Child maltreatment has been associated with a wide range of negative developmental outcomes for children and families as well as significant economic consequences. While efficacious intervention strategies have been demonstrated to reduce symptoms of trauma and to improve behavioral and emotional functioning, these models have not been widely…

Objectives: What impact does the strengthening of child rights have on the experience and circumstances of children? CRC General Comment 13 emphasizes that defining measurable targets for improvements in child protection is a key element of efforts to strengthen child rights and well-being across the world. This paper describes an attempt to…

Objectives: The paper reviews the experiences of conducting child protection assessments across four humanitarian emergencies where violence and insecurity, directly or indirectly, posed a major threat to children. We seek to identify common themes emerging from these experiences and propose ways to guide the planning and implementation of…

Objective: Interorganizational relationships (IORs) between child welfare agencies and mental health service providers may facilitate mental health treatment access for vulnerable children. This study investigates whether IORs are associated with greater use of mental health services and improvement in mental health status for children served by…

Background: Government and state policy, irrespective of jurisdiction, increasingly require and indeed specify the nature of collaboration with regard to the delivery of child welfare services for maltreated children. The rationale for collaboration appears obvious in as much as it is aimed at promoting multidisciplinary practice in order to meet…

This article reviews underlying sources of conflict that impair interorganization functioning in delivering services to children who have been sexually abused. The paper outlines dysfunctional techniques used to manage such conflict and develops a model for conflict management which involves problem characterization, acknowledgment of relevant…

This report describes and assesses ad hoc multiagency conferences with varying hospital and community agency participants, each conference devoted to a single hospitalized child suspected of having been abused. Analysis of questionnaires sent to 22 conference participants found most participants reported the case-specific conferences to have been…

This paper considers the nature of effective partnerships both between clients and child protection agencies in the United Kingdom, and among agencies in the child protection field. The need for clear definitions of "partnership" is emphasized. A framework for interagency collaboration is offered. (Author/DB)

A total of 637 cases of unattended or questionable deaths of children 12 years or younger in Orange County (California) were reviewed by a multiagency team investigating possible cases of fatal child abuse. Analysis revealed that, when compared with unreviewed deaths, differences were found in age distribution, gender, ethnicity, and cause of…

A study reviewed 19 reports involving child-abuse fatality or serious child-protection concerns in Wales. Family characteristics and seven practice themes emerging from the analysis are discussed: insufficient assessment, interagency communication, responsibility, large number of professionals involved, role of general practitioners, insufficient…

Review of 155 confirmed cases of child sexual abuse in New South Wales (Australia) showed that only 56 percent received any counseling despite policy guidelines encouraging counseling. The study identified problems at all levels within the interagency environment that resulted in children not receiving needed services. Needed changes in the…

A study examined the effects of organizational characteristics, including organizational climate and interorganizational coordination, on the quality and outcomes of 32 public children's service offices in Tennessee. Findings show that organizational climate is the primary predictor of positive service outcomes and a significant predictor of…

Interviews and review of case files investigated reasons for the common failure to meet the educational needs of abused and neglected children with disabilities in foster care. Agency dysfunctions which negatively affected appropriate educational provisions were identified in such categories as eligibility, timeline violation, inappropriate…

This study examined the congruence of child protection agencies' legal positions, court clinic recommendations, and judicial dispositions in 59 contested child maltreatment cases. Placement recommendations/decisions were highly correlated; where there was disagreement between successive evaluations, it was in the direction of enhancing family…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a collaborative approach to the case management of child sexual abuse. Data from 323 criminal court files found a sex offense confession rate of 64 percent and plea rate of 70 percent. Fifteen cases went to trial and in six the offender was convicted. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)