Preventing violence against children and youth.

The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) has a focus on preventing interpersonal violence against children and youth. Prevention of violence against children and youth involves fostering healthy relationships and building healthy environments in which young people can flourish. We review NCIPC's work over the past 20 years that has contributed to this goal by highlighting surveillance systems that identify the magnitude of violence, etiological research that identifies risk and protective factors that are associated with violence, evaluation research that has expanded the evidence base of what works to prevent violence, and comprehensive, broad-based programs that engage and empower communities to prevent violence. NCIPC's work demonstrates that violence is preventable and the Center is working to move the promise of effective prevention into practice. These efforts all work toward protecting the health and well-being of children and youth and set the stage for NCIPC's future work.