Students in human development and family studies, biobehavioral health, education, nursing, psychology, and other degree programs are benefiting from a minor that delivers critical training to those who want to work with children. Penn State’s undergraduate education minor in Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies (CMAS) is designed to give students a broad overview of child protection and advocacy, including the detection, treatment, and prevention of child maltreatment. According to Chad Shenk, associate professor of human development and family studies and faculty member of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, CMAS is an interdisciplinary minor that gives Penn State students majoring in any discipline the resources they need to understand the issues surrounding child protection and well-being. “Students who are planning careers that have any direct involvement with children, such as counseling, law enforcement, healthcare, research, social work, education, forensic sciences, or child welfare will certainly benefit from the CMAS minor.” Students successfully completing the minor also receive the CAST (Child Advocacy Studies) Certification. CAST is a widely recognized certificate that helps enhance competitiveness for entry-level jobs within child welfare agencies and it is beneficial when applying to a multitude of graduate programs. The CMAS minor was officially established in the spring of 2015 after the successful offering of its prerequisite course, CMAS 258 - Introduction to Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies. According to Shenk, the course provides an overview of the epidemiology of child maltreatment, methods of recognizing and reporting it, and its long-term impact on public health. “Interest in the CMAS minor has grown rapidly since 2015, with almost 100 students currently enrolled in the minor. As of this year, 35 students have graduated with the minor,” he said. One reason for the growing interest in the CMAS minor is that faculty and instructors comprise an interdisciplinary team that brings diverse, real-world experiences to classroom. “Several CMAS faculty and instructors have a background in the child protection service field while others are nationally-recognized researchers,” said Shenk. “Because both the instructors and students come from varied backgrounds and experiences, classroom discussions are both engaging and educational for all students.” Shenk helped to develop the CMAS minor, designing and teaching two of the four required courses, CMAS 258 and CMAS 465 - Child Maltreatment Prevention and Treatment. He was recently awarded a Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Health and Human Development for his work in developing courses for the minor. The other two required courses in the minor are CMAS 466 – Systems and Community Responses, and CMAS 493 – Capstone Experience. CMAS 493 requires an internship which can be completed in an already established partnership, through a research project on campus, or students can design their own. “Several students have worked in the NIH Capstone Center for Healthy Children research project here at Penn State to meet the requirements of the internship,” Shenk explained. “Other students have completed their internships in the service field at facilities such as Centre County Children and Youth Services, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Centre County, and the Transforming the Lives of Children Research and Treatment Center at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, which provides mental health interventions for children and families dealing with child maltreatment.” The minor is open to any Penn State student who is enrolled at the University Park campus and who has declared a major field of study. For more information, go to the CMAS Minor page or contact Cheri McConnell, Child Maltreatment Solutions Network Education Coordinator, at cln3@psu.edu. The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network advances Penn State’s academic mission of teaching, research, and engagement in the area of child maltreatment. It is part of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State.
Building a Multidisciplinary Pipeline of Researchers in Child Abuse and Neglect: Summer Training Institute for Early Career or Transitioning Scholars Invitation to Apply for Competitive Trainee Award Rationale: Child abuse and neglect is a significant public health concern in the United States and around the world. According to recent statistics, in fiscal year 2016, there were over three million referrals for some form of child maltreatment. The magnitude of the problem, the devastating short and long term consequences, and the importance of co-occurring contextual factors make this a challenging area of research requiring research from multiple disciplines. Despite the scope, size, and costs associated with child abuse and neglect, however, there is a dearth of scholars trained to conduct research in child abuse and neglect. As noted in the recent Institute of Medicine (2014) report by the Committee on Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Decade, “Existing research and service system infrastructures are not sufficient for responding to this public health challenge”. This annual summer training institute is designed to help assure a continued pipeline of researchers interested in advancing science regarding abuse and neglect. This requires an innovative, multi-disciplinary approach that can take into account the multi-determined nature of this public health problem and its multiple and cascading outcomes. Competitively