Investigation &
Prosecution in Child Sexual Abuse:
An Annotated Bibliography
Theodore P. Cross
Lisa M. Jones
Wendy Walsh
Monique Simone
Elise Cantor
Crimes Against Children Research
Center
This bibliography aims to present annotated references on all
articles and monographs on the investigation and prosecution of child
maltreatment. It includes as well works
on multidisciplinary investigation teams and Children’s Advocacy Centers. It is a work in progress. New references need to be added, and in many
cases, references are provided without abstracts – these gaps will be filled
in. Every quarter we plan to add new
material to cover the literature more completely and keep up with new work. Currently it focuses on forensic
investigation, but more material will be added on CPS and medical
investigations as well. The
bibliography is offered in two different orders: alphabetically by authors’
last name (following the rules of the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association) and by topic area.
We hope these references will be helpful. Please visit your local library to obtain
copies of listed articles. We regret
that we are unable to provide copies of articles upon request.
If you have feedback on this bibliography, or would like to
contribute references or abstracts, please contact Monique Simone at monique.simone@unh.edu or
603-862-4735.
We hope you find this useful.
[Updated
June 2001]
Baum,
E., Grodin, M. A., Alpert, J. J., & Glantz, L. (1987). Child sexual abuse,
criminal justice, and the pediatrician. Pediatrics, 79(3), 437-439.
[WW]
Beauchamp,
B. (2001). Belief in the future is based upon belief in the present: A discussion about program evaluation and
children's advocacy centers. Paper presented at the 17th National Symposium
on Child Abuse, Huntsville, AL.
Berliner,
L., & Conte, J. R. (1995). The effects of disclosure and intervention on
sexually abused children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(3), 371-384.
This
study was a retrospective examination of the impact of disclosure and
subsequent interventions for sexual abuse victims. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 82 sexual
abuse victims and their families about their experiences with different
post-disclosure interventions. Having
contact with a greater number of professionals following disclosure was related
to greater negative impact of the abuse.
Testifying in court had no relationship to impact. Qualitative data revealed that most children
had positive associations to system interventions, particularly when they felt
that they had been treated in a respectful and caring manner. [LJ]
Bishop,
S. J., Murphy, J. M., Jellinek, M. S., Quinn, S. D., & Poitrast, J. F. G.
(1992). Protecting seriously mistreated children: Time delays in a court
sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 465-474.
[TC]
Bradshaw,
T. L. M., Alan E. (1990). Beyond a reasonable doubt: Factors that influence the
legal disposition of child sexual abuses cases. Crime & Delinquency, 36(2),
276-285.
This
study abstracted data from 350 child sexual abuse cases referred for
prosecution in Ector County (Odessa) Texas between 1975 and 1987. In a stepwise multiple regression analysis,
presence of medical evidence and presence of a statement by the offender
significantly predicted plea or conviction, together explaining 16% of the variance. Victim age and seriousness of the offense
were not significant predictors.
Shorter interval from abuse to reporting was associated with plea or
conviction in a bivariate analysis. But
it had no significant effect in the multiple regression after controlling for
medical evidence and offender statement, perhaps because the interval from
abuse to reporting acted indirectly by changing the likelihood of medical
evidence or offender statement. The
authors suggest that traditional prosecution methods apply to child sexual
abuse cases, and recommend increased interagency cooperation. [TC]
Brannon,
C. L. (1994). The trauma of testifying in court for child victims of sexual
assault v. the accused's rights to confrontation. Law & Psychology
Review, 18, 439-460.
[LJ]
Brewer,
K. D., Rowe, D. M., & Brewer, D. D. (1997). Factors related to prosecution
of child sexual abuse cases. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 6(1),
91-111.
Bross,
D. C., Ballo, N., & Korfmacher, J. (2000). Client evaluation of a
consultation team on crimes against children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24(1), 71-84.
This
study examines the role of a consulting forensic team approach to criminal
child abuse cases. The forensic team
was created in 1985 to improve criminal prosecutions and to provide additional
expertise to child abuse cases.
Professionals (n=18) who had referred cases for consultative services
were interviewed to evaluate the service. In other words, consumers of the
service were interviewed rather than providers of the service as in other
studies. All respondents agreed that
the team provided missing expertise. A
majority of respondents (83%) agreed that the team alleviated ambiguities in
the case, made possible resolution of cases that might otherwise remain
unresolved (67%), and made possible progress of cases that would otherwise be
delayed (56%). The general consensus to
the open ended discussion about the overall value of the team was that the team
was helpful, but not critical. However,
in one-third of the cases, the respondents volunteered that it was because of
the team that an appropriate result was reached. Not all results were positive.
The team did not resolve all of the cases, and the team's role and ability
to resolve disputes was unclear.
Limitations of the study were the small sample size and lack of a
comparison group. However, an
overwhelming majority agreed that the team provided moral support and improved
confidence that the case was being managed correctly. [WW]
Bulkey,
J. A. (1992). The prosecution's use of social science expert testimony in child
sexual abuse cases: National trends and
recommendations. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 1(2), 73-93.
Bulkley,
J. (1988). Legal proceedings, reforms, and emerging issues in child sexual
abuse cases. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 6(2), 153-180.
Bureau
of Justice Statistics. (1997). What is the sequence of events in the
criminal justice system?, [On-Line]. Adapted from "The challenge of
crime in a free society." by the President's Commission on Law Enforcement
and Administration of Justice, 1967.
