At least one in seven children experienced child abuse or neglect in the past year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Over the long term, children who are abused or neglected are at increased risk for experiencing future violence victimization and perpetration, substance abuse, sexually transmitted infections, delayed brain development, lower educational attainment, and limited employment opportunities.

The societal cost of child abuse and neglect is more than $400 billion each year, and even though there are many evidence-based programs to prevent abuse, reduce harm, and treat trauma, there remain numerous barriers for policymakers to craft scientifically informed policies to protect children. Ineffective policies and services can compound trauma, exacerbate social inequalities, and waste public resources.

State legislatures play a vital role in shaping policies around the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect, and yet there is often a gap in the integration of relevant research into the policymaking process. This project seeks to bridge that gap by evaluating the use of the Research-to-Policy Collaboration Model with a randomized, controlled trial involving 30 U.S. state legislatures.

This is the first study investigating a strategy improving the use of research evidence in legislation addressing the prevention of child abuse and neglect. By assembling a highly diverse network of experts to share a wide array of ideas with policymakers, we hope to “democratize” the use of science in policymaking. We also hope to raise awareness about how policy can address macro-level factors that can contribute to the occurrence of child abuse and neglect–such as economic conditions, housing, and zoning, to name a few.

Our Approach

1. To better understand the legislative landscape in the states being studied, we will assess historical and current uses of child abuse and neglect research in state legislation through the qualitative coding of legislation.
2. We will create a Rapid Response Network of researchers with diverse perspectives from across the U.S. with expertise in topics related to child abuse prevention to assist legislative offices in addressing their specific needs.
3. We will conduct a randomized, controlled trial across the 30 participating states to assess how well the Research-to-Policy Collaboration Model, improves engagement between policymakers and researchers, builds policymakers’ awareness and value of research on child abuse and neglect, and leads to a more frequent use of research evidence in the legislative process.

With this work, we aim to enhance the connection between state policymakers and the prevention science community, increasing both awareness and application of child abuse prevention research in policy decisions and policymaking.