Strengthening Families and Communities to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect: Lessons from the Los Angeles Prevention Initiative Demonstration Project

The Prevention Initiative Demonstration Project, funded by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), is a community-specific strategy delivered through eight regional networks designed to address the full spectrum of community-based prevention. This article summarizes a strong and meaningful pattern of improvements found in the second year evaluation for three groups of families-those living in high-risk communities but not involved with DCFS, those being investigated by DCFS for possible child maltreatment, and those with open DCFS cases.