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This document is a Request for Applications (RFA) issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) that solicits investigator-initiated research proposals to rigorously evaluate programs and policies for their impact on the primary prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA) and problematic sexual behavior (PSB) among youth.

The RFA identifies three research priorities for the proposed evaluations: 1) programs or policies with potential for primary prevention of CSA or PSB, with emphasis on approaches addressing community, societal, or structural conditions; 2) programs or policies focused on primary prevention of CSA or PSB in digital spaces; and 3) organizational policy approaches focused on primary prevention of CSA or PSB in youth-serving organizations. The RFA requires rigorous evaluation designs such as randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental methods. Applicants must measure the primary outcome of reductions in CSA perpetration/victimization or engaging in/experiencing PSB, and are encouraged to measure proximal outcomes as well. The total estimated funding is $4.8 million to support up to 3 awards with a ceiling of $400,000 per budget period. The anticipated period of performance is 4 years, from 9/30/2025 to 9/29/2029. Eligible applicants include state/local governments, tribal organizations, nonprofits, and higher education institutions.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

NATIONAL CENTER FOR INJURY PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Rigorously Evaluating Programs and Policies to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Problematic Sexual Behavior among Youth

RFA-CE-25-026

12/02/2024

Table of Contents Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Section II. Award Information

Section III. Eligibility Information

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

Section V. Application Review Information

Section VI. Award Administration Information

Section VII. Agency Contacts

Section VIII. Other Information

Overview

Participating Organization(s) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Components of Participating Organizations Components of Participating Organizations:

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Title Rigorously Evaluating Programs and Policies to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Problematic Sexual Behavior among Youth Activity Code Applications in response to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be funded using the U01 activity code for a research cooperative agreement.

Notice of Funding Opportunity Type Reissue of RFA-CE-21-006 Agency Notice of Funding Opportunity Number

RFA-CE-25-026

Assistance Listings Number(s) 93.136 Category of Funding Activity HL - Health NOFO Purpose The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) is soliciting investigator-initiated research proposals to rigorously evaluate programs and policies for their impact on primary prevention of perpetrating child sexual abuse

(CSA) or engaging in problematic sexual behavior (PSB) among youth. CSA is defined as the involvement of youth (under 18 years of age) in sexual activity that violates the laws or social taboos of society and that youth do not fully comprehend; do not consent to or are unable to give informed consent to; or are not developmentally prepared for. For the purposes of this NOFO, CSA is defined as being perpetrated by adults (18 years of age and older).

• PSB is defined as sexual behaviors among youth (under 18 years of age) that are not developmentally appropriate and have the potential to cause harm to the child or children involved (including behaviors that are unintentionally harmful or inappropriate as well as behaviors intended to cause harm).

• Primary prevention is defined as preventing violence, or other harmful behaviors, before it occurs

• Perpetration prevention is defined as prevention efforts that focus on reducing the likelihood of individuals from committing acts of violence, or other harmful behaviors.

Research funded under this announcement will strengthen the evidence base for primary prevention of CSA and PSB. While proposed approaches must focus on preventing adults from perpetrating CSA or preventing youth from engaging in PSB, the outcomes measured may relate to CSA perpetration or victimization and engaging in or experiencing PSB.

Key Dates Publication Date:

To receive notification of any changes to RFA-CE-25-026, return to the synopsis page of this announcement at www.grants.gov and click on the "Send Me Change Notification Emails" link.

An email address is needed for this service.

Letter of Intent Due Date:

11/01/2024

While a letter of intent is not mandatory, nor is it binding or a factor in the review of an application, the details it provides help NCIPC staff to plan for the scientific and technical merit peer review process.

Application Due Date:

12/02/2024

On-time submission requires that electronic applications be error-free and made available to CDC for processing from the NIH eRA system on or before the deadline date. Applications must be submitted to and validated successfully by Grants.gov no later than 11:59 PM U.S. Eastern Time.