selected trainees will receive awards to attend a week long summer institute. Training activities of the institute will begin prior to the summer and extend beyond the on-site week-long training to include individual follow-up mentoring provided by trainers matched to participants’ interests. Institute presenters (trainers) represent diverse fields (e.g., anthropology, criminology, genetics, law, medicine, psychology, public health, and social work), methodological expertise, and cultural backgrounds. This project is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and administered through a collaboration of two senior scholars (Drs. Melissa Jonson-Reid from Washington University and Cathy Spatz Widom from John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York). This competitive award will fund 15 early career or transitioning scholars with backgrounds in a variety disciplines, including criminology, economics, law, neuroscience, genetics, medicine, psychology, psychiatry, public health, public policy, social work, or sociology. Applicants need not have expertise in child maltreatment but must have some training related to children’s health and development prior to the summer institute. Costs of materials, food, lodging, travel, and communication with mentors are provided as part of the award. The 2019 summer training institute will be held in St Louis, Missouri. Timeline: October 15, 2018 - January 11, 2019: Applications accepted January 11, 2019: Final due date for applications February 12, 2019: Awardees will be notified and pre-seminar readings will be distributed. May 20- May 25, 2019: 4 1/2 day seminar to be held at Washington University, St Louis June, 2019: Follow-up calls with mentors July 15, 2019: Submission of final draft of brief research proposal (6 pages) August 15, 2019: Trainees receive feedback and suggestions for funding Participant Commitment: Trainees must be able to attend the on-site training, complete the readings prior to the seminar, and adhere to the timeline for research plans. Eligibility: Applicants must have completed their PhD or MD (or equivalent degree). Applicants must meet early career scientist criteria [meaning that the scholars must not yet have been a PI on any grant beyond the R03 or R21 (developmental) levels] OR be established researchers who are interested in transitioning to research on child maltreatment but lack methodological training in this area. All participants will be required to have some training related to children’s health or development to serve as a foundation for participation. However, prior training specific to child maltreatment is not needed. Participants must demonstrate an interest in pursuing research relevant to epidemiology (causes and consequences), prevention, or intervention in the area of child maltreatment. Participants must also indicate how this training will advance them in their chosen careers. For this institute, we will accept up to 15 participants with a minimum of at least four different specialties or disciplines represented. Applicants from under-represented ethnic/racial groups, persons with disabilities, or persons from disadvantaged backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply. Application Process: Materials need to be submitted by January 11, 2019: (1) Completed application form (2) A 2-3 page statement of interest describing why this training will be beneficial to you, what work related to child maltreatment, if any, you have done, and a brief rationale for and discussion of a research study you hope to conduct in the future (this latter section will form the foundation for the brief proposal project); (3) Curriculum vitae; and (4) A letter from a senior researcher or administrator at your institution indicating their enthusiasm regarding the anticipated benefits of your participation and the support of the institution for any needed release time in order to participate, as no stipend will be provided. Applications should be submitted to: Professor Melissa Jonson-Reid Brown School of Social Work Washington University Summer Training Institute on Child Maltreatment CB 1196, 1 Brookings Drive St Louis, MO 63130 Or electronically by e-mail to: jonsonrd@wustl.edu Review Process: Applications will be reviewed by the Summer Training Institute Co-Directors (Melissa Jonson-Reid, PhD and Cathy Spatz Widom, PhD). Applications will be rated according to relevance of interest, likelihood to benefit from the training content (i.e., coming from disciplines/training programs not already benefiting from such material), promise as a researcher in this area, and strength of support letter. We will select up to 15 participants, with an aim of achieving broad diversity in discipline, topical interest and ethnic and experiential backgrounds. Questions can be directed to: Cathy Spatz Widom, PhD (cwidom@jjay.cuny.edu) Melissa Jonson-Reid, PhD (jonsonrd@wustl.edu) B
