Policy Makers’ Perspectives on the Utility of a National Study of Child Maltreatment

Abstract

Reliable national child maltreatment data are needed for developing and modifying policies aimed at preventing child maltreatment and helping child victims of maltreatment. Health Canada hosted a daylong forum in 2002 to solicit feedback from senior Government of Canada policy and program officials involved in child welfare programs and research in regard to the data collected in the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS). This article reviews the discussions and debates regarding the utility of the CIS data for government policy makers and reflects on the implications for surveillance and knowledge in the area of child maltreatment. The key themes are definitions and measurement issues, the value of enhanced and additional data, and challenges to linking research and practice.

Keywords

child maltreatment surveillance policy linking research and practice definitions data collection

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Arial, E. (2002, December). Commentary on maltreatment of children with intellectual disability and developmental delays. Paper presented at CIS Policy Forum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Brown, I. (2002, December). Maltreatment of children with intellectual disability and developmental delays. Paper presented at CIS Policy Forum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Greenbaum, D. S. (2001). Epidemiology at the edge. Epidemiology, 12(4), 376-377.

MacMillan, H. L. (1998). Child abuse: A community problem. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 158(10), 1301-1302.

Samet, J. M. , Sandler, D. P. , & Savitz, D. A. (2001). Our policy on policy. Epidemiology, 12(4), 371-372.

Teret, S. (2001). Policy and science: Should epidemiologists comment on the policy implications of their research? Epidemiology, 12(4), 374-375.

Trocmé, N. (2002, December). Differential response to child maltreatment: Federal program and policy implications. Paper presented at CIS Policy Forum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Trocmé, N. , MacLaurin, B. , Fallon, B. , Daciuk, J. , Billingsley, D. , Torigny, M. , et al. (2001). Canadian incidence study of reported child abuse and neglect. Final report. Ottawa, Ontario: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Wekerle, C. ,& Wall, A-M. (2002, December). CIS and substance abuse analyses. Paper presented at CIS Policy Forum, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.