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Introduction The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is dedicated to preventing and reversing trends of increased delinquency and violence among adolescents. These trends have alarmed the public during the past decade and challenged the juvenile justice system. It is widely accepted that increases in delinquency and violence over the past decade are rooted in a number of interrelated social problems—child abuse and neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, youth conflict and aggression, and early sexual involvement—that may originate within the family structure. The focus of OJJDP's Family Strengthening Series is to provide assistance to ongoing efforts across the country to strengthen the family unit by discussing the effectiveness of family intervention programs and providing resources to families and communities.Child abuse and neglect are tragic realities within millions of families worldwide. Each day children are abandoned, neglected, beaten, tortured, mutilated, sexually molested, starved, and terrorized. Sadly, violence toward children is not a new phenomenon; it is deeply rooted in cultural and religious values. Reasons offered throughout the centuries to justify child maltreatment include eliminating children with disabilities, expelling evil spirits, pleasing certain gods, maintaining discipline at home, and transmitting educational concepts (Radbill, 1974). Although the first three practices may still occur in remote regions of the world, contemporary social scientists agree that the continued maltreatment of children today is primarily the result of poorly trained adults who, in their roles as parents and caretakers, attempt to instill discipline and educate children within the context of the violence they themselves experienced as children. Thus, professional parent educators consider the generational cycle of violence to be the leading cause of child abuse and neglect.
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