This revision is a result of the Symposium on the 30th Anniversary of
the President's Commission. Available: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/flowchart.htm
[2001, March].
Cashmore,
J., & Horsky, M. (1988). The prosecution of child sexual assault. Australian
and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 21, 241-252.
Champion,
D. J. (1988). Child sexual abusers and sentencing severity. Federal
Probation, 52(1), 53-57.
[TC]
Chapman,
J. R., & Smith, B. (1987). Response of social service and criminal justice
agencies to child sexual abuse complaints. Response, 10(3), 7-13.
This
research examined the actions taken by social service and criminal justice
agencies in all founded child sexual abuse cases in two counties. The sample was a random sample survey of 183
closed social service cases and 205 closed police cases. Of the social service cases, 21% were closed
in less than 1 month and about 80% were closed in 12 months or less. Child welfare agencies took action in only
41% of the founded cases, which means that 59% of the founded cases received
neither juvenile court action nor service agreements through social
services. When action was taken, the
most frequent action taken was temporary removal of child from home (71% of
cases). Other actions were child placed
in foster care (41%), child placed with family, friend, others (44%), child
welfare agency service given protective supervision of child (60%), and abuser
removed from home (62%). Counseling was
ordered for 44% of the children in child welfare founded complaints. Counseling was order for 56% of the abusers,
65% through court mandate and 35% through informal agreements. Response of the justice system indicated
that the abuser was arrested 51% of the time.
Convicted abusers were incarcerated in 60% of the cases, with 59% of the
sentences involving 12 months or less. Less than half of the cases (41%)
resulted in civil actions or informal service agreements. Therefore, 59% received neither juvenile
court action nor service agreements. Because this study examined case
processing in two sites, it is not known whether this research represents the
national response of social service and criminal justice agencies. [WW]
Chapman,
J. R., & Smith, B. (1987). Are sexual abusers of children treated
differently than those who abuse adults? Response, 10(2), 17-21.
This
study compares criminal penalties for perpetrators of child sexual abuse (CSA)
and adult sexual assault (ASA) between 1980 and 1985. CSA and ASA sentences were compared in 3 counties in 3 different
states (N=296). Alleged child sexual
abuse perpetrators experienced fewer prosecutions and convictions, less
incarceration time, and more probation for child sexual abuse perpetrators as
compared to alleged offenders against adults.
More CSA offenders plead guilty (73%) than adult victim cases
(67%). The researchers believe that
this is the result of prosecutors ensuring they have extremely strong cases
before going to court. They also state that slightly over one third of CSA
offenders received short sentences of no more than 5 months and at least 10%
received a sentence of 1 month.
Fifty-five percent of CSA offenders received 12 months or less with 18%
receiving more than a 10 year sentence.
In contrast, 39% ASA offenders receive longer sentences of more than 10
years, while 23% of adult offenders received sentences of one year or
less. Offenders were sentenced to
probation nearly twice as often in CSA as ASA.
Familiarity with the abuser was more common in CSA, yet only 19% of the
offenders in CSA cases were issued "no contact" orders from the
court. Mandatory counseling was issued
in almost half of the CSA cases as compared to only 13% of adult cases. [MS]
Chapman,
J. R., & Smith, B. E. (1987). Child sexual abuse: An analysis of case processing.
Washington D.C.: American Bar Association.
Cheit,
R. E. (1997). Child molesters in the criminal justice system: A comprehensive case-flow analysis of the
Rhode Island docket (1985-1993). New England Journal on Criminal and Civil
Confinement, 23(2), 267-301.
Conte,
J. R., & Berliner, L. (1981). Prosecution of the offender in cases of
sexual assault against children. Victimology: An International Journal, 6(1-4), 102-109.
Conte,
J. R. (1984). The justice system and sexual abuse of children. Social
Service Review, 556-567.
Cross,
T. P., Vos, E. D., & Whitcomb, D. (1994). Prosecution of child sexual
abuse: Which cases are accepted? Child
Abuse and Neglect, 18(8), 663-677.
[WW]
Cross,
T. P., Whitcomb, D., & De Vos, E. (1995). Criminal justice outcomes of
prosecution of child sexual abuse: A
case flow analysis. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(12), 1431-1442.
Cross,
T. P., Martell, D., McDonald, E., & Ahl, M. (1999). The criminal justice
system and child placement in child sexual abuse cases. Child Maltreatment,
4(1), 32-44.
This
study examines the relationship of criminal justice decision making to child
placement and how other child, family, abuse, and investigation characteristics
relate to child placement. All child sexual abuse charges referred to
prosecutors in four jurisdictions across the country were tracked. A sample (N=289) of the child victims and
families were interviewed at the time of referral and 8 to 9 months later, data
on life events (including child placement), maternal support, and child and
family adjustment were gathered. Cases
that were declined for prosecution were almost three times more likely to
involve some type of child placement and more than three times more likely to
involve placement with a relative than were cases that were accepted. Family disturbance, maternal support, and
prosecution were significantly related to child placement. Abuse characteristics such as duration of
abuse contributed to child placement outcomes for the total sample and for the
intrafamilial group, but not for the extrafamilial group. About 10% of children and families were
caught in a bind because the criminal justice system did not prosecute and
children were placed outside the home.
The findings indicate that criminal justice and child protection
agencies need to work together to develop effective strategies to protect
children. [WW]
Cross,
T. P., Martell, D., McDonald, E., Ahl, M., Dugger, A., & Pickoff, E. (1999).
Lack of prosecution in sexual abuse cases associated with increased risk of
child placement, study indicates. The National Child Advocate, 4-5.
