When we talk about protecting children from abuse, we often focus on what happens after something has already gone wrong. But what if protecting children could start much earlier? Prevention means giving parents access to the support they need before stress and difficulties become a crisis. Instead of focusing mainly on fixing things after they go wrong, we should focus on helping things go right.
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Families can experience overwhelming stress from financial difficulties, mental health struggles, lack of support and housing instability. Utah should expand access to evidence-based family support programs to help prevent child abuse and neglect before families reach a crisis that could put children at risk.
Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that child abuse and neglect are influenced by multiple factors, including economic and parenting stress, social isolation, substance use, unstable housing and food insecurity. These factors do not mean that a parent will abuse or neglect their child, but they can make an already difficult situation even harder.
When families have access to support before these challenges become overwhelming, they may be better able to cope with stress and meet their children’s needs. This also shows why child abuse prevention cannot only focus on what happens inside a family. Families are affected by the resources and support available in their communities. Helping parents find stable housing, food, mental health care and parenting support can address some of the challenges that make stressful situations harder.
Supporting families before they reach a crisis should be part of child welfare policy.
Home-visiting and family support programs connect families with trained professionals who can help them access parenting education, mental health services and other resources during stressful periods.
Utah is already taking steps toward prevention. According to the Utah Division of Child and Family Services, prevention services include parenting classes, evidence-based home visitation programs, community education and crisis nurseries. In 2024, these prevention services reached 7,893 families and nearly 12,000 children. These services provide families with support without waiting for a serious problem to occur.
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Home-visiting programs, in particular, can give parents someone to turn to during stressful periods and connect them with resources they may not know are available. Utah already has a foundation for prevention, but there is still an opportunity to reach more families before they reach a crisis. The question is whether these supports are available to enough families early enough to make a difference.
Research also suggests that these programs can help. One review of 77 studies involving more than 48,000 participants found that home visiting programs had a small but significant effect on child maltreatment. Other research has found that parenting programs can reduce some risks linked to child abuse and neglect while helping parents build stronger parenting skills.
These programs will not prevent every case of abuse or neglect, but they can give families support before their problems become a crisis. Expanding access to these programs could help Utah focus more on prevention instead of waiting until something has already gone wrong.
I think Utah should build on its existing prevention programs by making these resources available to more families. This could mean providing more funding for home-visiting programs and making sure families in different communities know what resources are available. Parents should be able to get support before they reach a crisis, rather than waiting until something goes wrong.
Expanding these programs would not mean replacing the child welfare system or ignoring cases where intervention is necessary. It would mean adding another layer of support so families have somewhere to turn before they reach that point. Utah could also prioritize communities where families have fewer resources or where there is a greater need for family support services.
Protecting children should not only happen after abuse or neglect has already occurred. It should also mean helping families before they reach that point. Parenting can be difficult, especially when families are dealing with financial stress, mental health challenges or other difficult circumstances. Giving parents support should not mean they are failing. Sometimes, having the right support at the right time can make a big difference. Child safety should begin before a crisis, not after one.
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