Cross, Fine, Jones, and Walsh's (2012) article "Mental Health Professionals in Children's Advocacy Centers: Is There Role Conflict?" challenges two recent publications' criticisms that child advocacy centers create role conflict for mental health professionals and explains how child advocacy centers actually work, describing the different roles…

The 2011 U.S. Government Evidence Summit on Protecting Children Outside of Family Care brought together leading researchers and technical experts to assess the available evidence to inform policies, strategies, and programs relevant to protecting children outside of family care in lower and middle income countries. While child vulnerabilities are…

This commentary highlights indigenous public health research from a special issue of the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction dealing with child maltreatment, mental health, substance abuse and gambling. We focus on the emerging and growing research movement in Indigenous research through three important themes: 1) worldview and…

Most discussions of the ethics of self-report research on abuse and interpersonal violence focus on the risks of asking participants about their experiences. An important element of the cost-benefit analysis--the costs of not asking about child abuse--has largely been ignored. Furthermore, little research has been conducted on the costs and…

Teachers must be knowledgeable about their responsibility for reporting child abuse and neglect. Schools and districts need policies and procedures and should provide support for teachers in the reporting process. (SK)

Statements and papers presented to the U.S. Senate during 3 days of hearings on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption Reform Act Amendments of 1983 are included in this document. Witnesses include physicians, psychologists, human services administrators, parents, heads of social service agencies, and organizations advocating…

Suggests that protecting children is humanity's moral litmus test and the overarching moral challenge in our world and nation, where millions of children's lives are ravaged by adult wars, neglect, abuse, and racial, ethnic, religious, and class divisions. Notes that what school leaders accomplish now (investing in child health, early childhood…

Reviews existing research about the scope and consequences of child abuse and neglect, and addresses methodological issues pertinent to research, including definition of the problem, study design, and issues of causality and bias. Concludes with a discussion of ethical and legal issues related to such research. (JPS)

Notes that marital and family therapists working with families when child sexual abuse is disclosed or suspected face ethical confusion that may not be clearly addressed by professional codes of conduct or legal statutes. Discusses ethical dilemmas commonly encountered in family sexual abuse cases and provides recommendations for ethical decision…

This commentary on Steven Heckler (EC 608 725) notes the lack of evidence that facilitated communication responses were actually being produced by the child with autism who alleged sexual abuse. The commentary warns that misuse could result in the total discrediting of a methodology that might have some potential benefits. (DB)

Issues raised by the Child Abuse Amendments of 1984 (which provide for legal intervention when disabled newborns are denied medical treatment) are discussed and include: parents' right to make the final decision, omission of "quality of life" factors from the law, and excessive financial burdens imposed by the law. (Author/DB)

Responds to Lynda Neese's "Psychological Maltreatment in Schools: Emerging Issues for Counselors." Discusses the legal system's lack of involvement in instances of psychological maltreatment and the implications for school counselors. (BH)

Specific ethical problems caused by the multiple roles of the psychologist in cases involving child protection are discussed. Psychologists may serve as consultants, evaluators, therapists, reporters, or monitors for the client and/or the court. When more than one person in the family is involved, or the court orders an additional role for the…

Discusses how children construct their experiences of justice and injustice and how abuse relates exclusively to the meaning assigned to these constructs. Notes that children's psychological adaptation is shaped by the legal system's response to the child's plight and how the traumatic event is interpreted according to the ethical standards that…

This paper reviews the theory and practice of teacher ethics. It defines ethics and examines the content of the Code of Ethics of the Education Profession adopted by the National Education Association (NEA) in 1975. An informal survey of 30 teachers found that none had a specific course or workshop in the area of ethics. When prompted to give…