First Star is excited to partner with the Steve Nash Foundation to advocate for a new institute for the study of child abuse and interpersonal violence.  This national entity would house, consolidate and disseminate the science of child abuse in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.  The science of child abuse and interpersonal violence has advanced considerably, lending to knowledge of the physiological, economic and societal consequences of violence endured and witnessed by children.  Beyond academia, such information has been mainstreamed, with recent articles reporting on advances in memory science, and more understood daily about the effects of abuse - physical, sexual or emotional - patterns on the brain and body.  It is no long viable to consider child abuse an isolated issue.

We know that roughly one quarter of children under eighteen will experience abuse, an affliction with physiological and social ramifications with proven economic consequence mirroring if not exceeding the cost to society of medical illness.  Under the National Institute of Mental Health's Division of Pediatric Translational Research and Treatment Development, some research has been compiled, but the pervasive nature of child abuse warrants the far more concentrated effort that would be addressed by a dedicated institute.

The creation of a National Institute of Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence will represent a critical moment in history, when we stand up for the child welfare rhetoric so espoused in today's government.