengthening 
neighborhoods and improving the quality of support available to 
families within their own communities, as a national strategy for the 
protection of children. Their recommendations include: involving 
residents as participants, planners and managers of neighborhood 
services; the encouragement of foster grandparent programs; empowerment 
through home ownership; the implementation of prevention zones by 
public/private partnerships; and the funding of more family resource 
centers.
    The importance of neighborhoods in combatting neglect is also 
emphasized in the 1994 Kids Count Data Book (The Annie E. Casey 
Foundation, pp. 4-7).
    The report issued by the National Research Council (NRC, 1993, pp. 
50-52) also highlights the ecological aspects. The report suggests that 
``dysfunctional families are often part of a dysfunctional 
environment'' (p. 50). Its recommendations for intervention programs 
include: home-based approaches (p. 264), impacts on socio-economic 
conditions (p. 134), and impacts on social isolation (p. 135).
    Recent research focuses on the psychosocial foundations of neglect. 
DiLeonardi (1993), for example, reported that ``family empowerment, the 
use of groups to develop social support networks, and the assistance of 
volunteers or paraprofessionals as home visitors or parent aides, 
appear to be beneficial'' (p. 557) to prevent neglect among families 
reported for neglect. The study concluded that families were able to 
reverse their neglectful child-rearing patterns with this model of 
services.
    Gaudin, Zuravin, and Polansky also found that family dynamics 
explains ``a significant portion of the variance in quality of 
parenting/neglect'' (Gaudin, 1993). Depression and substance abuse, for 
example, have been suggested as powerful forces in family dynamics and 
mediators of neglect.
    In June of 1993, NCCAN sponsored a symposium on chronic neglect. 
The issues addressed included consensus building on definitions, 
strategies for change through empowerment, research, treatment and 
policy topics. The Proceedings from this symposium will be available 
from the NCCAN Clearinghouse. A number of studies, referred to in the 
Proceedings, suggest that programs for neglectful families based on 
building interpersonal strengths, fostering individual empowerment, and 
ensuring the provision of basic human needs in a safe environment were 
most likely to improve parenting, self-esteem and coping ability among 
the neglectful population.
    Recent work by the Kansas Cooperative Extension Service (Smith, 
C.A., Cudaback, D., Goddard, H.W., & Myers-Walls, J., 1994, National 
Extension Parent Education Model) may provide a useful guide for 
designing the parent education component of a comprehensive psycho-
social model. Parent education can help parents in many ways including: 
learning to care for themselves, managing personal stress, managing 
family resources; providing children with developmentally appropriate 
opportunities and learning appropriate disciplinary techniques; 
maintaining developmentally appropriate expectations of children; 
improving communication skills, building social support systems; and 
learning to access community, social service, and family support 
resources.
    Projects may either present innovative approaches or be 
replications of previously evaluated and promising models. Proposed 
models should build on previous research and NCCAN-sponsored Symposium 
findings and incorporate mental health, parenting education components 
and family support services. They should collect data on the costs and 
potential cost-benefits of providing the proposed services.
    These projects may be based on one of two types of models described 
above: either the ecological, i.e., neighborhood model, or the psycho-
social model. If a project chooses the ecological model, it must be 
aggressive in its outreach to the community; conversely, if a project 
chooses to follow the psycho-social model, it must include home-based/
family support services, parenting education, and mental health 
services in its approach to addressing neglect.
    NCCAN intends to fund up to ten demonstration projects on neglect 
(five in each model). Structurally, these projects are intended to 
function cooperatively as a cluster. Participation in a cluster affords 
the grantees the greatest opportunities to cooperate and collaborate. 
NCCAN will assist this cooperation by providing assistance through a 
technical assistance contract, encouraging meetings to develop use of 
common evaluation criteria, data elements, and measures to maximize 
comparability of evaluation findings. Evaluations will be required of 
each demonstration project. Priority will be given to those who provide 
evidence of a partnership between CPS/IV-B agencies which provide 
Family Preservation/Family Support services and community-based mental 
health/family resource centers.
2. Guardian ad Litem Model Demonstration
    Since 1975, the Congress has required States to provide a guardian 
ad litem in every case of alleged child abuse or neglect that results 
in a judicial proceeding as a condition of eligibility for a grant 
under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). Though 
there are enough attorneys in every jurisdiction to meet the needs of 
children for legal representation as attorneys or guardians ad litem 
(GAL), many States do not have funds to pay the attorneys, and most 
abused and neglected children and their parents are unable to afford 
attorneys' fees. As a result, in many locations, the juvenile court 
depends upon attorneys to represent children on a voluntary (pro bono) 
basis.
    However, there are not enough attorneys who chose to provide free 
representation to children, especially since some proceedings are 
complicated and cases may last for 21 years. The Court-Appointed 
Special Advocate (CASA) movement developed in the 1980's and has spread 
throughout the nation to address these unmet needs. These well-trained 
volunteers help meet the need for representation of child clients. The 
impact on the outcomes for children of the GAL and CASA services is not 
known (NRC, p. 273).
    In 1988, the Research, Demonstration and Evaluation Branch, 
Division of Program Evaluation, Administration on Children, Youth and 
Families conducted a study of the Guardian ad litem system. The report 
indicated that no single GAL model studied (Private Attorney, Staff 
Attorney, and CASA) was consistently superior to the others across five 
GAL roles (fact-finding and investigation, legal representation, 
negotiation/mediation, monitoring, and resource brokering). The 
findings also suggest that an optimal approach may be a ``mixed model'' 
and involve having a GAL who possesses, or has access to, the expertise 
and resources of attorneys, lay volunteers, and caseworkers to perform 
the broad range of functions and services contained in the definition 
of the child advocate (Final Report on the Validation and Effectiveness 
Study of Legal Representation through Guardian ad Litem, #105-89-1727).
    The ``mixed model'' uses a combination of attorneys, volunteers, 
and/or trained staff members to perform the broad range of functions 
and services, resources and expertise, for child advocacy. The intent 
of this priority is for a demonstration project of this ``mixed model'' 
to explore, in greater detail, service delivery with this approach. If 
this ``mixed model'' is not currently in place, resources might be 
added on to an existing GAL representation model for this 
demonstration.
    Based on four broad recommendations made in the report, the 
demonstration should design, justify, implement, and evaluate:
     A prototype for a formal, national system of GAL training, 
standards, and certification employed with a ``mixed model'' design;
     Recommendations for court-implemented formal terms of 
appointment, descriptions, and supervision of the GAL role with a 
``mixed model'' design;
     Standards for caseload size that maximize effective and 
ethical representation within a ``mixed model'' design; and
     Estimations of the magnitude of resources required and 
costs of a ``mixed model'' design with selected cases. Applicants must 
establish working relationships with the appropriate local juvenile 
court system and child welfare agency and demonstrate cognizance of the 
positions and activities of national organizations (e.g., the National 
Association of the Counsel for Children, the National Court Appointed 
Special Advocates Association, and the ABA Center on Children and the 
Law).