Penn State senior Rachel Brettler, who is majoring in biobehavioral health and minoring in human development and family studies, is being mentored by renowned faculty experts, as well as gaining real-world research experience, through her role as an undergraduate research assistant in the multiyear Child Health Study. The Child Health Study is a five-year longitudinal research project being conducted in the Center for Healthy Children, where researchers are studying Pennsylvania children ages 8-13 who are victims of abuse. Led by Jennie Noll, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Children, the Child Health Study seeks to uncover the implications of child maltreatment as it relates to a child’s health and development. The data collected will be used to develop and implement various interventions for the prevention and treatment of child maltreatment and abuse. Undergraduate students like Brettler, along with graduate students, have the opportunity to work under guidance from experts like Noll, getting experience that helps prepare them for careers. Certain victims of abuse who are open to talking about their experiences are invited to the center for interviews and clinical tests under strict privacy guidelines. Brettler aids in the process of helping connect these individuals with the center. “My role this past summer as an undergraduate research assistant has been to recruit participants and help work with the child participants and their caregivers to collect data,” she said. The study involves interviews, health screenings, monitoring, and education about emotional and behavioral well-being, as well as physical health and well-being. Brettler said this research experience has required her to use and develop skills from both her major and minor; from biobehavioral health in the areas of medical data collection and public health, and from human development and family studies by examining a child’s transition to adolescence and adulthood, and how he or she fits into society and the community. “Through my coursework I have studied a lot about the fundamentals and theories behind child maltreatment,” Brettler said. “Meeting people who have been through it is quite interesting. There are a lot of untold stories out there. Through my work I get to put a face to the data and build a more complete picture of a child’s life, and how that child’s health might be affected by what he or she has been through.” Brettler said the support she has received from faculty and staff throughout her research experience has helped her to grow, both personally and professionally. “I feel encouraged and appreciated for the work I do, and feel that I've been given the autonomy and responsibility to challenge myself,” she said. “Overall, this experience has shown me why Penn State is consistently ranked among the best for public research -- we care about the work we're doing and the people involved in our projects.” Brettler was able to be involved in the project through a College of Health and Human Development Smith Endowment. She was one of many students in the college to receive funding to support research projects. The Center for Healthy Children is the first national center for child maltreatment research. For more information visit childhealthstudy.psu.edu.
Almost 10 million older adults in the U.S. have cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s Disease, or other related dementias. Penn State researchers are looking into how early life adversity, specifically child maltreatment, can affect cognitive aging later in life in a new project. According to Chad Shenk, associate professor of human development and family studies and principal investigator on the project, early life adversity affects two-thirds of all children in the U.S. “We know there’s an inverse relation between exposure to early life adversity and the acquisition of cognitive abilities from childhood to adulthood," said Shenk. "What we don’t know is whether early life adversity accelerates cognitive aging and decline at mid-life, prior to the onset of cognitive impairment, and whether there are unique biomarkers in this situation that could aid in the detection and even prevention of late-life cognitive outcomes.” Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the four-year project will study over 2,900 adults across the U.S., Canada, and Germany to test and replicate findings on the effects of early life adversity on cognitive aging. Shenk, who also is a co-hire of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, and his team will explore the link between child maltreatment and cognitive aging, focusing on stress-mediating variables. “We will examine epigenetic age, a measure of the biological age of human tissues and cells, as a stress-sensitive biomarker of early life adversity that predicts impairments in cognitive function at mid-life,” Shenk explained. “Establishing epigenetic age as a biomarker of early life adversity and cognitive aging at mid-life may aid in detecting, delaying or even preventing cognitive decline and impairment in later life.” According to Shenk, this project will also focus on identifying the mediators of epigenetic aging following early life adversity. “By examining the multiple pathways leading to accelerations in epigenetic aging," said Shenk, "this project has the potential to identify targets for prevention even prior to mid-life in order to further reduce this risk." Another goal of the project is to make the results replicable across international cohorts that include diverse demographics. “This study is the first to prospectively examine the biological impact of early life adversity and cognitive function at mid-life. Replication of results is very important to future cognitive function studies,” said Shenk. Other researchers on the project include Martin Sliwinski, professor and director of the Center for Healthy Aging; Nilam Ram, professor of human development and family studies; Jennie Noll, professor and director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network; Kieran O’Donnell, assistant professor at The Douglas Hospital Research Center, McGill University; Michael Meaney, James McGill Professor, McGill University; and Elisabeth Binder, director of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry. Seed funding was provided by Penn State’s Social Science Research Institute.
