The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with NORC at the University of Chicago on a three-year project to adapt and conduct a pilot implementation of the Violence Against Children and Youth Surveys (VACS) in the United States. The VACS study aims to generate population-representative estimates of the prevalence of physical, sexual, and emotional violence against children, the lifetime prevalence of childhood violence, and the contexts of violence victimization and the associated risk and protective factors. A large number of U.S. youth have experienced child abuse and neglect, which is associated with a variety of chronic diseases, psychological harm, and increased risk for smoking, alcoholism, and drug abuse. 

While the VACS has yielded valuable data on violence against children and youth in 24 countries, it has not yet been implemented in the United States. To assist with VACS implementation in a domestic context, NORC is partnering with the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) and Garrett County Health Department (GCHD), which serve as the local health department leads for this project. This project aims to adapt the VACS methodology for implementation in the United States and test the effectiveness of various methodological options, lessons learned, and best practices for implementing VACS and using resulting data for violence prevention programs and strategies in a U.S. context. 

NORC will conduct a probability-based, representative, in-person household survey of male and female youth ages 13-24, adapting methodologies and content from the global VACS survey to apply to the United States. NORC will need to achieve 1,020 completed surveys, allowing for some imbalance in male and female participation in the study. To do so, NORC will sample and attempt to screen 7,083 households and complete screener surveys with 5,667 households. 

Findings from the pilot implementation of VACS will identify best practices for conducting this research in the United States, which can be used to develop future studies in broader geographical regions of the country. Survey data will be used to support local public health leadership by informing evidence-based violence prevention programs and strategies.