This book focuses on the prevention of child abuse and neglect deaths in the U.S. In 2013 1,520 children died from maltreatment. This book defines child maltreatment fatalities (CMFs) and discusses the prevalence of deaths in the U.S. over the last several decades. It addresses the known risk factors for maltreatment deaths including child, parent, the parent-child relationship, and household risk factors. The main focus of the book addresses the responses and interventions that have been put in place in order to prevent CMFs: the child welfare profession, child death review teams, safe haven laws, criminal justice responses, public education, and new, federal efforts in the U.S. to reduce CMFs in the U.S. The book finishes by making recommendations for researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers about how to prevent fatal maltreatment among children in the U.S.

Emily M. Douglas, Ph.D. is an associate professor of social work at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Her areas of expertise address child and family well-being, and programs and policies that promote positive outcomes. Specifically, her areas of expertise include fatal child maltreatment, medical neglect, corporal punishment, partner violence, divorced families, and the connection between research and public policy. Dr. Douglas and her colleague, Dr. Denise Hines (Clark University), have been among the first researchers to conduct NIH-supported, large-scale research projects on men who sustain partner violence and seek help, and the potential effects on their children. Dr. Douglas has an undergraduate degree in psychology and graduate degrees in public policy; she also completed an NIMH-supported post-doctoral research fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Murray Straus at the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire and has served on alegislative committee in Maine concerned with father involvement. Dr. Douglas is the founder and director of the National Research Conference on Child and Family Programs and Policy which is held annually at Bridgewater State University. Finally, Dr. Douglas is the author of two books on family policy and authored or co-authored 30 peer-reviewed publications, and has presented at numerous national and international conferences. She is the co-author (with Drs. Murray Straus and Rose Medeiros) of a forthcoming book on corporal punishment entitled, The Primordial Violence. During the 2010-2011 academic year, Dr. Douglas was named the Presidential Fellow at her institution, allowing her a full academic year to focus on her research on maltreatment fatalities and the child welfare system.

Chapter 1. Introduction and Justification for the Book .- Chapter 2: What is Fatal Child Maltreatment .- Chapter 3. Risk Factors for Fatal Child Maltreatment.- Chapter 4. The Intersection of the Child Welfare Profession and Maltreatment Fatalities.- Chapter 5. Child Death Review Teams.- Chapter 6. State Safe Haven Laws.- Chapter 7. Criminal Justice and Legal Reforms in Response to Fatal Maltreatment.- Chapter 8. Prevention of Fatal Child Maltreatment: What Are We Doing That Is Working?.- Chapter 9. Conclusions and Recommendations Moving Forward in the Arena of Fatal Child Maltreatment.