Applicants will use a system or platform to submit their applications through Grants.gov and eRA Commons to CDC. ASSIST, an institutional system to system (S2S) solution, or Grants.gov Workspace are options. ASSIST is a commonly used platform because it provides a validation of all requirements prior to submission and prevents errors.

https://www.grants.gov/

For more information on accessing or using ASSIST, you can refer to the ASSIST Online Help Site at: https://era.nih.gov/erahelp/assist. Additional support is available from the NIH eRA Service desk via http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html.

• E-mail: commons@od.nih.gov

• Phone: 301-402-7469 or (toll-free) 1-866-504-9552

• Hours: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding Federal holidays

Note: HHS/CDC grant submission procedures do not provide a grace period beyond the application due date time to correct any error or warning notices of noncompliance with application instructions that are identified by Grants.gov or eRA systems (i.e., error correction window).

Scientific Merit Review:

04/29/2025 This date is an estimate

Secondary Review:

06/02/2025 This date is an estimate

Estimated Start Date:

09/30/2025 Expiration Date:

03/10/2025 Required Application Instructions It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed to do otherwise in this NOFO. Conformance to all requirements (both in the Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Note:The Research Strategy component of the Research Plan is limited to 12 pages.

Page Limitations: Pages that exceed the page limits described in this NOFO will be removed and not forwarded for peer review, potentially affecting an application's score.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or may not be accepted for review.

Telecommunications for the Hearing Impaired: TTY 1-888-232-6348

Executive Summary Purpose The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) is soliciting investigator-initiated research proposals to rigorously evaluate programs and policies for their impact on primary prevention of perpetrating child sexual abuse http://grants.nih.gov/support/index.html mailto:commons@od.nih.gov https://grants.nih.gov/grants/how-to-apply-application-guide.html

(CSA) or engaging in problematic sexual behavior (PSB) among youth. For the purposes of this

NOFO:

• CSA is defined as the involvement of youth (under 18 years of age) in sexual activity that violates the laws or social taboos of society and that youth do not fully comprehend; do not consent to or are unable to give informed consent to; or are not developmentally prepared for. For the purposes of this NOFO, CSA is defined as being perpetrated by adults (18 years of age and older).

• PSB is defined as sexual behaviors among youth (under 18 years of age) that are not developmentally appropriate and have the potential to cause harm to the child or children involved (including behaviors that are unintentionally harmful or inappropriate as well as behaviors intended to cause harm).

Research funded under this announcement will strengthen the evidence base for primary prevention of CSA and PSB. While proposed approaches must focus on preventing adults from perpetrating CSA or preventing youth from engaging in PSB, the outcomes measured may relate to CSA perpetration or victimization and engaging in or experiencing PSB.

Applicants must propose to rigorously evaluate a program or policy for primary prevention of CSA or PSB that addresses one of the following three research priorities:

1. Programs or policies with potential for the primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB, with an emphasis on approaches addressing community, societal, or structural conditions.

2. Programs or policies focused on primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB in digital spaces (e.g., downloading or possession of illegal images of children, nonconsensual image sharing, use of digital spaces for commercial sexual exploitation or trafficking of children).

3. Organizational policy approaches focused on primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB in youth-serving organizations (e.g., community centers, youth development organizations, juvenile residential care facilities, faith-based organizations, group foster care).

Mechanism of Support The funding mechanism for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be a U01 research cooperative agreement.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards CDC/NCIPC intends to commit up to $1,200,000 in FY 2025 to fund up to three (3) applications.

Awards issued under this NOFO are contingent upon availability of funds and a sufficient number of meritorious applications.

Budget and Period of performance The estimated total funding (direct and indirect) for the first budget period, 9/30/2025 – 9/29/2026 is $400,000. The estimated total funding (direct and indirect) for the entire period of performance, 9/30/2025 – 9/29/2029, is $1,600,000.

Application Research Strategy Length Page limits for the Research Strategy are clearly specified in Section IV. Application and

Submission Information of this announcement.

Eligible Institutions/Organizations Institutions/organizations listed in Section III. Eligibility Information 1. Eligible Applicants are eligible to apply.

