Child maltreatment research, policy and practice for the next decade: A report from the institute of medicine and national research council

In 1993, the National Research Council (NRC) released the report, Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect, which highlighted child maltreatment as a devastating social problem in America. The report noted that abuse and neglect were the cause of thousands of child deaths each year, and research in the field of child maltreatment was relatively undeveloped. The services required for children who had been abused or neglected cost millions of dollars annually. To reduce the physical and emotional tolls of child maltreatment, the report called for a wide-ranging research program.

Nearly 20 years later, child maltreatment research has greatly expanded, however, many critical gaps in knowledge remain. In January 2012, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and NRC's Board on Children, Youth, and Families held a workshop to review the accomplishments of the past two decades of research related to child maltreatment, identify remaining gaps, and consider potential research priorities.

Following the 2012 workshop, the IOM-NRC Committee on Child Maltreatment Research, Policy and Practice for the Next Decade was appointed to conduct a full study that will culminate in an updated version of the 1993 NRC report. Similar to the earlier publication, the updated report resulting from this study will provide recommendations for allocating existing research funds and also suggest funding mechanisms and topic areas to which new resources could be allocated or enhanced resources could be redirected.