C. Working Groups

    The NCCAN proposes to establish two working groups during FY 1995 
and/or 1996. The working groups would be composed of less than ten 
experts, chosen by the Commissioner in consultation with NCCAN and the 
field, and less than 6 Federal representatives representing those 
stakeholder agencies participating in the Inter-Agency Task Force on 
Child Abuse and Neglect and the Interagency Research Committee. The 
working groups would meet several times over the course of a year in 
person and by telephone conference calls, with technical assistance 
provided through a contractor, to plan symposia (for the following 
fiscal year), identify appropriate ``next steps,'' and produce one or 
several working papers on selected topics. Two topics are proposed 
here.
     Research Definitions: Creating Consensus for Research 
Purposes.
    Researchers acknowledge, and the NRC report confirms, that the 
quality of information available to us for improving practice and 
informing policy about child abuse and neglect is hampered by the lack 
of agreement in current research definitions of abuse, neglect, 
intensity, and other characteristics of maltreatment. NCCAN will be 
providing assistance to the field by sponsoring and co-sponsoring 
efforts to standardize definitions of data collection categories and 
measurable attributes common to maltreatment participants and 
situations. Considerable collaboration through the Interagency Task 
Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, Interagency Research Committee is 
being pursued. Potential products of these activities include working 
paper(s) of standard data terms, behavior-driven operational 
definitions and parameters. (For additional information on this topic, 
see the NRC report, pp. 62-63.)
     Ethics, Confidentiality, Informed Consent, and Reporting: 
Issues for the Research Community.
    Researchers struggle alone or in small groups with the 
ramifications of the research process. Some are unclear about their 
obligations to report disclosures of abuse or neglect in research 
situations. Researchers also are of varied opinions about:
     Inquiring directly of young children about abuse and 
neglect;
     Reporting families to systems where services are 
unavailable or may be punitive; and
     Providing treatment services within their projects 
designed for research.
    With a working group, NCCAN intends to provide assistance to the 
field in cooperation with the Inter-Agency Task Force by providing a 
forum for the development of consensus on ethical issues as recommended 
in the NRC report. (For details, see NRC, ``Ethical and Legal Issues in 
Child Maltreatment Research,'' pp. 324-336.) Background papers could 
include working papers on legal ethical issues, treatment issues, and 
reporting issues. Products could include: policy recommendations for 
Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), policy guidelines for grantees and 
others conducting research in child abuse and neglect, and (pending the 
cooperation of a professional association or journal) a summary 
monograph or special journal issue publication. Coordination with the 
NCCAN Clearinghouse project on State statutes would be required.

