Child abuse prevention programs play an important role in crime prevention, because not only is abuse a criminal activity but children who are abused are at greater risk of engaging in antisocial and criminal behavior later in life. Child abuse prevention is a complex and sensitive policy area involving all three levels of government as well as many different community organizations. Early intervention, which results in more positive parent-child interaction, has been demonstrated to have significant benefits for vulnerable children and for society as a whole. Benefits continue as the child matures and can lead to improved health and employment opportunities. Therefore, the current trend is to incorporate the prevention of child abuse and neglect within a broad range of early intervention strategies as part of a coordinated agency network to address family dysfunction generally. However, in Australia, the measurement outcomes of early intervention programs are not rigorous enough and often rely on descriptive data for analysis. References