The Social Science department at CHILD USA is a leading force in producing essential data and research publications for academics, legal professionals, and the public. Our work focuses on the best science surrounding child sexual abuse (CSA), aiming to enhance prevention efforts and secure justice for victims. We are committed to rigorous research that prevents and protects children from CSA and informs legislative efforts to reform statutes of limitations (SOLs) worldwide. Our work is survivor-centered, culturally sensitive, and focused on the facts.

Our department has spearheaded critical policy analyses for major organizations, including the U.S. Archdioceses and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. From our research on the archdioceses, we developed a policy evaluation tool titled “The Gold Standard” in the format of a web-based tool, which we piloted in the summer of 2024 with a large national non-profit. We hope to apply this tool to youth-serving organizations (YSOs), including schools, camps, etc. Our research has also led to several academic journal articles examining these policies. The Game Over Commission to Protect Youth Athletes established a comprehensive database documenting Dr. Larry Nassar’s abuse, gathered a multidisciplinary team of experts for a case study, and published a detailed report with tailored recommendations based on our findings.

Research efforts by our social scientists have revealed that approximately 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 13 boys experience CSA, highlighting the urgency of our mission. We have also studied victims who filed under state windows and their delayed disclosure, as well as those abused within Scouting America and their CSA and disclosure experiences. The results of our Scouting America victim survey underscored the lengthy time it often takes for victims to disclose their abuse. Currently, we are collaborating with Virginia Commonwealth University on a CDC-funded project aimed at preventing school employee sexual misconduct by developing effective prevention training strategies.

With extensive experience in data collection and analysis, our Social Science department excels in translating complex research into highly accessible publications for diverse audiences. We provide policymakers and academics with the knowledge they need to create a world where children are safe and happy. We are positioning ourselves as the go-to experts for CSA prevention, delayed disclosure of CSA, athlete abuse, abuse in schools, and medical and educational neglect. In all our work, we prioritize the safety of all children while ensuring all research directly supports CHILD USA’s mission.
We are dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion, collaboration with fellow experts in the field, and the constant cross-pollination of ideas within the organization. We are committed to using a variety of research methodologies as appropriate for different areas of child protection, maintaining a trauma-informed, child-protection perspective in all our work.