Eligible Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs)

The CDC does not award individuals directly. Individuals possessing the necessary skills, knowledge, and resources to conduct proposed research should collaborate with their institutions to submit a support application. People from racial and ethnic groups, as well as people with disabilities, are especially encouraged to apply.

For applications where the contact PD/PI qualifies as an NIH Early Stage Investigator (ESI), as confirmed through the NIH Investigator Status determination process, and has a commendable peer review score, prioritization may occur during the second level of review (refer to Section V.

Application Review Information 4. Review and Selection Process). Regarding the determination of Investigator Status for the contact PD/PI:

Before submitting an application, PD/PIs should confirm or update the date of their terminal research degree or the conclusion of their post-graduate clinical training in their eRA Commons Profile for accurate identification. NIH systems will automatically determine each investigator's status and reflect it in their eRA Commons personal profile. The ESI status for PD/PIs on any R01 or equivalent application will be indicated at submission. Investigators must ensure their status is accurately represented in their profile. If the status is incorrect, they should reach out to the NIH eRA Service Desk.

Number of PDs/PIs An application may name more than one PD/PI; their names must appear on the face page of the application. However:

• One (1) principal investigator must be designated as the contact PD/PI for all correspondence related to the application.

• All PD/PIs must include their eRA Commons Identification in the Credential Field of the Senior/Key Person Profile Component of the SF-424 (R&R) Application Package.

• Institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs must visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF-424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Number of Applications Organizations eligible to apply may submit multiple applications to this NOFO, as long as each is scientifically distinct. However, institutions may only submit one application per contact PD/PI. Only one application for each contact PD/PI will receive funding under this announcement. If multiple applications from the same contact PD/PI are submitted, only the most recent one, based on the time and date stamp at www.grants.gov, will be considered for review. It is the applicant's responsibility to withdraw any duplicate applications before the review date.

Institutions that submit applications proposing essentially the same research to two or more CDC/ATSDR NOFOs will not receive funding for more than one.

https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-stage/index.htm

Application Type

NEW

Special Date(s) A pre-application teleconference call will be conducted on 10/10/2024 to address questions from prospective applicants regarding NOFO RFA-CE-25-026. The call will begin at 1:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) and end at 1:50 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), or sooner if all questions are addressed. Questions and answers from the discussion will be included in a supplemental document on grants.gov approximately 2-3 weeks after the call.

Participant Access Information:

• Call Date: October 10, 2024

• Call Start Time: 1:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)

• Call End Time: 1:50pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)

• Call Leader: Joyce Dieterly, Scientific Program Official

• Webinar Link:

https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1606615597?pwd=WEVPbTR4Ykh1RW5kYTY2UVVyT0tO

UT09

• Webinar ID: 160 661 5597

• Passcode: a47kJc+3

• Call-In Numbers:

o +1 646 828 7666 US (New York) o +1 646 964 1167 US (US Spanish Line) o +1 669 254 5252 US (San Jose) o +1 551 285 1373 US (New Jersey) o +1 415 449 4000 US (US Spanish Line) o +1 669 216 1590 US (San Jose)

• Dial-In Passcode: 44072093

Application Materials See Section IV.1 for application materials.

Hearing Impaired Telecommunications for the hearing impaired are available at: TTY: 1-888-232-6348.

Section I. Funding Opportunity Description

Statutory Authority Section 301 (a) [42 U.S.C. 241(a)] of the Public Health Service Act, and Section 391 (a) [42 U.S.C. 280 b (a)] of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.

1. Background and Purpose Child sexual abuse (CSA) and problematic sexual behavior (PSB) are preventable public health problems affecting millions of children annually (Finkelhor et al., 2024; Finkelhor et al., 2014a;

https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1606615597?pwd=WEVPbTR4Ykh1RW5kYTY2UVVyT0tOUT09 https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1606615597?pwd=WEVPbTR4Ykh1RW5kYTY2UVVyT0tOUT09

Gewirtz-Meydan & Finkelhor, 2020). Expanding the evidence base for prevention approaches at multiple levels of the social ecology will help meet the unique needs of communities and move the field towards implementation of effective approaches that hold promise for preventing CSA and PSB at the population level (DeGue et al., 2012). This Notice of Funding Opportunity seeks to evaluate approaches focused on preventing adults from perpetrating CSA and youth from engaging in PSB.

