Prevention and Advocacy

The Section for Child Safety and Well-Being is leading state efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect, and to promote healing of children and families who have experienced violence.

Preventing child maltreatment can prevent other forms of violence, including youth violence, domestic violence, sexual violence, self-harm and suicide.

More Information: Mitigating Risk and Supporting Protective Factors to Prevent Child Maltreatment- The Child Grand Health Challenge

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Currently available data on child maltreatment and risk and protective factors in New Mexico is incomplete, making it challenging to measure the impact of prevention programs.

In 2022, UNM launched the Child Health Grand Challenge, whose aim is to formulate a systematic approach to preventing child maltreatment in New Mexico, with the aspirational goal of improving the health of New Mexican children and of our state social ecology at large. The team includes academics from multiple medical and non-medical disciplines, community providers, and state agency stakeholders, working together to study and implement proven prevention programs, and improve the lives of children and families.