Social workers play a vital role in helping physically and sexually abused children. In order to play this role, they need knowledge about the nature of the problem: (1) legal definitions of physical and sexual abuse, (2) its incidence and prevalence, and (3) its signs and symptoms. Social workers have three major roles to play: (1) identifying and reporting child abuse to agencies mandated to intervene; (2) investigating and assessing children and families involved in child abuse; and (3) providing evidence-based interventions, both case management and treatment, to physically and sexually abused children.
EVIDENCE-BASED SCREENING, ASSESSMENT, AND TREATMENT OF SEXUALLY ABUSED CHILDREN: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE
