News from the Section on Child Maltreatment

Jennie G. Noll, PhD, provides an update on the section’s policy efforts and an overview of the section’s convention activities.

Cite This Article in APA Style

Noll, J. (2018, August 1). News from the Section on Child Maltreatment. The Advocate. https://www.apadivisions.org/division-37/publications/newsletters/advocate/2018/08/child-maltreatment

Comment:

By Jennie Noll

Jennie G. Noll Greetings, Div. 37. This quarter has been a busy one policywise for the Section on Child Maltreatment and for those who follow child welfare policy at the federal and state levels. In particular, there was a notable solicitation from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau for feedback on initial criteria and potential candidate programs and services for review in a clearinghouse of evidence-based practices in accordance with the Families First Prevention Services Act passed earlier this year. I’m quite proud to report that our section, in collaboration with the Research-to-Policy: Child Welfare Rapid Response Team and Penn State’s P50 Center for Health Children, provided advice on how to shape such a clearinghouse. A detailed response was compiled by the Rapid Response Team and sent to the Children’s Bureau in time for a full consideration of recommendations. Many thanks to those who contributed content and to those who sent the solicitation on to relevant researchers and experts. Also, a very special thanks to Taylor Scott, who manages the Rapid Response Team, for coordinating this effort. This is exactly the type of coalescing necessary for policymakers to have access to state-of-the-art science to inform decisions. Email me directly or contact Taylor Scott, and we’d be happy to forward the response and the list of supporting signatories.

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In other news, I’d like to showcase what the section has going on at this year’s APA Annual Convention. In lieu of a presidential symposium, we are embarking on something new. We were invited to contribute to a competitive call for a collaborative symposium—an APA initiative to bring together leaders from differing divisions in one session focused on a single, uniting theme. I look forward to seeing you at this session (details below), during which I will also be presenting section awards.

Future Directions for Research in Child Maltreatment: Innovation in Science, Education and Policy

Friday, 10-11 a.m., Convention Center Room 157

Jennie Noll (Div. 37), Yolanda Jackson (Div. 45) and Chad Shenk (Div. 53)

The symposium will bring together researchers across several areas (e.g., education, policy, practice) to discuss next steps and guidelines for research on child maltreatment. Yolanda Jackson will present the latest in research on education and training in child maltreatment and share recent longitudinal findings from the SPARK project on education needs for youth exposed to child maltreatment. Chad Shenk will provide information on measurement and methods in child maltreatment research and next steps regarding efficacious approaches to designing research studies on child maltreatment. Jennie Noll will present information on the Research-to-Policy Collaboration model, which addresses policy priorities and facilitating connections between legislative staff and relevant research experts.

The presentations will include a specific focus on ethnic minority youth and families exposed to child maltreatment and the unique research agenda needed to grow the knowledge base in this area. Attendees will be encouraged to share their own ideas for research, and a portion of the time will be spent in discussion with the audience regarding how their ideas for research fit with the gaps in the field and how to build consensus between ideas so that the next generation of research is impactful and moves knowledge forward.