Rigorous evaluation of programs and policies for the primary prevention of CSA and PSB aligns with NCIPC’s research priorities related to preventing sexual violence, child abuse and neglect, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). For more information, see CDC Injury Research Priorities.

Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)

Based on victimization surveys, 6-32% of girls and 2-11% of boys in the United States experience CSA (Finkelhor et al., 2024; Finkelhor et al., 2014a; Gewirtz-Meydan & Finkelhor, 2020). Due to measurement and methodological issues, known rates likely underestimate the true incidence and prevalence scope of this public health problem (Topping & Barron, 2009;

Wiseman, 2015; Zeuthen & Hagelskjær, 2013). CSA occurs throughout childhood and across socioeconomic classes (Singh, et al., 2014), though there are systems of inequities that cause a disproportionate burden of CSA victimization among various youth populations (see Health Equity for more detail). CSA is committed by someone known and trusted by the child or their family members 91% of the time (CDC, 2022a).

CSA is associated with numerous short-term and long-term physical and mental health and behavioral consequences (Blakemore et al., 2017) and is among 24 global risk factors identified by the World Health Organization that substantively affect the global burden of disease (Letourneau et al., 2014; Mathers et al., 2009). Thus, increasing the evidence base for CSA prevention is critical.

Most existing CSA prevention programs and policies focus on increasing reporting (e.g., mandatory reporting), preventing repeated perpetration (e.g., sex offender registries and laws), and providing abuse prevention education to children (Assini-Meytin et al., 2020; Finkelhor, 2009). While these strategies are an important part of a community’s approach to addressing CSA, additional research is need on strategies that prevent CSA from occurring in the first place.

Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) Among Youth

Self-report surveys indicate that PSB accounts for up to 77% of harmful sexual behavior experienced by children (Gewirtz-Meydan & Finkelhor, 2020). PSB among youth refers to sexual behaviors that are not developmentally appropriate and have the potential to cause harm to the child or children involved (National Center for Sexual Behavior of Youth, n.d.). PSB can involve significant differences in age, developmental level, or power or status; lack of freely given consent; signs of discomfort or emotional distress; unusual level of interest in sexual behaviors; or repeated sexual behaviors after adult intervention (Silovsky, 2009; Wurtele & Kenny, 2011). Youth engage in PSB for different reasons, including, but not limited to, having insufficient information about appropriate or inappropriate sexual behavior, media exposure to sexual content, or previously witnessing or experiencing violence (Letourneau et al., 2017;

Ruzicka et al., 2021; Silovsky, 2009; Wurtele & Kenny, 2011).

https://www.cdc.gov/injury-violence-prevention/programs/research-priorities.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury-violence-prevention/programs/research-priorities.html

Programs and policies associated with reductions in PSB among youth are emerging and need further evaluation (Finkelhor et al., 2014b; Letourneau et al., 2017). These programs may be delivered in a variety of settings, including school classrooms and community organizations.

Program elements include teaching skills related to healthy relationships, healthy sexuality and sexual development, boundaries and consent, social-emotional health, or differences between developmentally appropriate and problematic sexual behavior (Espelage et al., 2015; Foshee et al., 2004; Letourneau et al., 2017; Ruzicka et al., 2021; Taylor et al., 2012; Wurtele & Kenny, 2011). In addition, strategies that seek to create protective environments by improving the safety of schools (i.e., monitoring the physical and social environment) have shown positive effects in reducing PSB among youth (Taylor et al., 2012).

Note: The use of the term problematic sexual behavior (PSB), as opposed to commonly used terms such as peer-to-peer abuse or youth-perpetrated child sexual abuse (CSA), is not meant to detract from the seriousness or potential harm of youth behaviors, particularly more rare and harmful behaviors such as sexual assault. Rather, it is imperative to acknowledge that childhood is a distinct developmental period to adulthood. Because of this, the response to children engaging in problematic and/or harmful behavior should also be distinct from the response to an adult engaging in similar behavior, particularly with an increased focus on rehabilitative responses over punitive responses.

