In 2018, Indiana began requiring public K-12 schools to teach child abuse prevention. This project tracks where that education reaches students, and asks whether it makes a difference.
At a glance
Question
Which Indiana students receive prevention education, and is it linked to changes in reports of child abuse?
Partners
kNot Today; Indiana Prevention Education Coalition (IPEC)
Funder
kNot Today
Timeline
2026 to present
Why it matters
Prevention curricula improve children’s knowledge of abuse, and some studies show gains in self-efficacy and protective behaviors. Few have examined whether they change abuse disclosures and victimization. Our national analysis found that state mandates were associated with more reports of child sexual abuse made by education personnel. Most state mandates also don’t fund schools to implement the education, hold schools accountable, track data, or require evidence-based programs.
What we’re doing
With the Indiana Prevention Education Coalition, we created the first dataset of prevention education implementation across an entire state, now tracked through the Bridge. We are mapping prevention education by county and combining it with county-level reports and substantiations of child abuse from the Indiana Department of Child Services.
What we’ve learned so far
Statewide tracking is possible. With the Indiana Prevention Education Coalition, we built the first dataset of prevention education implementation across an entire state.
Consistent definitions come first. Providers describe and record their programs differently, so a shared definition of what counts as prevention education, and who received it, is needed before counts can be compared.
Missing data has to be measured, not ignored. For the 2022 to 2023 school year, we obtained prevention education information for nearly half of Indiana students. Knowing where data is missing keeps gaps in reporting from being mistaken for gaps in services.
Data quality checks are ongoing. Records need regular review for completeness and accuracy before they can be used to compare counties or years.
Papers from this project
Related · Child Abuse & Neglect, 2022
State Prevention Education Mandates and Reports of Child Sexual Abuse
States that required prevention education saw more child sexual abuse reports from school staff, with no drop in the share of reports that were confirmed.
Funded by kNot Today.The opinions expressed here are those of the authors; They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the funding organizations or their members.
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