CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES - WHERE HAVE WE BEEN? WHERE ARE WE NOW? WHERE ARE WE GOING? FROM CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT - ISSUES ON INNOVATION AND IMPLEMENTATION - V 1, 1978, BY MICHAEL L LAUDERDALE, ET AL - SEE NCJ-59268)

• NCJ Number: 59269
• Author(s): C H KEMPE
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 10 pages
• Corporate Author: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

RECENT PAST PATTERNS OF DEALING WITH CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT THROUGH PROTECTIVE SOCIAL SERVICES ARE DISCUSSED, FOLLOWED BY AN EXAMINATION OF CURRENT APPROACHES AND FORESEEABLE TRENDS IN INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION.

Abstract

THE 1955 MODEL OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES WHICH HAD REMAINED VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED FOR 30 YEARS VIEWED THE SOCIAL WORKER PRIMARILY AS A COUNSELOR WHO COULD BEST DEAL WITH FAMILY DIFFICULTIES, INCLUDING CHILD ABUSE, BY COUNSELING WITH THE MOTHER WITH A VIEW TOWARD MODIFYING HER BEHAVIOR AND THUS ENABLING HER TO BECOME INSTRUMENTAL IN CHANGING THE FAMILY SITUATION FOR THE BETTER. SUCH AN APPROACH WAS UNFAIR BOTH TO THE PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKER AND THE CLIENT FAMILY, SINCE IT PLACED A VERY COMPLEX PROBLEM IN THE HANDS OF A SINGLE CASEWORKER AND DID LITTLE TO ALTER A FAMILY'S SITUATION. CURRENT STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT INVOLVE A MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM APPROACH (SOCIAL WORKER, NURSE, PEDIATRICIAN, AND PSYCHIATRIST OR PSYCHOLOGIST). STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH PARTICULAR ABUSE CASES ARE BOTH DEVISED AND IMPLEMENTED BY THE TEAM AS A WHOLE, THUS PROVIDING AN ARRAY OF SKILLS TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM, WHILE REDUCING THE BURDEN OF RESPONSIBILITY FORMERLY HELD BY A SINGLE CASEWORKER. THE PROFESSIONAL TEAM ALSO SHOULD MAKE EFFORTS TO INVOLVE PRIVATE CITIZENS' GROUPS, SUCH AS THE JUNIOR LEAGUE, SERVICE CLUBS, AND CHILD PROTECTION COUNCILS, IN EFFORTS TO DEAL WITH THE CHILD ABUSE PROBLEM IN A GIVEN COMMUNITY. DAY CARE, FOSTER CARE,ADVANCES IN TREATMENT OF INCEST, EDUCATIONAL NEEDS, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY-WIDE COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMS ARE DISCUSSED AND CRITIQUED AS MEANS FOR DEALING WITH CHILD ABUSE SITUATONS. COMPONENTS FOR A COMMUNITY CHILD PROTECTIONS SYSTEM ARE LISTED. PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DETECTION OF CHILD NEGLECT AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE ARE ALSO BRIEFLY DISCUSSED, FOLLOWED BY A SHORT CONSIDERATION OF THE ROLE OF THE JUVENILE COURT IN DEALING WITH CHILD ABUSE. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE LISTED FOR STATE DEPARTMENTS OF WELFARE AND COUNTY DEPARTMENTS OF PROTECTIVE SERVICES FOR DEVELOPING PREVENTIVE AND DIVERSE TREATMENT APPROACHES FOR CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT, FOLLOWED BY SIMILAR GENERAL RECOMMENDATONS FOR OTHER AGENCIES. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)