Penn State University's Translational Center for Child Maltreatment Studies (TCCMS)

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OVERALL - SPECIFIC AIMS Child maltreatment (CM) (physical abuse, sexual abuse, and child neglect) is a pervasive public health problem with ~600,000 substantiated incidents annually, 12.5% of US children experiencing CM by age 18, and an annual incident economic burden of $428B. More than 32% of US children will have a Child Protective Service (CPS) report by age 12 and 3.5M children are 'screened in' for CPS investigations each year, with a growing body of research showing that even an investigation can have deleterious impacts on child development. CM investigations are especially ubiquitous for racially minoritized youth. Survivors are at high risk myriad deleterious psychosocial and health outcomes thus perpetuating racial disparities. Despite major policy initiatives, CM rates have not appreciably fluctuated in over two decades and there are recent increases in CM referrals, investigations, and infant deaths attributed to CM. The proposed Translational Center for Child Maltreatment Studies (TCCMS) renewal (Phase 2) will capitalize on the successes of Phase 1 by providing continuity in the cutting-edge, observational cohort study (Project 1) to, in turn, fill a critical gap in CM research—namely, variable pathways into and through the transition to adulthood (T2A). A new project extends promising models of practice to expand access to high-quality forensic evaluations for suspected CM (Project 2). The Dissemination and Outreach Core (DOC) will continue practice and policy-relevant community- engaged research with established county, state, and federal partners, translate TCCMS products into workable, scalable solutions, and disseminate these products—through a comprehensive communications plan designed by the Resource Core—to the world. The Admin Core will elevate the TCCMS-developed primary prevention efforts and its Research to Policy Collaboration (RPC) model to national prominence, facilitating high-level exposure of TCCMS products and solutions to mobilize larger public investment in prevention and intervention. The TCCMS has three broad Aims: Aim A—continue high quality, translational research that directly impacts youth who encounter the protective service system; Aim B—continue hallmark community- engaged partnerships and, through state-of-the-art communications, disseminate knowledge, strategies, and solutions that reduce disparities and better-protect children; Aim C—continue to serve as a national resource for scaffolding science to impact policy, for the primary prevention of CM, and for nurturing the next generation in cutting-edge science and translation. Through these Aims, the TCCMS will continue to operate as THE premier center where transdisciplinary scientists work in conjunction with practitioners and policy makers to resource, conduct, and disseminate impactful new science that can change health and developmental trajectories for survivors, mobilize public investment in CM prevention and access to intervention, accelerate science to practice, spark dynamic system-wide solutions, and inspire future generations to do the same.