Child maltreatment and prevention research has demonstrated the influence that neighborhood characteristics — for example, concentrated poverty and the degree of residential instability — have on families, children, and rates of child maltreatment in a community. To increase awareness of how and why a family’s community matters, Casey Family Programs is pleased to share this two-page overview of the utility of using geographic analysis techniques and mapping in child welfare. It draws attention to these tools and provides examples of how they can be useful to improve system, service, family or child outcomes and to inform community-building efforts.