Dr. Bart Klika

“After working in group care for a number of years, I became exhausted by the revolving door of children needing services as a result of violence and trauma. I was convinced that there had to be another way. Prevention is the way forward!”

Working in group and community-based care in Montana, Dr. Bart Klika saw first-hand the negative effects associated with violence and abuse. It was these experiences that drew him into child maltreatment prevention research. After attending the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago (MSW), Dr. Klika pursued his doctoral degree at the University of Washington School of Social Work. During his doctoral studies, he was a recipient of the Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-being and served as a consultant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His research focused on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect in an effort to prevent its occurrence. Dr. Klika worked as an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Montana for 4 years before joining the team at Prevent Child Abuse America as the Chief Research and Strategy Officer.