Children who suffer childhood sexual abuse early are more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, adolescent pregnancy, and teenage motherhood, according to new Penn State research. The findings are important, because becoming a mother during adolescence can have consequences for not only the mother, but her child, said Jennie Noll, professor of human development and family studies, director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, and co-funded faculty member of the Social Science Research Institute. “Adolescents typically do not possess the psychological and emotional tools necessary to excel at the additional demands and responsibilities required to parent a child.” The National Institutes of Health-funded research allowed Noll and her team to track a sample of adolescent females aged 14–17 with and without a documented history of maltreatment longitudinally through age 19. They examined the three distinct outcomes — high‐risk sexual behaviors, adolescent pregnancy and adolescent motherhood — because not every adolescent who engages in risky sexual activity becomes pregnant, and not every pregnancy results in an adolescent becoming a mother. “Because of its explicit sexual nature, we wanted to see if sexual abuse conferred unique risk for these outcomes as compared to other environmental factors, including alternative forms of child maltreatment such as physical abuse and neglect,” Noll explained. “This has never been tested before because it is rare to have a data set that differentiates between the different types of maltreatment on differing outcomes.” The results showed that sexual abuse predicted sexual risk-taking over time and that these kids were more than twice as likely to become teen mothers compared to other kids. Sexually abused females were also more likely to use substances, report more externalizing behaviors, affiliate with risky peers, and have lower self‐esteem, lower cognitive abilities and higher depression symptoms. However, even after these potential confounding factors were controlled, sexual abuse was the strongest predictor of teen motherhood. “This suggests that there is something highly unique about the sexual trauma of childhood sexual abuse that increases the chances for subsequent risky sexual behaviors,” said Noll. “Our findings demonstrate that all types of abuse and trauma are not equal. Survivors of sexual abuse likely require specialized treatment that can help them deal with the sexual boundary violations, stigma and shame associated with sexual abuse. Given that there are over 50,000 new sexual-abuse cases per year in the U.S., such targeted interventions will likely have a substantial impact on national adolescent motherhood rates as well.” The study was published recently in the Journal of Research on Adolescence. Other Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty members on the project were Hannah Schreier, assistant professor of biobehavioral health, and Sarah Font, assistant professor of sociology. Additional researchers were Kate Guastaferro, assistant research professor at Penn State; Sarah Beal, assistant research professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Jaclyn Barnes, clinical research coordinator at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; and Jonathan Reader, pre-doctoral trainee at Penn State. The work was supported in part by grants awarded Noll by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, both of the National Institutes of Health. Guastaferro and Reader were supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
Penn State isn’t just a leader on childhood well-being through its Child Maltreatment Solutions Network — but is pushing others to be leaders, too. “One of our charges is to bring together experts related to child maltreatment to think more broadly about how to address key issues facing children today,” said Christian Connell, Penn State professor of human development and family studies and associate director of the Solutions Network. “Through our annual conference, Penn State is playing a key role in engaging researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to inform best practices and policies at the county, state and national level.” The Solutions Network's seventh annual network conference focuses on “Strengthening Child Safety and Wellbeing through Integrated Data Solutions,” and will feature nationally and internationally recognized experts in the field of child maltreatment. To be held on Sept. 27 and 28 at the Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus, the conference is open to researchers, policy makers, child welfare professionals and members of the public interested in learning about the future of data-driven innovations in improving children’s lives. Interested attendees are asked to register online. This year’s theme of “integrated data solutions” will explore how researchers, child welfare professionals and public policy makers can best utilize administrative data systems — such as the data gathered by child service caseworkers, healthcare providers and other public systems — to better understand the needs of at-risk children, and craft laws and policies that reflect the reality of child maltreatment in America. “We can learn a lot about the needs of children and families by pulling together information from the child welfare system and health care settings — including physical and mental health, the educational sector, and other types of child serving systems,” Connell said. “No one system gathers all this information, but more and more we have the computing power and analytic capacity to bring all this information together to better understand the complex needs of families and children.” The conference will feature sessions from leading experts in the field of child maltreatment and welfare, including Penn State Professor and Solutions Network Director Jennie Noll; University of Southern California Professor Emily Putnam-Hornstein; University of Washington Professor Melissa Jonson-Reid; and University of Chicago Professor Fred Wulczyn. Topics will include leveraging administrative data to understand the scope and impact of maltreatment, identify effective interventions for child welfare, inform public policy, and system reform; and developing priorities and action steps to advance these efforts at a national level. “Through this network and this conference, we are making Penn State a national resource on this topic,” Connell said. “We have put together an amazing line-up of presenters and speakers with expertise in the use of data to inform child safety and well-being. The conference is geared toward collaborative conversation and problem-solving, making this a unique opportunity to engage with experts on these critical issues.” The conference is supported by sponsors across the University, including the Department of Public Health Sciences; the Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center; the Social Science Research Institute; the Child Study Center; the University Libraries; the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling and Special Education; the Department of Biobehavioral Health; the College of Nursing; the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness; the Institute for CyberScience; and the College of Information Sciences and Technology.
