Evaluation of Child Abuse and Neglect

Author(s):  
Matthew Soulier ◽  
Catherine Ayoub

Child abuse and neglect constitute a long-standing worldwide epidemic. Millions of cases of abuse and neglect are reported every year. As mandated reporters, clinicians are legally bound to recognize and report, but not prove, suspected acts of child maltreatment. Child protection agencies investigate the validity of the allegations. Only trained professionals should explore and gather evidence for suspected abuse or neglect of a child, while the clinician who has fulfilled his or her duty as a mandated reporter continues to provide clinical care for the child. Young children also benefit from forensic examinations by interviewers who are trained in early childhood development and age-appropriate interview techniques, such as open-ended questions, that minimize suggestion and allow children to freely recall the alleged offender’s behavior. A clear understanding of professional duties and responsibilities will promote the just adjudication of offenders and the well-being of children.

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 1664-1669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Chen ◽  
Saralee Glasser ◽  
Rami Benbenishty ◽  
Bilha Davidson-Arad ◽  
Shmuel Tzur ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Deverson

Child abuse and neglect affects approximately 42 500 children in Australia each year. Parliaments in all Australian states and territories have introduced mandatory reporting into child protection legislation to protect vulnerable children by requiring certain individuals to report suspicions of abuse or neglect. However, lawyers are prevented from reporting because of the rules governing legal professional privilege and confidentiality. This article begins by examining the problem of child abuse and neglect in Australia and outlines the current legislative framework of mandatory reporting laws in Part II. Part III discusses the current rules governing lawyers and examines legal professional privilege and the duty of confidentiality. Part IV provides arguments for and against requiring lawyers to report suspected abuse and also considers the lawyer-client relationship and the special position of domestic violence victims. Part V offers recommendations for the proposed legislative reform. This article concludes that lawyers should be required to report child abuse and neglect.


Author(s):  
Lea Tufford

This chapter discusses the steps mandatory reporters take when contacting Child Protection Services. Included in this chapter is information regarding to whom the report is made, the types of information that Child Protection Services may require, timelines for reporting, how to handle emergency situations, and organizational policies for reporting. The chapter also includes attention to reporting anonymously and challenges for mandatory reporters who attempt to function as child protection investigators. Objectives include understanding the role and function of Child Protection Services, exploring what information is required by Child Protection Services when making a report regarding a suspicion of child abuse and neglect, appreciating the rationale behind an anonymous report to Child Protection Services, identifying the benefits and challenges of reporting in the workplace, and summarizing how to protect client confidentiality when reporting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-167
Author(s):  
Conor Hanly

Abstract Starting in the early 1990s, reports published over a quarter of a century detailed shocking levels of child abuse and child neglect in Ireland, along with failures by Church and State officials to take effective action. These revelations, supported by international research, made a compelling case for the introduction of some form of mandatory reporting. Yet until 2015, Ireland’s child protection system relied upon the discretion of those who suspected incidents of child abuse. The Children First Act 2015 introduced a new system of mandatory reporting that applies to professionals working in the health, education, childcare and law enforcement fields, a system that became active at the end of 2017. This article reviews the development of the reporting system in Ireland, and analyses the new obligations created by the 2015 Act. The article also analyses some initial figures for 2018, which show a substantial increase in the number of reports of child abuse and neglect made in that year. Additionally, the article argues for the insertion into the new system of some nuance in order that victim autonomy might be better respected.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Melissa Kaltner

ObjectiveThe study reviewed a 25-year dataset of child abuse and neglect concerns, examining child and family factors associated with re-referral.MethodsSuspected child abuse and neglect data collated from a variety of sources including child protection, health, police and education by a multidisciplinary Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect team for the 25-year period of 1980 to 2005 was entered for analysis. Case referral criteria for the team included clinician perception of the case as being complex and necessitating multidisciplinary case planning. The dataset contained 6669 cases of child abuse and neglect concerns, relating to 5943 unique children.ResultsThe majority of children (90.5%) experienced only one referral to the team, with the remaining experiencing between 2–6 referrals. Through the utilisation of regression analysis, the factors of number of abuse types present at the initial concern, parental abuse as a child, parental intellectual disability, parental history of violence, perpetrator of intrafamilial origin, disabled children in family, and financial stress in family were found to significantly predict complex case re-referral respectively.ConclusionsChildren within this Australian sample of complex cases experienced rates of re-referral similar to those reported internationally. Family and child factors identified as predictors of re-referral in this 25-year dataset support previous international studies on statutory child protection re-referral, and evidence for the association between previously unstudied variables and re-referral likelihood for complex cases.


1998 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Elliott

Despite the claims of statutory child protection authorities to be ‘child-centred’, the language used to record responses to child abuse and neglect allegations still focuses heavily upon parental actions. In most Australian states, child protection records perpetuate an emphasis on how harm was caused and by whom. This paper illustrates that parental blame – theoretically a concept of the past – is alive and well within child protection recording systems, and raises the implications of this for the development of policy frameworks and service delivery. It is argued that recent moves by some states towards differential responses actually perpetuate a focus on the parent to the detriment of a focus on the child’s needs. A better way of conceptualising the outcomes of child protection assessments – focusing on a child’s protective needs – is suggested.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Hermeet K. Kohli ◽  
Susan Fineran

The objective of this qualitative research was to study the lived experiences of child abuse and neglect for immigrant Latino fathers whose children are involved in the child protection process. We documented the narratives of nine immigrant Latino fathers attending fatherhood groups regarding their perceptions of child abuse and neglect.The immigrant Latino fathers highlighted their lack of agency and marginalization due to acculturative parenting stress, structural discrimination, and immigration status. They are burdened with physical and emotional pain that diffuses into their children’s lives and results in unhealthy coping strategies. The Latino fathers faced everyday microaggressions, racial abuses, and discrimination due to their agency and role as Latino immigrants. They chronicled their frustrations dueto distrust of the mainstream social service providers, police, immigration officials, and abuse meted on them due to their marginalized identities. We provide practice and policy recommendations for professionals working with immigrant Latino families.


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