This was
a secondary analysis of data from the Child Victim as Witness Project. Data included all cases of sexual abuse of
children and adolescents who were referred to prosecutors' offices over a
one-year period (1988-1989) in four urban jurisdictions. Cases on average included child victims 10
years old, female, and two-thirds white.
The perpetrator was a family member is just over half of the cases. 75% of the cases were accepted for
prosecution, and in 25% of the cases, children were placed at least once with a
relative, in a foster home, or in another type of institutional setting. Cases that were declined for prosecution
were nearly three times as likely to involve some type of child placement
compared to cases that were accepted for prosecution. These findings indicate that the effort to protect children from
the stress of prosecution may unintentionally increase risk of child
placement. This relationship between
prosecution and placement is further evidence for the value of
multidisciplinary teams. [WW]
Cullen,
B. J., Smith, P. H., Funk, J. B., & Haaf, R. A. (2000). A matched cohort
comparison of a criminal justice system's response to child sexual abuse: A profile of perpetrators. Child Abuse
& Neglect, 24(4), 569-577.
This
study examined the differenced between perpetrator groups of child sexual abuse
(CSA) and felony level non-sexual crimes over a 5-year period within the same
district, and the same prosecutor's office.
Areas of comparison were felon characteristics, prosecutorial discretion
(plea bargaining), and sentencing differences.
44% of
the CSA group was charged with a Felony 1 (F-1, the most severe), which
includes Rape and Aggravated Felonious Sexual Penetration, whereas 55% were
charged with a Felony 3 crime (F-3, less severe), which includes Sexual
Battery, Corruption of a Minor, and Gross Sexual Imposition, and only 1% was
charged with Misdemeanor (M-3, Sexual Imposition). The Misdemeanor was dropped from the study. The same amount of cases was randomly chosen
from the Non-CSA crimes to match the number of F-1 (23, Aggravated Burglary, Attempted
Murder, Kidnapping) and F-3 (31, Grand Theft, Aggravated Trafficking in Drugs)
cases. CSA victims consisted primarily
of European American females with an average age of 11.13 when the prosecutor
accepted the case. Approximately 39%
of the abuse was intrafamilial, 60% extrafamilial. Boyfriends were included in extrafamilial. There was only one
charged abuser in 99% of the cases.
42% of the reported abuse cases stated the abuse occurred only one time,
with reported abuse occurring more than 10 times in only 6% of the cases. [MS]
Dam,
C. V., Halliday, L., & Bates, C. (1985). The occurrence of sexual abuse in
a small community. Canadian Journal of Community, 4(1), 105-111.
Davidson,
H. A. (1997). The courts and child maltreatment. In M. E. Helfer & R. S.
Kempe (Eds.), Battered Child (5 ed., pp. 482-499).
Davis,
N. S., & Wells, S. J. (1998). Justice system processing of child abuse and
neglect cases, Legal intervention in family violence: Research findings and policy implications.
(pp. 15-17): National Institute of Justice.
DeFrancis,
V. (1969). Protecting the child victim of sex crimes committed by adults
(Final Report Child Welfare Research Grant R-222). Denver, CO: The American
Humane Association Children's Division.
DeJong,
A. R., & Rose, M. (1991). Legal proof of child sexual abuse in the absence
of physical evidence. Pediatrics, 88(3), 506-511.
[TC]
DeJong,
A. R. (1998). Impact of child sexual abuse medical examinations on the
dependency and criminal systems. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(6),
645-652.
This
article reviews research about the role and context of child sexual abuse
medical examinations as well as the sociolegal impact of medical
examinations. The review indicates that
criminal prosecution for sexual abuse is more common than for other forms of
abuse and neglect, the prosecutor's decision to pursue criminal charges is
based on a number of factors (such as strength of evidence, likelihood of
conviction, and seriousness of abuse).
About half of all child sexual abuse cases referred for prosecution are
accepted and most result in guilty pleas and convictions. The existence of specific physical findings
doesn't seem to increase the likelihood of confession or conviction. The review indicates that there is little
data about the process or outcome of child sexual abuse cases in juvenile or
dependency court. The author concludes
that more information is needed about role the medical examination plays in the
process and outcome of child sexual abuse cases. Areas of research priorities focus on interviewing and obtaining
histories from children, demystifying the process how medical examinations
influence the child protection process, and describing cases which are not
accepted for prosecution. [WW]
Dezwirek-Sas,
L. (1992). Empowering child witnesses for sexual abuse prosecution. In H. F.
Dent, R. (Ed.), Children as Witnesses (pp. 181-199). Chichester, West:
John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.
[LJ]
Dible,
D. A., & Teske, R. H. C. (1993). An analysis of the prosecutory effects of
a child sexual abuse victim-witness program. Journal of Criminal Justice, 21,
79-85.
This
study assessed the effects of a specialized victim-witness unit for child
sexual abuse cases. This case study
included all child sexual abuse cases prosecuted by the District Attorney's
office of Collin County, Texas from 1983 through 1989. The 352 cases were divided into two
categories: those prosecuted before or after August 17, 1985 when Texas established
a victim-witness assistance program.
The program was created to provide support services for victims and
their families throughout the stages of the criminal justice system. The assessment of the program focused on
prosecution and sentencing implications.
