There is currently little documented information available about how families locate, gain access to and use, child abuse prevention services. In order to start to redress this knowledge gap, the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services requested the National Child Protection Clearinghouse at the Australian Institute of Family Studies to undertake a small exploratory research project. The aim of the research was to investigate issues impacting on accessibility of services designed to prevent maltreatment, and how families with a child at risk of being maltreated avail themselves of such services.