Citation

McLeigh JD, Melton GB. Int. J. Child Maltreat. 2019; 1(2): 223-236.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s42448-019-00014-9

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article offers a commentary on Essentials for Childhood, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initiative that is the focus of this special issue. The Essentials for Childhood framework seeks to promote positive development of children and families by promoting policies, programs, and norms that ensure children and their caregivers experience safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments. According to the theory undergirding the framework, children and caregivers can better cope with the effects of potential stressors that could lead to child maltreatment when these relationships and environments are present (CDC 2013).

In focusing on prevention and in recognizing the need for a large-scale, multilevel, and cross-sector approach, CDC's framework represents a shift in the way the government thinks about and supports child protection. Indeed, the foundation of this public health approach to addressing child maltreatment in CDC gives it special weight. A leader of the initiative (also the editor of this issue), Joanne Klevens, and her colleagues deserve recognition not only for their courage in launching Essentials for Childhood, but also for making a careful attempt to document their efforts and evaluate their results.

To provide context regarding this shift toward a public health approach to child maltreatment and how CDC has implemented Essentials for Childhood, this commentary considers how the field has developed, how and why past efforts have been misdirected, and how efforts can be placed on course. In addition to recognizing the merits of CDC's leadership in the effort, it describes how the scope and the impact of the initial work may have been limited by their auspice in CDC. The commentary concludes with recommendations for next steps for Essentials for Childhood and more broadly for the field.

Language: en