Purpose

The purpose of the National Collaborative to Protect America’s Children is to transform the anger and outrage American’s feel over child maltreatment and sexual abuse into collaborative action to protect and heal America’s children.  Leading experts in child trauma prevention and treatment have formed a collaborative to rally efforts to prevent and treat this nationwide problem, recently brought to light in the reports of sexual abuse within the college sports community.

Why

Child abuse is serious problem with profound long-term social, health and economic consequences that impact our entire society.  The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Studies sponsored by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has clearly established ACEs, such as child abuse/neglect, exposure to violence and sexual abuse as leading contributors to mental illness, substance abuse, behavioral disorders, further violence and victimization, suicide, crime, broken families, social disorder and many of the leading causes of death (see ACE Study).  Experiences of sexual abuse leave an indelible mark on the developing brains of our children as they grow up and become adults.  The National Collaborative to Protect America’s Children brings a public health approach, research, evidence-based practice and expertise in child abuse prevention and treatment to guide this unprecedented effort to raise awareness, educate and transform communities to protect children.