A new initiative spearheaded by Penn State researchers is aiming to revolutionize how policymakers understand and prevent child sexual abuse. The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative officially kicked off Wednesday at the York County Children’s Advocacy Center, which marks the beginning of a series of two-year pilot programs in five Pennsylvania counties to advance a comprehensive approach to sexual abuse prevention. The initiative is a partnership between Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and Center for Healthy Children, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and the Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth and Families. These partners will work together to pilot three evidence-based, data-driven programs: “Stewards of Children,” which educates community members about spotting signs of sexual abuse and how to act if they suspect abuse. “Safe Touches,” which educates children about the difference between safe and non-safe touches and that abuse is not a child’s fault. A parent-focused program teaching parents about sexual abuse and healthy sexual development and how to recognize signs of abuse and potentially exploitative individuals. The goal ultimately is to use the results from these pilot programs to develop a comprehensive and sustainable model for abuse prevention that can be adopted not just across Pennsylvanian counties, but across the nation. “The programs that we’re using have been shown to be evidence-based and effective in changing knowledge and attitudes about sexual abuse,” said Jennie Noll, a Penn State professor and director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network. “But this is the first time that they will be studied in the context of actually changing rates of sexual abuse. This is the first such trial to track actual rates of sexual abuse through county and state administrative data systems. It is the largest effort of its kind that we’re aware of.” Noll said this new initiative is unique in the field of child maltreatment research for several reasons: its comprehensive approach to data collection and review, its combination of proven evidence-based programs, and its partnerships between Penn State researchers and state government offices. She expects the programs to reach over 71,000 adults and 17,000 children over the next two years. Noll said that the initiative grew out of the grant that helped establish the Center for Healthy Children and is funded through the Endowment Act to aid survivors of child sexual abuse in Pennsylvania. The pilots will be coordinated by Kate Guastaferro, a Penn State research professor with the Methodology Center, and Kathleen Zadzora, a Penn State research project manager with the College of Health and Human Development. Seed funding for the project was provided by Penn State's Social Science Research Institute. “Our goal is to not only demonstrate that these evidence-based programs work, but to create a sustainable approach to abuse prevention that we hope that the Commonwealth, and ultimately other states, will be able to adopt and put to use,” Noll said.
The Children’s Bureau’s Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (CB/OCAN) within the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is pleased to announce the 21st National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN), which will be held April 24-26, 2019, at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park hotel in Washington, D.C. The 21st NCCAN offers a unique opportunity to come together for leadership and action- oriented dialogue around creating a continuum of supports to ensure that we are a nation of "Strong and Thriving Families"—the theme of this year’s conference. The Children’s Bureau is committed to advancing national efforts that strengthen the capacity of families to nurture and provide for the well-being of their children. At the 21st NCCAN, child welfare staff, child maltreatment prevention partners, the legal and judicial community, parents, foster care alumni, child and family serving professionals, and community members will explore strategies for making this vision of strong and thriving families a reality. To achieve CB/OCAN’s vision, the 21st NCCAN will offer diverse sessions addressing current approaches, policies, strategies, programs, and practices in the following five target areas: 1 Prioritize Prevention Nurturing and safe family relationships are key to child well-being. Prioritizing families and focusing on primary prevention, through flexible funding and community-based services that strengthen the protective capacities of all parents, will help children and their families thrive. We must also focus our interventions in ways that prevent unnecessary placements, keep children in their communities and schools, and build family strengths as a primary intervention. This track explores a variety of topics related to primary prevention, in-home services, family engagement, and other service innovations intended to support families and keep children with their families. 2 Focus on Well-Being We should ensure that our interventions support the physical, emotional, and psychological well-being of all children and families. This track explores a wide variety of topics relevant to the social, educational, economic, behavioral, cognitive, and relational well-being of children and families. We particularly welcome sessions focused on measuring well-being, addressing trauma, strengthening protective factors, and building resilience. 