|
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
|
Child Maltreatment, Vol. 11, No. 4,
354-360 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1077559506292277
© 2006 SAGE Publications
Service Outcomes in Physical and Sexual Abuse Cases: A Comparison of Child Advocacy Center-Based and Standard Services
Daniel W. Smith
Medical University of South Carolina, smithdw{at}musc.edu
Tricia H. Witte
Medical University of South Carolina
Adrienne E. Fricker-Elhai
Medical University of South Carolina
Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) were developed to improve on child abuse investigative services provided by child protective service (CPS) agencies. However, until very recently, there has been little research comparing CAC-based procedures and outcomes to those in CPS investigations not based in CACs. The current study tracked 76 child abuse cases that were reported to authorities and investigated through either a private, not-for-profit CAC or typical CPS services in a mid-south rural county. Comparisons between CAC and CPS cases were made in terms of involvement of local law enforcement in the investigation, provision of medical exams, abuse substantiation rates, mental health referrals, prosecution referrals, and conviction rates. Analyses revealed higher rates of law enforcement involvement, medical examinations, and case substantiation in the CAC-based cases compared to the CPS cases. Despite limitations due to sample size and nonrandomization, this study found preliminary support for the assumptions underlying the establishment of CACs.
Key Words: Child Advocacy Centers • child sexual abuse • child physical abuse • medical examinations
References
- Adams, J. A., & Wells, R. (1993). Normal versus abnormal genital finding in children: How well do examiners agree? Child Abuse and Neglect, 17, 663-375.[CrossRef][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., & Lynskey, M. T. (1996). Childhood sexual abuse and psychiatric disorder in young adulthood: II. Psychiatric outcomes of childhood sexual abuse. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1365-1374.[CrossRef][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Jenson, J. M., Jacobson, M., Unrau, Y., & Robinson, R. L. (1996). Intervention for victims of child sexual abuse: An evaluation of the children’s advocacy model. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 13, 139-156.[CrossRef]
- Kinard, E. M. (1995). Mother and teacher assessments of behavior problems in abused children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1043-1953.[CrossRef][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Newman, B. S., Dannenfelser, P. L., & Pendleton, D. (2005). Child abuse investigations: Reasons for using Child Advocacy Centers and suggestions for improvement. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 22, 165-181.[CrossRef]
- Reyome, N. D. (1993). A comparison of the school performance of sexually abused, neglected and non-maltreatment children. Child Study Journal, 23, 17-38.
- Robin, M. (1991). Beyond validation interviews: An assessment approach to evaluating sexual abuse allegations. Child and Youth Services, 15, 93-114.
- Rodriguez, N., Ryan, S. W., Rowan, A. B., & Foy, D. W. (1996). Posttraumatic stress disorder in a clinical sample of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 20, 943-952.[CrossRef][Medline]
[Order article via Infotrieve]
- Walsh, W., Jones, L., & Cross, T. (2003). Children’s Advocacy Centers: One philosophy, many models. APSAC Advisor, 15, 3-7.
- Zellman, G. L., & Fair, C. C. (2002). Preventing and reporting abuse. In J. E. B. Myers, L. Berliner, J. Briere, C. T. Hendrix, C. Jenny, & T. A. Reid (Eds.), The APSAC handbook on child mal-treatment (2nd ed., pp. 449-475). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
M. Cheung
Promoting Effective Interviewing of Sexually Abused Children: A Pilot Study
Research on Social Work Practice,
March 1, 2008;
18(2):
137 - 143.
[Abstract]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