Subsequent to the introduction of the victim-witness program, guilty
verdicts at trials increased from 38% to 72%, there was an increase in the
seriousness of the offenses prosecuted, prison sentences almost doubled from
25% to 48%, the average length of prison sentences for guilty pleas resulting
in prison sentences increased from 9.24 years to 16.48 years, and the average
length of sentences for both probation and prison increased.
Because
there were no control groups and only one agency was included, the implications
of the results are limited. However,
the results indicate that the implementation of a victim-witness program has
the potential to enhance prosecution and sentencing of child sexual abuse cases.
[WW]
Dolan,
K. J. (1984). Evaluation of outcomes for reported cases of child sexual abuse
in Texas. Victimology: An
International Journal, 9(3-4), 383-397.
Ells,
M. (2000, March). Forming a multidisciplinary team to investigate child
abuse (Originally Printed November 1998), [On-Line]. Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Available:
www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/portable_guides/forming/forward.html [2001, March 23].
Elstein,
S. G., Smith, B. E., & Davidson, H. (1996). The use of closed-circuit
television and videotaped testimony in child sexual abuse trials: An evaluation
of BJA's funding program (Final Report ). Washington, D.C.: American Bar
Association Center on Children and the Law.
Faller,
K. C., & Henry, J. (2000). Child sexual abuse: A case study in community collaboration. Child Abuse and
Neglect, 24, 1215-1225.
This
exploratory study examined processes and outcomes for 323 criminal court cases
(1988-1998) in a relatively small Midwestern United States community. The community developed a case management plan
in 1985 with the following special components, among others:
· Coordination between CPS and law
enforcement
· Videotapes of child interviews are
made whenever possible and used in the interrogation of suspects
· Non-confessing suspects are offered
polygraph examinations
The % of
cases with CPS involvement declined dramatically over the study period, due,
the authors suggest, to increasing caseloads and a consequent limitation on CPS
involvement in non-caretaker cases.
73% of child interviews were videotaped. 38% of offenders were polygraphed, with the polygrapher
diagnosing deception in 63% of the polygraphs and the offender confessing in 9%
of polygraphs. 64% of offenders
confessed during the investigation and 76% pleaded to some form of criminal
sexual conduct in the target case or another.
69% of cases charged, with the most common reason for not charging being
passing the polygraph. Only 15 cases
(5%) went to trial, with 6 convictions.
76% of offenders received some sort of sentence. Less than 10% of children had to be placed
outsider the home. The authors report
that the rates of charging, confession, plea and child placement compare
favorably to other studies. The
confession rate is especially notable because it referred exclusively to sex
crimes, and excluded bargaining to plead to a non-sexual crime. Based in part on discussions with community
professionals, the authors attribute the community's success to effective
collaboration among agencies, although this conclusion must be tentative
without more process data and a comparison group. [TC]
Finkelhor,
D. (1983). Removing the child- prosecuting the offender in cases of sexual
abuse: Evidence from the National Reporting System for Child Abuse and Neglect.
Child Abuse and Neglect, 7, 195-205.
Fleiss,
J. L., Williams, J. B. W., & Dubro, A. F. (1986). The logistic regression
analysis of psychiatric data. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 20(3),
145-209.
Flin,
R. H. (1992). Child witnesses in British courts. In F. Losel, D. Bender, &
T. Bliesener (Eds.), Psychology and the law: International perspectives (pp. 365-373). Berlin: Walter de
Gruyter and Co.
Fridell,
L. A. (1991). Intrafamilial child sexual abuse treatment: Prosecution following expulsion. Child
abuse and neglect, 15, 587-592.
Glisson,
C., & Hemmelgarn, A. (1998). The effects of organizational climate and
interorganizational coordination on the quality and outcomes of children's
service systems. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(5), 401-421.
This study
assesses the effects of organizational variables such as organizational climate
and interorganizational relationships on service quality (comprehensiveness,
continuity, caseworker availability, and responsiveness) and outcomes. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was
used. Qualitative and quantitative data
over a 3-year period was collected by 32 public children's services offices
located in 12 pilot counties and 12 matched control counties. The 250 children in the study had been
placed in state custody for at least 1 year by juvenile and family court judges
for neglect, abuse, status offenses, or delinquent behavior. A goal of the pilot project was to improve
service coordination (authorization, accountability, and monitoring procedures)
in order to enhance the quality and outcomes of services provided to
children. Linear structural equation
analysis was used to examine the relationships between organizational climate
and service outcomes. Improvements in
psychosocial functioning were significantly greater for children served by
offices with more positive climates (including low conflict, cooperation, role
clarity, and personalization). In
contrast, interorganizational coordination had a negative effect on service
quality and effect on outcomes. Teachers' descriptions of children's
psychosocial functioning were found to be better indicators of outcomes than
were parents' descriptions. Findings
suggest that service effectiveness is related more to organizational climate,
the service provider attitudes that characterize a given service system, than
to service system configurations. [WW]
Goldstein,
J., & Griffin, E. (1993). The use of a physician-social worker team in the
evaluation of sexual abuse. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2(2), 85-93.
This
study describes five years' experience establishing and developing a
physician-social worker team for the evidentiary evaluation of child sexual
abuse. The center is located in an area
of northern San Diego County. The
evaluation consists of a videotaped interview and a physical examination where
the physician and social worker function as a unit. Three benefits of a strong physician-social worker team were
identified. First, the partnership
serves as a reminder than the child's history and physical examination are
linked and provide more information together than alone. Second, the team emphasizes and reinforces
the healing aspects of this work by providing gradual transitions for children.
