The common objective of child abuse and neglect
prevention programs is to avert child maltreatment through the
provision of services to families and their children. Such services
are designed to increase parental child rearing competence and
knowledge of the developmental stages of childhood.
Thirty-one States reported that 636,079 families received preventive services. Of those 31 States, 28 reported that 716,512 children received preventive services. The types of services most frequently cited were family planning, parenting education, substance abuse treatment, crisis intervention, domestic violence services, emergency housing assistance, emergency shelter assistance, and respite care. The most commonly cited funding sources were the Childrens Trust Fund; title IVB, subpart 2, Promoting Safe and Stable Families; the Social Services Block Grant (title XX); and the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant.
The data submitted by Virginia (table 21) demonstrate the range of funding sources that States may have used in providing prevention services.
The extent to which the reported count of preventive service recipients accurately represents the volume of children and families who received such services is not known. In general, State CPS agencies were unable to obtain data on local and community-level services that were not reported to a State agency. Some States specifically noted that the data provided included only the numbers of families and children who were known to the CPS agency. In addition, some States may not have counted recipients in all programs that funded child abuse and neglect prevention programs. However, the data may include duplicative counts of families and children who received services through more than one program. Clarification of these and related issues will be sought in future years.
Table 21 Preventive Services in Virginia
| Funding Source | Program | Time Period | Number of Families | Number of Children |
| Child Abuse/ Neglect State Grant |
Parent Educator a | State Fiscal Year 1997 | 24 | |
| Social Services Block Grant, Title XX |
Prevention Programs | Calendar Year 1997 | 829 b | |
| Family Support Services Title IVB, Part 2 | Family Preservation c | Calendar Year 1997 | 83,144 d | |
| Maternal and Child Health Block Grant | CHIP e | State Fiscal Year 1997 | 2,648 | 5,118 |
| Maternal and Child Health Block Grant | Resource Mothers Project f | State Fiscal Year 1997 | 2,311 g | 1,019 |
| Block Grant and State Monies | Virginia Family Violence Prevention Program | State Fiscal Year 1997 | 90 families 2,638 adults |
2,114 |
| Total | 91,684 | 8,251 |
a The Parent
Educator program is used in 6 of 123 local agencies. Future data
collection by State will include the number of children, in
addition to the number of families. This project provides
home-based treatment services and parent education classes to CPS
families (prevention cases only). (back)
b This is the number of individuals rather than
families. There are plans to collect these data in family/children
categories for State fiscal year 2000. (back)
c This does not include public awareness campaigns. (back)
d Data are not currently being collected on the number
of children receiving preventive services under this program. Data
on children will be collected manually for 1998. In response to
Federal State Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS)
requirements, Virginia's Online Automated Services Information
Program will begin collecting the data in calendar year 1999. (back)
e CHIP stands for Child Health Investment Partnership
(in one city) and Comprehensive Health Investment Project (CHIP of
Virginia). They are the same model but incorporated separately. The
numbers are combined. (back)
f This project provides lay home visitors to pregnant
teens and their families to improve mental and physical health
outcomes for mothers and infants. (back)
g Includes pregnant teenagers and women. (back)
