HHS increases safeguards to empower families and communities to prevent and respond to neglect, abuse, and violence, while supporting those who have experienced trauma or violence. The Department continues its efforts to promote coordination across the government to address the full range and multiple forms of neglect, violence, trauma, and abuse across the life span. HHS is building a resource infrastructure to ensure equitable delivery of high-quality services to support affected individuals, families, and communities. HHS also leverages data to inform the development of effective and innovative prevention and intervention models to address neglect, abuse, and violence. Below is a selection of strategies HHS is implementing.
In the context of HHS, this Strategic Plan adopts the definition of underserved populations listed in Executive Order 13985: Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government to refer to “populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, who have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life”; this definition includes individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. Individuals may belong to more than one underserved community and face intersecting barriers.
Contributing OpDivs and StaffDivs
ACF, ACL, ASPE, CDC, HRSA, IHS, NIH, OASH, and SAMHSA work to achieve this objective.
Strategies
Promote coordination across the federal government to address the full range and multiple forms of neglect, violence, trauma, and abuse across the life span, including gender-based violence
- Increase coordination within HHS OpDivs and StaffDivs and partner with other federal departments on violence prevention and trauma initiatives that create opportunities for an integrated, trauma-informed federal response.
- Engage community health workers to expand outreach and access to interventions for those impacted by neglect, violence, trauma, and abuse.
- Develop national awareness and prevention initiatives focused on violence, trauma, neglect, and abuse as a public health issue.
- Educate and empower families and communities, including tribes and territories, to recognize and respond to signs of violence and trauma and understand the importance of and need for a comprehensive public health approach.
Build resource infrastructure to ensure equitable delivery of high-quality services to support affected individuals, families, and communities
- Strengthen networks and increase resources for state, local, tribal, territorial, community- and faith-based organizations focused on the prevention of and recovery from violence, trauma, neglect, and abuse as they make investments in programmatic advancement, cross-system coordination, equipment, and culturally- and linguistically-appropriate services and service delivery.
- Facilitate and support access to healthcare and behavioral health services for anyone who is surviving domestic violence, dating violence, family violence, and sexual violence, including 24-hour confidential hotline, shelters and programs, and a network of state coalitions and national technical assistance providers.
- Design innovative skills-based training and technical assistance to the networks, grantees, and programs that serve individuals, families, and communities impacted by neglect, violence, trauma, and abuse.
- Create assessment tools and engage stakeholders to identify gaps in prevention, holistic treatment, and integrative care for underserved communities, including tribes and territories.
Leverage data to inform the development of effective and innovative prevention and intervention models to address neglect, violence, trauma, and violence
- Strengthen surveillance systems to gather prevalence data across all HHS programs and appropriately identify resources for public health and human services solutions.
- Disseminate evidence-based strategies to promote safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments for adults, children, families, older adults, and persons with disabilities, including the communities in which they live.
- Advance the development and use of standards, guidelines, regulations, and electronic reporting to improve the quality and timeliness of public health data collection.
- Establish policy and guidelines that emphasize evidence-based decision making for assisting those who have experienced trauma or violence.
- Support a coordinated program of research focused on refining, testing, and implementing research-informed practices for primary and trauma-related services, including screening, prevention, and treatment across relevant settings that serve youth and adults.
- Address gaps in knowledge about intimate partner violence prevention programs for American Indian and Alaska Native communities, for racial and ethnic specific communities, and for underserved communities
