CE23-003 - A multi-level examination of social safety net accessibility as a modifiable structural condition contributing to violence against children

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Project Summary/Abstract: Violence is a common, costly, and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality for children in the United States. Violence against children occurs more frequently for children who grow up in poverty. The primary method of addressing poverty in the U.S. is the provision of social services. Yet, these safety net services underserve the communities that are the most in need of them. This mismatch between safety net need and accessibility is a structural condition that may be a social determinant of health related to violence against children. Rigorous research, such as causal effects study designs, is needed to identify modifiable community- level factors for targeted prevention. The proposed Career Development Award (K01) research goal is to evaluate the relationship between the community safety net accessibility, the primary method of alleviating poverty, and violence against children. The proposed study leverages population-based, longitudinal data from multiple sources, including novel linked administrative data and detailed census-tract-level data on social service availability. The proposed research activities will address the following specific aims: 1) determine, at the community level, if neighborhood safety net accessibility is related to violence against children indicators (child protection reports, child protection placements, violence-related medical encounters, and violence- related deaths); and 2) quantify, at the child-level, the causal impact of community safety net accessibility on violence-related mortality through the duration of childhood. To pursue these aims, the PI will receive training in rigorous causal effects study design and cross-cutting violence prevention research under the mentorship of national leaders in these areas. The proposed research study addresses the important research priority for the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the relationship between community conditions and violence against children using an innovative approach with a strong scientific premise. Completion of the training and research activities will allow the PI to become an independent researcher who produces high- impact research that can be used in the development of prevention programming and to better explain the structural conditions that contribute to violence against children.