Over the years, various federal and non-federal organizations have disseminated and promoted a number of protective factor frameworks to reduce risk and optimize family functioning and child development. There is a growing interest in and commitment to examining factors that transcend the traditional deficit-based approach to addressing social and health problems which have focused primarily on risk factors. This article provides a brief history, current efforts, and recommendations for future directions for embedding a protective factors approach throughout the Children's bureau's child maltreatment prevention, intervention, and treatment activities.