The team enhances the family's security by providing a comprehensive and
therapeutic evaluation. Third, the team provides an avenue for dialogue and
support for the team members. The
authors conclude that a strong successful team is built on good communication
and the availability of each partner.
[WW]
Goodman,
G. S., Taub, E. P., Jones, D. P. H., England, P., Port, L. K., Rudy, L., &
Prado, L. (1992). Testifying in criminal court: Emotional effects on child sexual assault victims. (Vol. 57).
Chicago, IL: The Univesity of Chicago Press.
[LJ]
Graves,
P. A., & Sgroi, S. M. (1982). Law enforcement and child sexual abuse. In S.
M. Sgroi (Ed.), handbook of clinical intervention in child sexual abuse
(pp. 309-333). Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books.
Gray,
E. (1993). Unequal justice: The
prosecution of child sexual abuse. New York: The Free Press.
Harshbarger,
S. (1987). Prosecution is an appropriate response in child sexual abuse cases. Journal
of Interpersonal Violence, 108-112.
[MS]
Hebert,
P. J. (1987). Sexual abuse of children by professionals: A case study in seeking criminal prosecution
and civil damages. Response, 10(1), 18-20.
[M.E.]
Henry,
J. (1997). System intervention trauma to child sexual abuse victims following
disclosure. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12(4), 499-512.
This study
looked retrospectively at the effects of post-disclosure interventions on
victims of sexual abuse. Ninety
children participated from 3 communities with varying degrees of inter-agency
coordination. Thirty children overall
were required to testify in either juvenile or criminal court. Results indicated that higher trauma
scores, as measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist, were related to an
increased number of interviews, even when other aspects of the abuse such as
seriousness were controlled for. Lower
trauma scores were related to the presence of a trusted professional. No relationship was found between trauma and
testifying, removal from the home, type of court, disposition of case, and
medical exams. Seventy-two percent of
children recalled their experiences with agency intervention as positive.
Although
this study offers important information on the overall relationship between
child trauma and different investigation experiences, comparisons between
the communities were more difficult to interpret. Despite unspecified differences in coordination of investigations
between communities, no differences were found on child trauma scores. However, the small sample size and the
retrospective design of the study reduce the power of the study and therefore
limit the ability to detect such differences. [LJ]
Hochstadt,
N. J., & Harwicke, N. J. (1985). How effective is the multidisciplinary
approach? A follow up study. Child
Abuse and Neglect, 9, 365-372.
This
study evaluated the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary child abuse and
neglect program in Chicago based on service delivery. Service delivery was measured by the number of recommendations
that were followed/obtained by the child's CPS worker one year following
discharge. The sample included 180
children who had been reported to DCFS as suspected of being abused or
neglected. Two independent sources,
caseworker and parent, were required to corroborate whether services were
obtained. Recommended services obtained
one year after evaluation ranged from returning home (100%), foster care (92%),
visiting nurse (76%), and additional medical assessment (66%). Outpatient psychological service
recommendations were not followed as frequently as other service
recommendations. For example, family
psychotherapy was obtained 44% of the times recommended, individual
psychotherapy was obtained 35% of the time, and additional
psychological/psychiatric assessments were obtained 29% of the time. The type of abuse/neglect did not influence
the number of services obtained, but did influence the type of service
recommended, especially for failure to thrive cases.
Although
this study indicates that a multidisciplinary team can have a positive effect
on the delivery of services, the study would have been strengthened by using a
control group. This would enhance the
ability of concluding that it was the multidisciplinary team that made a
difference in service delivery. The
results do indicate that the multidisciplinary team performs functions that
increase the probability of service acquisition such as providing
"clout" to dislodge services, reducing the fragmentation and
duplication of efforts and providing case coordination. [WW]
Jaffe,
P., Wilson, S. K., & Sas, L. (1987). Court
testimony of child sexual abuse victims: Emerging issues in clinical assessments. Canadian Psychology,
28(3), 291-295.
[LJ]
Jaudes,
P. K., & Martone, M. (1992). Interdisciplinary evaluations of alleged
sexual abuse cases. Pediatrics, 89(6), 1164-1168.
This article
evaluates the Victim Sensitive Interviewing Program (VSIP) that was implemented
to decrease the number of interviews endured by a child who allegedly had been
sexually abused. The VSIP provides a
coordinated investigative interview, medical examination, and follow-up medical
and counseling services to alleged child sexual abuse victims. A retrospective chart review was performed
on all children seen at a hospital-based center in Chicago. Sexual abuse assessments from 1985 through
1986 (38) were classified as pre-VSIP and compared with VSIP evaluations from
1987 through 1988 (226). There were a
number of significant differences comparing assessments pre-VSIP and VSIP; 11%
of pre-VSIP vs. 79% of VSIP had one interview, 24% of pre-VSIP vs. 88% of VSIP
were interviewed by only one interviewer, 68% of pre-VSIP vs. 88% of VSIP were
indicated cases of sexual abuse, 71% of pre-VSIP vs. 85% of VSIP identified the
perpetrator, and 33% of pre-VSIP vs. 60% of VSIP pressed charges if the
perpetrator was identified. Because
cases screened at this hospital-based center are likely to have a higher index
of suspicion, more information is needed about cases not screened at the
hospital. The authors strongly
recommended that interdisciplinary teams be formed to assess allegations of
child sexual abuse. [WW]
Jellinek,
M. S., Murphy, J. M., Poitrast, F., Quinn, D., Bishop, S. J., & Goshko, M.
(1992). Serious child maltreatment in Massachusetts: The course of 206 children through the courts. Child Abuse and
Neglect, 16(2), 179-185.
This
study followed 206 severely abused and/or neglected children involved in care
and protection petitions through the Boston Juvenile Court for 4 years. The majority of the parents of these children
were found to suffer from psychiatric disorders (84%) and poverty (66.7%), and
81% had previously been involved with the Department of Social Services. Parental compliance with services ordered by
the court was the strongest predictor of judicial decisions to permanently
remove the child from or return the child to parental custody. Twenty-nine percent of the children returned
to their parents were victims of subsequent maltreatment within the 3-year
follow-up period. The authors'
conclusion is that children are not well served by the current legal and social
service systems. [EC]
Jellinek,
M. S., Little, M., Benedict, K., Murphy, J. M., Pagano, M., Poitrast, F., &
Quinn, D. (1995). Placement outcomes of 206 severely maltreated children in the
Boston juvenile court system: A
7.5-year follow-up study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(9), 1051-1064.
Jensen,
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(2), 139-156.
This
article presents the results of an evaluation of three Children's Justice
Centers (CJCs) in Utah. The authors
describe the CJCs and their use of the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) model in
investigating child sexual abuse. The
CJCs offer a "homelike" environment for children, use
multidisciplinary teams in interviews, and conduct weekly multidisciplinary
case reviews. Two hundred and
ninety-four children seen at three Utah CJCs participated in the project. Researchers collected data on abuse-related
variables, children and parents' satisfaction with their experiences, team
members' satisfaction with services provided, and legal case outcomes. A brief pretest-posttest assessment of children's
behaviors and emotions was conducted at intake and at a 3-month follow-up with
87 of the subjects. Child problem
behaviors had significantly decreased at the 3-month post-test. Eighty-eight percent of the children felt
"very good" to "a little good" about the interview with
only 12% of children reporting that they felt "bad" or "very
bad." Team members' endorsed their
satisfaction with the efficiency and effectiveness of the CJCs' services across
all sites. Parents' satisfaction with
the CJCs' services were high at intake but decreased by the 3-month
follow-up. Although a control group
would have increased the interpretability of the findings, the study
nonetheless represents an important effort in an area where there is currently
little research. The lower rate of
parent satisfaction at the 3-month follow-up is interesting and suggests
further research is needed on efforts to meet the child and families
post-investigation needs. [LJ]
Kaminer,
B. B., Crowe, A. H., & Budde-Giltner, L. (1990). The prevalence and
characteristics of multidisciplinary teams for child abuse and neglect: A national survey. In M. B. W. Sandra M.
Stith, & Karen Rosen (Ed.), Violence Hits Home: Comprehensive Treatment Approaches to
Domestic Violence (pp. 549-567). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
[DL]
Knepper,
P. E., & Barton, S. M. (1997). The effect of courtroom dynamics on child
maltreatment proceedings. Social Service Review, 71(2), 288-308.
Kolbo,
J. R., & Strong, E. (1997). Multidisciplinary team approaches to the
investigation and resolution of child abuse and neglect: A national survey. Child Maltreatment, 2(1),
61-72.
The
purpose of this research was to examine trends in multidisciplinary team system
design. Interviews were conducted with
individuals knowledgeable about this approach in all 50 states (92% were CPS
staff). Of the 50 states, 33 reported
having statewide participation, 30 have implemented the multidisciplinary
approach using legislative mandate, and 3 have used departmental regulation or
directive. Of the 17 states not
requiring statewide participation, 11 have enacted statues encouraging the
development of teams under specific conditions. States identified the investigation of reported cases, treatment
plans, and consultation as the most common functions. Two-thirds of respondents reported one or more benefit, a
majority referred to increased coordination and collaboration and broader and
joint decision making process.
Challenges included confusion about leadership roles, ownership issues,
and scrutiny of their work. Although
the most frequent strategy to deal with these challenges was training, only 30%
of respondents reported their state providing ongoing training. Results are compared with previous
national surveys and described changes in the system design of
multidisciplinary teams. This study
suggests a change in multidisciplinary team functions from advising and
consulting to investigation and treatment plans. This study also indicates that law enforcement and legal services
have taken larger roles due in part because team activities are often
determined by legislation. Community
education and monitoring of cases have become more prominent functions. [WW]
Krugman,
R. D. (1990). Future challenges for child protection teams: Research,
education, advocacy. In S. M. Stith, M. B. Williams, & K. Rosen (Eds.), Violence
Hits Home: Comprehensive Treatment
Approaches to Domestic Violence (pp. 616-624). New York: Springer
Publishing Company.
This article
provides a brief overview of what is known about the different types of child
abuse as well as unanswered questions.
An overview of the role of child protection teams is described. Specific suggestions for dealing with
difficult issues facing those working in the field of child abuse and neglect
include the following; the need to recognize that complex problems do not have
simple solutions, that multidisciplinary teams must help fix responsibility for
efforts at the federal, state, and local levels, ongoing evaluation must be
included in all programs, there needs to be regionalized networks, greater
focus on prevention, an increase in training for all those involved in the
multidisciplinary team, an increase in the number of treatment facilities, an
increase in funding, an increase in political awareness and activity, and
realistic expectations from those working in this field. [WW]
Levesque,
R. J. R. (1995). Prosecuting sex crimes against children: Time for
"outrageous" proposals? Law & Psychology Review, 19,
59-91.
