April 10, 1997
James A. Harrell
Deputy Commissioner
Administration on Children, Youth and Families
Attention: CB/NCCAN
PO Box 1182
Washington, DC 20013
Dear Deputy Commissioner Harrell:
On behalf of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and our 155,000 members, I am responding to the request for public comment by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) on proposed funding priorities for child abuse and neglect research as published in the February 12, 1997 Federal Register. I understand that the recommendations articulated below pertain to research grants awarded for fiscal years 1997 - 2001.
NASW believes that all issues identified in the February 12th Register are meritorious. Nonetheless, we believe the following eight areas should receive priority in making funding decisions:
- Examination of the definition, identification, and assessment of child abuse. Creation of a consensus on definitions for research purposes should serve as a first step toward the development of common, universal measures that are reliable and valid.
- Development of the body of knowledge regarding child neglect - - in particular, the causes, prevention and amelioration of neglect.
- Determination of the most appropriate and effective interventions for the prevention and treatment of physical and sexual child maltreatment.
- Identification of organizational innovations that can improve the process by which child maltreatment findings are disseminated to practitioners and policy makers and utilized by the field.
- Development of the training and infrastructure capacity to address the serious shortage of investigators trained to study child abuse, and the limited number of mentors qualified to train investigators in interdisciplinary research skills needed to advance the field.
- Analysis of the relationship between service provision by professionally trained social workers and outcomes for children and their families served by the child welfare system.
- Examination of the extent to which child welfare workers’ fear of both criminal and civil liability charges - - given the increasingly litigious practice environment - - inhibit timely and appropriate intervention, and thus, render less than efficacious treatment.
- Exploration of the impact of changes in family support entitlements, work requirements and other changes mandated by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 [PL 104-193] and the prevalence of child maltreatment as well as the ability of state and local agencies to address the protective needs of children.
Thank you for your consideration of NASW’s recommended funding priorities.
Sincerely,
Josephine Nieves, MSW, PhD
Executive Director
For further questions, contact Caren Kaplan at mailto:ckaplan@naswdc.org.
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The National Association of Social Workers is the largest organization of professional social workers with 155,000 members. It promotes, develops and protects the practice of social work and social workers. NASW also seeks to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through its work and through its advocacy. A professional social worker has a degree in social work and meets state legal requirements. Professional social workers practice in many settings including family service agencies, child welfare, community mental health centers, private practice, schools, hospitals, employee assistance programs, and public and private agencies. Professional social workers are the nation's largest group of mental health services providers.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is located at 750 First Street, NE, Suite 700, Washington DC 20002-4241. Telephone is 202/408-8600, FAX 202/336-8311 and TTD 202/408-8396.
