Crosson Chapter 10

Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect
Tenth Edition
Chapter 10
Intervention: Reporting,
Investigation, and
Assessment
PowerPoint Lecture
Slides prepared by
Piljoo Kang, Ph.D.
Toccoa Falls College
Copyright © 2021, 2014, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Learning Objectives (1 of 2)
After studying this chapter, you should be able to
10.1 define cultural sensitivity and explain what it might
involve in working with diverse clients during child abuse
investigations.
10.2 outline the steps of the reporting process, explaining
what occurs in each.
10.3 describe the risk factors and protective factors that
must be assessed as protective services determines what
should be done in a child maltreatment situation.

Learning Objectives (2 of 2)
10.4 cite some of the causes that might underlie abuse or
neglect in families.
10.5 describe the types of interviewing used during
intervention. Discuss factors that must be considered while
interviewing both adults and children.

Culturally Sensitive Intervention:
Cultural Competence Defined
• Culture: goes beyond race and ethnicity, including
religious identification, gender identity/expression, & sexual
orientation.
• Cultural Competence: “a heightened consciousness of how
culturally diverse populations experience their uniqueness
and deal with their differences and similarities within a
larger social context” (NASW, 2015, p.10)

Culturally Sensitive Intervention: Putting
Cultural Competence into Practice
• Determine family’s level of acculturation and the reason
for their immigration
• Assess how the family views a social worker’s power
• Understand how the family views itself, and their sense
of family cohesion
• Acknowledge varying communication styles
• Learn about culture, but do not over-generalize
• Consult with bilingual and bicultural staff
• Know how one’s (helping professional’s) own values
interface with the client’s

Understanding the Intervention
Process: Reporting
• Mandated reporters: individuals who, in their
professional relationship with the child and family, may
encounter child maltreatment.
• State laws specify repointing agency, reportable
conditions, responsibility of mandated reporters, and the
investigation process
• Although anonymous reports may be accepted, they are
not preferred since they do not allow for follow-up
questions

Process: Child Protection Teams
• Child Protection Teams (CPT): comprised of staff from
different disciplines
– Ex) School-based CPT include an administrator, a
guidance counselor, school nurse, and one or two
teachers.
• Suspicions of child maltreatment are brought to CPT.
• If CPT agrees with the report, then the child protection
agency is notified.
• CPTs are effective in medical facilities & churches.

Process: Investigation & Assessment
• Intake worker meets with the child & his/her family to
assess risk, protective factors, and impact of disclosure
on stability of the family
• If the report is substantiated, the worker identifies goals
and strategies for the family
• If unsubstantiated, the case is referred or closed
• Treatment planning and services begins
• Must evaluate the family’s progress and revise service
plan as necessary

Understanding the Intervention Process:
Family Reactions & Home Visiting
• The family is in a state of crisis, disequilibrium, when
disclosure takes place, experiencing fear: fear of
authority, fear of having the child removed, the fear of
helplessness.
• Responses (defense mechanisms) to fear: denial,
projection, blaming the system, antagonism towards
social services, or withdrawal.
• Workers must evaluate the family’s strengths too.
• Home visitation allows assessment, but also requires
additional sensitivity and interviewing skills.

Assessing Risk and Protective Factors
• Is the child at risk from abuse or neglect, and to what
degree?
• What is causing the problem?
• What are the strengths or protective factors that could
be built on with services to alleviate the problem?
• Is the home a safe environment or must the child be
placed?
• Essential information: parental history and family
functioning, parent’s view of child, & environmental
factors and supports

Interviewing for Assessment
• Ask questions designed to assess the potential risk of the
home situation and the capacity of the parents to cope
with child rearing.
• Use non-leading questions; avoid blaming; recognize the
client’s feelings
• Interview the child in a nonthreatening setting; adjust to
child’s developmental level and language preferences,
including names of body parts; allow for stories, metaphors,
and drawings

Handling Emergencies
• Emergencies: imminent danger to the child, child
abandonment, or if the parents are not cooperating.
• Require an immediate decision on whether to involve the
court system, remove the child from home, or both; need
assessment to determine who should have custody of the
children and the impact that this will have on the children.

Copyright
This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is
provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their
courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of
any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will
destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work
and materials from it should never be made available to students
except by instructors using the accompanying text in their
classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these
restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and
the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials.

Crosson Chapter 10

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Crosson Chapter 10

Similar to Crosson Chapter 10 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Crosson Chapter 10

Editor's Notes