[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5856-5858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1480]


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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

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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 
http://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 (http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov);
     Children's Bureau Reports/Publications (http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/index.htm);
     LONGSCAN (http://www.iprc.unc.edu/longscan);
     NIH Child Abuse and Neglect Working Group Neglect 
Consortium (http://obssr.od.nih.gov); and
     National Center for Children Exposed to Violence (http://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

[[Page 5858]]

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