The
authors of this article outline the failures of child welfare to successfully
provide services to maltreated children and their families. A lack of funding for services, an
over-emphasis on foster care, limited resources, and a lack of investment in
treatment by families are discussed as issues limiting the success of
service-provision to this population. A
focus on help-seeking and service utilization research is recommended as
offering important potential implications for improving service delivery. Specifically, the authors suggest that there
needs to be more research examining needs for services from families'
perspective, more research on informal help-seeking by families, and longitudinal
research looking at ways in which social networks of high-risk families
encourage or discourage formal help-seeking. [TC]
Lipovsky,
J. A., Tidwell, R., Crisp, J., Kilpatrick, D. G., Saunders, B. E., &
Dawson, V. L. (1992). Child witnesses in criminal court -- Descriptive
information from three southern states. Law and Human Behavior, 16(6),
635-650.
Lipovsky,
J. A. (1994). The impact of court on children:
Research findings and practical recommendations. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 9(2), 238-257.
[LJ]
Lipovsky,
J., & Stern, P. (1997). Preparing children for court: An interdisciplinary view. Child
Maltreatment, 2(2), 150-163.
[LJ]
Long,
G. F. (1988). Legal issues in child sexual abuse: Criminal cases and neglect
and dependency cases. In L. E. Auerbach (Ed.), Handbook on sexual abuse of
children: assessment and treatment issues (pp. 137-151). New York:
Springer.
MacMurray,
B. K. (1989). Criminal determination for child sexual abuse: Prosecutor case-screening judgments. Journal
of Interpersonal Violence, 4(2), 233-244.
Mahady-Smith,
C. M. (1985). The young victim as witness for the prosecution: Another form of abuse? Dickinson Law
Review, 89(3), 721-749.
Mann,
E. M. (1985). The assessment of credibility of sexually abused children in
criminal court cases. American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 6, 9-15.
[LJ]
Martone,
M., Jaudes, P. K., & Cavins, M. (1996). Criminal prosecution of child
sexual abuse cases. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20(5), 457-464.
McBarnet,
D. (1983). Victim in the witness box - Confronting victimology's stereotype. Contemporary
Crisis, 7, 293-303.
The
purpose of the paper is to explain the experience of the victim in court within
the structure of the trial process, and demonstrate how devastating the legal
process is to the victim beyond the surface of the legal system. The first aspect of the legal system that
serves to degrade the victim is the adversarial nature of the legal
system. The author explains that the
victim is considered a primary witness in a case, not someone who has been
harmed. But the victim-witness does not
have the same rights as the offender.
The offender can chose not to testify, and thereby not be subjected to
cross-examination. Previous criminal
activity of the offender is protected from being submitted into court, whereas
the victim's previous history including sexual history is a primary focus. Attorneys view the victim's rape experience
as a case to be tried and won. The
purpose of cross-examination is to discredit each of the witnesses. This includes the victim-witness for the
defense, as well as the offender-witness for the prosecution. Victims seem to expect abrupt treatment by
the defense attorney, but are offended by similar treatment from the
prosecution. This paper states the
purpose of the abruptness on the part of the prosecution is in an effort to
control the victim-witness from giving too much information that may discredit
or contaminate their testimony and put the case in jeopardy. Another aspect of the legal system that
demeans the victim is the apparent lack of concern throughout their contact
with the legal system. This is
partially due to the fact that the crime is considered "alleged"
until proven otherwise. Again, because
sexual assault is considered a crime against the state, the victim is relegated
to status of witness. This means the
victim will not be able to testify unless called, and the case will not even be
prosecuted unless the state feels it can win.
The prosecutor is acting in the "state's" best interest, while
defense is acting of behalf of the accused.
Furthermore, the perpetrator pays fines to the state not the
victim. Victims who refuse to show up
in court can be penalized for obstructing justice. The ultimate victim degradation, according to the author, is the
judge's use of power to maintain law and order despite the victim's wishes or
well-being. [MS]
McGough,
L. S. (1997). Stretching the blanket:
Legal reforms affecting child witnesses. Learning and Individual
Differences, 9(4), 317-340.
The
Supreme Court has issued six decisions that are presented by the authors as
profoundly affecting children's testimony in child sexual abuse cases. (1) Coy
v. Iowa (1988) and Maryland v. Craig (1990) concerning alterations to the
courtroom environment which would shield the child from seeing the accused
while testifying. Shielding may enhance
the reliability of the testimony, therefore overriding the accused's right to
confrontation which is considered another truth-finding function in Due Process.
(2) Kentucky v. Stincer (1987) addresses eliminating or changing traditional
special showing of pre-testimonial 'competency' for potential child
witnesses. The case states "an
accused must be afforded the right to conduct a full and complete inquiry
regarding a witness's competency in order to effectuate the command of the
confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment and the due process clause of the
Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments."
(3) An appellate court decision in New Jersey, State v. Michaels (NJ
1993 & 1994) delves into the heightened scrutiny deserved by purposeful
forensic interviewing of an alleged child sexual abuse victim. The prosecution was found to have tainted
the testimony of the child through interviewer distortion, thus requiring a
demonstration that testimony is pure of tampering. (4) Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) permits a
greater range of expert testimony on the reliability of children's reports of
abuse. Factors to be weighed by the
court are whether the theory has been tested and validated; whether there are
published findings that support the theory that have been subject to peer
review; and what is the potential rate of error, along with scientific
consensus. This will also allow courts
to be more receptive to social science, according to the author, and allow
social scientists as expert witnesses.