3 Reshape Foster Care as a Support for Families Engagement with the child welfare system should have positive impacts on children and families—equipping parents and caregivers with enhanced protective factors, skills, and supports to safely care for their children and improve child well-being. Even when parents are unable to keep their children safe at home, children need to feel connected to their parents, siblings, and relatives. Parents should remain actively involved with their children in foster care in safe and healthy ways, with foster and birth families working together to support children and ensure successful reunification whenever possible. This track explores innovations in child welfare practice with a special emphasis on efforts that keep families meaningfully engaged and connected, even when out-of-home care is necessary. We welcome sessions highlighting approaches that promote the active involvement of parents in their children’s lives while in out-of-home care, promote healthy relationships between birth and foster parents, provide timely and successful reunification, address kinship care, and avoid unnecessary family separation and trauma. 4 Build Community Capacity Primary prevention of maltreatment and a focus on well-being occur best in the communities where children and families live, and cannot be the work of child welfare alone. A wide array of stakeholders and systems must work together, guided by the communities they serve, to build programs and systems that get needed supports to families where they are and when they need it. This track explores ideas and initiatives for leveraging diverse community-based partnerships to better serve children and families. We especially invite proposals related to reaching rural communities, engaging non-traditional partners, and moving beyond traditional services. 5 Support the Workforce To serve families well, we must have a strong, competent, and healthy workforce. An effective child welfare system requires social workers, attorneys, and service providers to have adequate supports and supervision, manageable workloads, and the skills needed to do their work well. Inspire, competent leadership can garner the support of community partners, staff, and families on the path to meaningful and sustained improvement. This track explores ideas and initiatives for supporting the child welfare workforce in ways that enhance their effectiveness and ensure their well-being. We especially invite proposals related to addressing secondary traumatic stress, creating a safe and supportive organizational culture, and reducing staff turnover. For more information and to submit an abstract, go to the NCCAN21 Call for Abstracts website. Deadline for submissions is July 3.
Jennie Noll, director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, has been invited to serve as a member of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Strategic Planning Working Group. Noll’s role as part of the prestigious group will be to develop a new strategic plan for NICHD for the first time in 18 years and identify scientific priorities for the institute’s efforts and contribution to the health of children, families, and communities across the nation. The new strategic plan will help develop scientific priorities, ensure that resources are appropriately aligned with those priorities, and identify the training, career development and partnership opportunities needed to maximize NICHD's contribution to the health of children, families, and communities. The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network advances Penn State’s academic mission of teaching, research, and engagement in the area of child maltreatment. Since the Solutions Network was launched in Fall 2012, its conferences have established a concrete frontier of understanding child maltreatment through advanced research. It is part of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State.
Child maltreatment is a public health problem that impacts over 3.5 million youth each year who are involved in child protective service investigations or other responses. Society is also negatively impacted by the increased use of resources within the health care, education, and the criminal justice systems. Often, government agencies and public systems run into challenges when trying to identify and assess maltreatment and provide intervention and treatment services. To address this issue, Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network will hold their seventh annual conference, “Strengthening Child Safety and Wellbeing through Integrated Data Solutions," Sept. 27 to 28, at the Nittany Lion Inn, University Park, Pennsylvania. The conference will promote the discussion and consideration of new methods of using data to improve the response to child maltreatment. “Over the last decade, there has been substantial growth and innovation in technology used by the child welfare system, and this technology is made up of large datasets which are crucial for the identification of child maltreatment risks and consequences as well as improve community targeting and reaction to these challenges,” noted Jennie Noll, director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and professor of human development and family studies, regarding the developments in the child welfare system. The conference will bring together researchers and other professionals to discuss new, advanced methods such as the use of data from across different systems to conduct predictive analytics, risk monitoring, and policy and program-focused research and evaluation as a way to improve child welfare system solutions. Three sessions will address the use of integrative data to predict the occurrence of child maltreatment and negative outcomes in maltreated youth, and target effective and efficient implementation of services. Concluding the event will be a panel discussion formed by several speakers to engage the audience and consider collaborative data sharing, analytic approaches to predict maltreatment and outcomes, and how these can impact policies and programs. For more information about the conference, visit http://solutionsnetwork.psu.edu/conf18 and click here to register. The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network advances Penn State’s academic mission of teaching, research, and engagement in the area of child maltreatment. Since the Solutions Network was launched in Fall 2012, its conferences have established a concrete frontier of understanding child maltreatment through advanced research. It is part of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State.