This commentary addresses country surveillance systems drawn from the experience of professionals engaged in developing, implementing, and analyzing sector specific response data regarding child maltreatment as participants in the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect’s Working Group on National Child Maltreatment Data Collection (WG). In this issue of Child Abuse and Neglect several more detailed descriptions of surveillance systems are provided. In contrast the purpose of this commentary is to briefly suggest the range, status and goals through ten examples based on systems across several countries.

National programs of child maltreatment surveillance tend to be of two sorts; those that capture data about specific behaviors known to place children at risk of maltreatment; and those that describe children and families who have come to attention of social services or legal authorities. Ideally both types of data are collected and analyzed because they help countries fill out the range of country specific policy imperatives from prevention to intervention. Roles for the systems include raising societal awareness, optimizing use of resources, and monitoring overall progress toward policy goals. Finally, both types of systems have applicability in addressing their obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). In particular, the UN Committee on the implementation of the CRC views data as a key tool in its monitoring efforts. Sector specific surveillance data based on programs of intervention, the topic of this commentary, has many other applications as well.