Child Abuse & Neglect 37S (2013) 8–16 Social Networks and Informal Social Support in Protecting Children from Abuse and Neglect James C. Spilsbury * and Jill E. Korbin Case Western Reserve University Community Ties and Supports Promote Children’s Safety P rotecting children from abuse and neglect is a complex challenge that demands thorough consideration of the larger social context in which families live. An important component of that context is the net- work of people surrounding families and how these networks may influence child maltreat- ment. Recognizing the central role of social support, one response of child protection and child welfare agencies and child abuse preven- tion programs has been to try to compensate for deficits in social connectedness thought to be experienced by maltreating families. Pro- grams involving “professional helpers,” such as home visiting, parent education, and par- ent support groups, have thus aimed to replace or enhance social support. Although these pro- grams have made inroads in child maltreatment * Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to James C. Spilsbury, Center for Clinical Investigation, Case School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 2103 Iris S. & Bert L. Wolstein Building, Office No. 6127, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. Electronic mail may be sent to jcs5@case.edu. work, helping may take other forms. Informal social support also plays a potentially impor- tant, but not yet well understood, role. The presence of informal social support is some- times looked to as a panacea for social ills, including child maltreatment, but the issue is more complex. Informal social support, like other mechanisms involved in child mal- treatment, is multifaceted. In this article, we consider the nature and functions of informal social support, the multiple loci in which it occurs, the need for multiple perspectives to understand it, and its effect as a positive or neg- ative factor in child maltreatment. We include a discussion of issues associated with measur- ing informal social support and suggestions for service providers working with informal social support. 0145-2134/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.10.027