Task Force on Child Abuse Prevention

Child maltreatment is a devastating social problem that affects the lives of millions of children in the United States each year. In North Carolina, a child is mistreated every 15 minutes by a parent or caretaker. Effects of maltreatment on the social, cognitive, and emotional development of children can be far-reaching and, in many cases, irreparable. Despite the enormous social and economic costs of child maltreatment in North Carolina, child maltreatment prevention has received little attention or resources from state policy makers. The NCIOM Task Force on Child Abuse Prevention studied this issue and developed a strategic plan to address child abuse prevention. This Task Force was a partnership between the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina, and was supported by The Duke Endowment.

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Task Force Leadership

All Members

Co-Chairs

Carmen Hooker Odom

Secretary

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services

Marian Earls, MD, FAAP

Medical Director

Guilford Health, Inc.

Description

The NCIOM Task Force on Child Abuse Prevention was charged with developing a statewide strategic plan to prevent child abuse and neglect. In the past, most of the attention and state resources have focused on investigating cases of abuse and neglect and providing child welfare services. While child protective services are important, the goal of this task force was to develop a vision for preventing child maltreatment from occurring in the first place. To this end, the Task Force developed a statewide plan to prevent child maltreatment. The plan: