A PARTNERSHIP-DIRECTED SCHOOL-BASED INTERVENTION FOR CHILD PHYSICAL ABUSE AND NEGLECT - BEYOND MANDATORY REPORTING

Professionals in the schools are the major source of child maltreatmen t reports nationally. However, a review of the literature indicates th at these professionals contribute only a small amount of school-based research data to our understanding of the consequences of child physic al abuse and neglect or the treatment of child victims. A strategic mu lti-systems approach fdr designing school-based intervention research for vulnerable preschool child victims is presented. The approach invo lves establishing research collaborations with parents, educators, and child protective service agencies. Descriptions of the multi-level in tervention strategy, which includes school district, school, and class room levels, are provided to illustrate this approach. Public policy i mplications of school involvement in child maltreatment intervention a re discussed.