Particular attention is paid to two major prospective studies from the United States: the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), a multi-partner study assessing the effectiveness of service delivery in five locations, and the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing (NSCAW), a study of children who are at risk of abuse or neglect or are in the child welfare system.
The major studies examined in Australia are the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), a large national survey of children and their families, begun in 2004, and the Longitudinal Study of
Indigenous Children (LSIC), a study that will examine Indigenous children and their families. Several other smaller studies, from Australia and overseas and using various methodologies, have also been
examined. In conducting the review, the focus has been on methodological issues in the surveys, rather than on their results.