D. Symposia

    In addition to the above activities, NCCAN proposes to convene 
symposia in FY 1995 and 1996 with selected experts on subject areas of 
critical concern to the field of child abuse and neglect. The selection 
of topics for the symposia will focus on issues in which some research 
and demonstration efforts have occurred but for which there may be no 
synchronized or congruous direction.
    The purpose of each symposium is to review what is known to the 
field, but needs further exploration, and to identify areas about which 
little is known and which require closer examination. The symposia 
should result in recommendations for multi-year strategies for further 
exploring some topics and for identifying new areas for examination.
    Comments are requested on the following symposia topics which NCCAN 
proposes to address in FY 1995 or 1996:
     Domestic Violence and Child Abuse and Neglect
    Studies of domestic violence indicate that child abuse and neglect 
frequently occur within families where there is violence between the 
adults (Strauss, Gelles and Steinmetz, 1980; Walker, 1985; Stark and 
Flitcraft, 1985, 1988; Bowker, 1988; McCloskey and Koss, 1992). There 
is also a growing awareness that children who witness physical violence 
between their parents are at risk of emotional abuse and neglect 
(Rosenbaum and O'Leary, 1981; Goodman and Rosenberg, 1987; Crites and 
Coker, 1988).
    In the 1980's NCCAN supported demonstration projects to provide 
services to children whose mothers are in domestic violence shelters, 
to train clinicians to identify both domestic violence and child abuse 
in families in a hospital setting, to prevent both domestic violence 
and child abuse. NCCAN also supported a research project on psychiatric 
and behavioral consequences for children of battered women during this 
period.
    Programs that train child welfare practitioners in the clinical 
issues of domestic violence or vice versa, and programs that link 
domestic violence shelters and child welfare agencies have been created 
in a number of communities.
    In 1993, NCCAN planned the Tenth National Conference on Child Abuse 
and Neglect in conjunction with the First National Family Violence 
Conference so that participants could attend both conferences during 
the same week. Moreover, each conference contained presentations about 
the relationship between family violence and child abuse and neglect. 
In June 1994, the Ford Foundation funded a meeting on ``Domestic 
Violence and Child Welfare: Integrating Policy and Practice for 
Families'' at the Wingspread Center, Racine Wisconsin. The meeting 
identified existing and potential projects and initiatives that 
integrate domestic violence and family preservation clinical issues, 
and that integrate an awareness of domestic violence concerns into 
child protective services programs and policies.
    In collaboration with the Family Violence Prevention and Services 
Program in the Office of Community Services, NCCAN proposes to conduct 
one or more working meetings with national experts to build upon the 
work of the June 1994 meeting and previous programmatic efforts. The 
goals of the meeting(s) are to identify and refine further programmatic 
initiatives and policy directions that promote the safety and well-
being of all family members.
     Prevention
    In 1991, NCCAN sponsored a national child maltreatment prevention 
symposium. The Proceedings of that meeting (DePanfilis and Birch, Eds.) 
are available through the NCCAN Clearinghouse (1-800-394-3366). More 
than 100 invited participants, researchers and practitioners, took part 
in five separate work groups. Each considered what had been done to 
prevent child maltreatment, identified successful efforts, and examined 
the factors that lead to success in each of five areas: preventing 
sexual abuse, preventing maltreatment in substance abusing families, 
preventing neglect, changing public attitudes, examining the effects of 
neighborhood environments, and improving parenting in high-risk 
families.
    The symposium participants made 18 recommendations for future 
research which helped shape subsequent priority area announcements, 
meeting agenda, and policy. NCCAN believes that, at the 5-year mark 
another symposium would be beneficial.
    In addition to the topics cited above, practitioners and 
researchers are encouraged to propose other relevant subjects for 
symposia deliberations.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Number 93.670, Child 
Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment)

    Dated: October 17, 1994.
Olivia A. Golden,
Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families.
[FR Doc. 94-26356 Filed 10-24-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-01-P