Publication

Using Communities That Care for community child maltreatment prevention.

Publication Year: 2016

Authors: Salazar, Amy M., Haggerty, Kevin P., de Haan, Benjamin, Catalano, Richard F., Vann, Terri, Vinson, Jean, Lansing, Michaele

Publication Title: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry

Volume: 86

Issue Number: 2

Page(s): 144-155

Link to Publication: https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000078

Abstract: The prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) disorders among children and adolescents is a national priority. One mode of implementing community-wide MEB prevention efforts is through evidence-based community mobilization approaches such as Communities That Care (CTC). This article provides an overview of the CTC framework and discusses the adaptation process of CTC to prevent development of MEBs through preventing child abuse and neglect and bolstering child well-being in children aged 0 to 10. Adaptations include those to the intervention itself as well as those to the evaluation approach. Preliminary findings from the Keeping Families Together pilot study of this evolving approach suggest that the implementation was manageable for sites, and community board functioning and community adoption of a science-based approach to prevention in pilot sites looks promising. Implications and next steps are outlined.