Health Equity

This funding announcement supports CDC CORE Health Equity Goals to embed health equity principles in the design, implementation, and evaluation of its research, data, surveillance, and intervention strategies. More information about CDC CORE Health Equity Goals can be found at CDC’s CORE Commitment to Health Equity | Health Equity | CDC.

Health equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health (CDC, 2022b). Achieving this requires recognizing and addressing the social and structural factors that affect health and health care and may increase the risk of youth in certain communities to experience CSA. People at disproportionate risk of experiencing CSA or PSB may include, but are not limited to: girls; youth from racial and ethnic minority groups; youth with disabilities; youth experiencing homelessness; immigrant and refugee youth; youth from sexual and gender minority groups; and youth from disproportionately impacted, underrepresented, or marginalized communities (Bryce et al., 2019; Collin-Vézina et al., 2013;

Colin et al., 2020; Heerde et al., 2015; Kenny et al., 2023; Liu et al., 2021; MacMillan et al., 2013; McCabe et al., 2022; Australian Royal Commission, 2017; Walker et al., 2012).

Research is needed to evaluate policies and programs that seek to prevent CSA or PSB by addressing and improving social determinants of health (SDOH) associated with perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB. SDOH are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes (CDC, 2022c). Examples include economic policies and systems, social policies, concentrated poverty, structural racism, high rates of unemployment, limited access to high-quality education, and affordable, high-quality childcare. Public health approaches that address upstream factors, such as SDOH, have the potential to reduce CSA and PSB. Research into SDOH for CSA prevention is limited, but financial stress and housing instability, for example, are associated with higher rates of CSA (Hunter & Flores, 2021). Programs and policies that focus on addressing SDOH for perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB may result in a reduction of CSA or PSB. However, it is important to consider that all programs and policies have the potential to https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/core/index.html exacerbate health inequities or otherwise cause harm. This is particularly relevant when addressing the outer levels of the social ecology, as the increased reach magnifies the potential for both benefits and harms. As such, we encourage applicants to clearly describe how the equity implications of the prevention effort will be empirically studied in population(s) at disproportionate risk of experiencing CSA or PSB to ensure that the effort does not widen inequities.

Purpose The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) is soliciting investigator-initiated research proposals to rigorously evaluate programs and policies for their impact on primary prevention of perpetrating child sexual abuse (CSA) or engaging in problematic sexual behavior (PSB) among youth. For the purposes of this

NOFO:

• CSA is defined as as the involvement of youth (under 18 years of age) in sexual activity that violates the laws or social taboos of society and that youth do not fully comprehend;

do not consent to or are unable to give informed consent to; or are not developmentally prepared for. For the purposes of this NOFO, CSA is defined as being perpetrated by adults (18 years of age and older).PSB is defined as sexual behaviors among youth (under 18 years of age) that are not developmentally appropriate and have the potential to cause harm to the child or children involved (including behaviors that are unintentionally harmful or inappropriate as well as behaviors intended to cause harm).

Research funded under this announcement will strengthen the evidence base for primary prevention of CSA and PSB. While proposed approaches must focus on preventing adults from perpetrating CSA or preventing youth from engaging in PSB, the outcomes measured may relate to CSA perpetration or victimization and engaging in or experiencing PSB.

Applicants must propose to rigorously evaluate a program or policy for primary prevention of CSA or PSB that addresses one of the following three research priorities:

1. Programs or policies with potential for the primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB, with an emphasis on approaches addressing community, societal, or structural conditions. Examples of these conditions include, but not limited to, characteristics of communities that are empirically or theoretically associated with violence such as concentrated poverty, structural racism, high rates of unemployment and community violence, limited access to high-quality education and/or affordable, high-quality childcare that contribute to health inequities across population groups.

2. Programs or policies focused on primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB in digital spaces (e.g., downloading or possession of illegal images of children, nonconsensual image sharing, use of digital spaces for commercial sexual exploitation or trafficking of children).

3. Organizational policy approaches focused on primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB in youth-serving organizations (e.g., community centers, youth development organizations, juvenile residential care facilities, faith-based organizations, group foster care).

Healthy People 2030 and other National Strategic Priorities NCIPC is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2030". This NOFO will support the following Healthy People 2030 Injury and Violence Prevention (IVP) core objectives: IVP-15 (Reduce child abuse and neglect deaths), IVP--16 (Reduce nonfatal child abuse and neglect), and IVP-17 (Reduce adolescent sexual violence by anyone).

This NOFO will also build upon the growing evidence bases in sexual violence and child abuse and neglect prevention as reflected in CDC's Resources for Action: Sexual Violence Prevention Resource for Action: A Compilation of the Best Available Evidence, Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Resource for Action and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Prevention Resource for Action.

Public Health Impact NCIPC is committed to achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of "Healthy People 2030". This NOFO will support the following Healthy People 2030 Injury and Violence Prevention (IVP) core objectives: IVP-15 (Reduce child abuse and neglect deaths), IVP--16 (Reduce nonfatal child abuse and neglect), and IVP-17 (Reduce adolescent sexual violence by anyone).

This NOFO will also build upon the growing evidence bases in sexual violence and child abuse and neglect prevention as reflected in CDC's Resources for Action.

Relevant Work For more than 20 years, CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) has been the nation's leading public health authority on violence and injury prevention. CDC's approach involves three elements: 1) a focus on prevention, 2) a science-driven approach to identify risk and patterns, and 3) multidisciplinary collaboration to address the problem and keep people safe, healthy, and productive.

NCIPC's Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) developed Prevention Resources for Action to help states and communities take advantage of the best available evidence to prevent child abuse and neglect, adverse childhood experiences, and sexual violence: including Sexual Violence Prevention Resource for Action (Basile et al., 2016), Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Resource for Action (CDC, 2019a), and Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Resource for Action (Fortson et al., 2016). The strategies and approaches in the Prevention Resources for Action represent different levels of the social ecology with efforts intended to impact individual behaviors as well as the relationship, family, school, community, and social structure that influence risk and protective factors for violence.

NCIPC's research priorities and the Division of Violence Prevention's Strategic Vision support the need for evaluating the effectiveness of programs and policies that lack rigorous evaluation, address all levels of the social ecology, and expand evidence for populations that experience a disproportionate burden of CSA.

NCIPC previously supported three prior funding opportunity announcements to rigorously evaluate approaches to prevent child sexual abuse:

https://www.cdc.gov/violence-prevention/php/resources-for-action/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/SV-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/SV-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ACEs-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ACEs-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/CAN-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/CAN-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf https://www.cdc.gov/injury-violence-prevention/programs/research-priorities.html https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/103247/Email https://www.grants.

• RFA-CE-20-005 (Rigorously Evaluating Approaches to Prevent Adult-Perpetrated Child Sex Abuse (CSA))

• RFA-CE-21-006 (Rigorously Evaluating Programs and Policies to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (CSA))

• RFA-CE-22-003 (Rigorously Evaluating Programs and Policies to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (CSA))

CDC also has an online resource of the best available evidence to support diverse youth-serving organizations in preventing CSA and PSB. Additional examples of previously funded research and descriptions of violence prevention initiatives are available on NCIPC's website.

References

Assini-Meytin L.C., Kaufman K.L., Mathews, B., Palmer D.A., Ingram, M, & Letourneau, E J.

(2021). Preventing and responding to child sexual abuse: Organizational efforts. Child Abuse & Neglect, 112, 104892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104892

Assini-Meytin, L. C., Fix, R. L., & Letourneau, E. J. (2020). Child sexual abuse: The need for a perpetration prevention focus. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 29(1), 22-40.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2019.1703232

Australian Royal Commission. (2017). Australian Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse final report. https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/

Basile, K. C., Degue, S., Jones, K., Freire, K., Dills, J., Smith, S. G., & Raiford, J. L. (2016).

Sexual violence prevention resource for action: A compilation of the best available evidence.

Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/SV-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf

Biehal, N. (2013). Maltreatment in foster care: A review of the evidence. Child Abuse Review, 23(1), 48-60. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2249

Blakemore, T., Herbert, J. L., Arney, F., & Parkinson, S. (2017). The impacts of institutional child sexual abuse: A rapid review of the evidence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 74, 35-48.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.08.006

Bryce, I., Robinson, Y., & Petherick, W. (2019). Child abuse and neglect: Forensic issues in evidence, impact, and management. In Child abuse and neglect: Forensic issues in evidence, impact, and management (pp. xlii, 443). Elsevier Academic Press; US.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022a). Fast Facts: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childsexualabuse/fastfact.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022b). What is health equity?

https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022c). Social determinants of health at

CDC.

https://www.cdc.gov/about/priorities/social-determinants-of-health-at-cdc.html https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/programs/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childsexualabuse/preventingcsa-in-yso.html https://www.cdc.gov/injury-violence-prevention/programs/funded-programs.html https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104892 https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/ https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/SV-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2249 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.08.006 https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/about/priorities/social-determinants-of-health-at-cdc.html

Chen, W., & Adler, J. L. (2019). Assessment of screen exposure in young children, 1997 to 2014. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(4), 391-393. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5546

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021). Preventing child sexual abuse in youth-serving organizations.

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childsexualabuse/preventingcsa-in-yso.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019a). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) prevention resource for action: A compilation of the best available evidence. Atlanta, GA:

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ACEs-Prevention-Resource_508.pdf

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2. Approach The intent of this NOFO is to support rigorous evaluations to strengthen the evidence base on the effectiveness of programs and policies with potential for the primary prevention of perpetrating CSA and engaging in PSB in the United States. The Specific Aims section of the application must clearly describe the primary prevention program or policy that will be evaluated. The Specific Aims section of the application must also clearly name and describe which of the three Research Priorities aligns with the proposed research study.

Research Priority 1. Rigorous evaluation of programs or policies with potential for the primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB, with an emphasis on approaches addressing community, societal, or structural conditions.

There are existing programs and policies focused on preventing CSA and PSB that have not been rigorously evaluated for their effectiveness. Additionally, some existing programs and policies have been evaluated in certain populations but have not been adapted and evaluated for others (e.g., youth or adults with developmental disabilities; people who live in rural areas; people from different racial and ethnic groups). Some examples, but not an exhaustive list, of programs and policies that could be evaluated under this priority include:

• Social norms and education campaigns in communities (including online communities) that might seek to improve help-seeking among people concerned about their own or others’ sexual thoughts or behaviors

• Programs that teach youth about appropriate boundaries and healthy relationships to prevent them from engaging in PSB (distinct from programs that teach youth how to keep themselves safe from experiencing CSA)

• Policies that provide economic supports for families to prevent commercial sexual exploitation of children

The evidence base for prevention approaches for CSA and PSB that address community, societal, or structural conditions remains a critical research gap to be addressed by proposals for this research priority.

Further, there is a need to adapt and evaluate approaches focused on the primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB for populations with different demographic or social characteristics, since an approach that is effective for one population may not be effective (or may require adaptation to be effective) for another. For example, a program or policy evaluated in an urban community may not have the same impacts in a rural community; a program or policy designed for youth without disabilities may not be effective or accessible for youth with disabilities; and a program or policy evaluated with people from one racial or ethnic group may be inappropriate, ineffective, or even harmful for people from a different racial or ethnic group.

NOTE: If an applicant proposes to adapt a program or policy for a new population, the applicant should provide a strong and detailed plan for how the program or policy will be adapted and rigorously evaluated during the four-year study period.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2013.811136.

Research Priority 2. Rigorous evaluation of programs or policies focused on the primary prevention of perpetrating CSA or engaging in PSB in digital spaces (e.g., downloading or possession of illegal images of children, nonconsensual image…

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