(5) Idaho v. Wright (1990) and White v. Illinois (1992) discussed the
required burden of proof of reliability before an adult witness can testify
about children's reports of abuse. The former case allowed testimony of
caregivers and medical personnel, but the decision was turned over because the
Supreme Court said the prosecution failed to demonstrate the trustworthiness of
the statements. In the second case, the
prosecution did not even attempt to present the physician's
"hearsay." (6) Tome v. United
States (1995) regards the admissibility of a child's initial complaints of
sexual abuse to rebut to claims that the child was fabricating trial testimony. A problem arose however when the statements
were made after the alleged motivation for the fabrication. If statements would have begun prior to the
motivation, the court might have allowed 6 corroborating statements. [MS]
Meddin,
B., & Hansen, I. (1985). The services provided during a child abuse and/or
neglect case investigation and the barriers that exist to service provision. Child
Abuse and Neglect, 9, 175-182.
Melton,
G., Goodman, G. S., Kalichman, S. C., Levine, M., Saywitz, K. J., & Koocher,
G. P. (1995). Empirical research on child maltreatment and the law. Journal
of Clinical Child Psychology, 24, 47-77.
Mrazek,
P. J., Lynch, M. A., & Bentovim, A. (1983). Sexual abuse of children in the
United Kingdom. Child Abuse and Neglect, 7, 147-153.
Myers,
J. (1988). Criminal procedure:
Face-to-face confrontation in child sex abuse prosecutions. University
of Florida Law Review, 40(5), 1049-1059.
National
Institute of Justice, & American Bar Association. (1998). Legal
interventions in family violence:
Research findings and policy implications (Research Report NCJ
171666). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs.
Newberger,
E. H. (1987). Prosecution: A
problematic approach to child abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
112-117.
[MS]
Nicholas-Carnes,
C., Nelson-Gardell, D., & Wilson, C. (1999). Addressing challenges and
controversies in child sexual abuse interviewing: The forensic evaluation protocol and research project. In K. C.
Faller (Ed.), Maltreatment in early childhood: Tools for research-based intervention (pp. 83-103).
Binghampton, NY: Haworth Maltreatment and Trauma Press.
[M.E.]
Oates,
R. K., Lynch, D. L., Stern, A. E., O'Toole, B. I., & Cooney, G. (1995). The
criminal justice system and the sexually abused child: Help or hindrance? The Medical Journal of
Australia, 162(6), 126-130.
This
study used a prospective design to examine the impact of the criminal justice
system on sexual abuse victims (N = 59).
Parent interviews were conducted and data was collected on child
self-esteem, depression, and behavior problems. Thirty-three cases were committed for trial or sentencing and 8
children testified in court. Although
the majority of parents described their experiences with the criminal justice
system as unsatisfying and felt it was overly stressful for the children, no
relationship was found between testifying and child distress measures. Although sample size limits the power of the
study, the findings suggest that the impact of the criminal justice system
might be transient and less important than other variables in affecting child
victims' well being. [LJ]
Palusci,
V. J., Cox, E. O., Cyrus, T. A., Heartwell, S. W., Vandervort, F. E., &
Pott, E. S. (1999). Medical assessment and legal outcome in child sexual abuse.
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 153, 388-391.
Pardess,
E., Finzi, R., & Sever, J. (1993). Evaluating the best interests of the
child: A model of multidisciplinary
teamwork. Medicine and Law, 12, 205-211.
This
article describes a multidisciplinary teamwork model in conducting clinical
evaluations of children and families and preparing expert testimony. The overall procedure and goals of this
model are described based on the team's experience evaluating over 60 cases
involving child abuse and neglect over the past five years. The team consists
of a clinical psychologist, a psychiatric social worker, and a child
psychiatrist. Teamwork can reduce the
effects of personal biases, enhance validity and reliability, provide sharing
and support, and enhance integration of theory, techniques, and
examinations. Recommendations include a
separation of roles of expert witnesses and therapists, utilization of
different diagnostic tools, understanding the value of examining the
feasibility of recommendations with family members, and incorporating
strategies to attain parent consent.
[WW]
Peters,
J. M., Dinsmore, J., & Toth, P. (1989). Why prosecute child abuse? South
Dakota Law Review, 34, 649-659.
[MS]
Reichard,
R. D. (1993). Dysfunctional families in dysfunctional systems? Why child advocacy centers may not be
enough. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2(4), 103-109.
[LJ]
Rogan,
M. S. (1990). The multidisciplinary team approach to child abuse and neglect.
In M. B. W. Sandra M. Stith, & Karen Rosen (Ed.), Violence Hits
Home: Comprehensive Treatment
Approaches to Domestic Violence (pp. 105-114). New York: Springer
Publishing Company.
This
article describes the history of the multidisciplinary team approach to child
abuse and neglect. In 1974 the Child
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act created the National Center on Child Abuse
and Neglect to provide assistance to agencies and states. States responded by identifying the need for
coordinating services. The
multidisciplinary team approach was chosen as a solution to this problem. Although models vary, purposes of this
approach include providing a structured format for sharing professional
knowledge, improving the quality of services to the family, supporting casework
staff and other service providers, and helping resolve misunderstandings and
misconceptions. Other issues described
in this article include team membership, the role of a team coordinator,
confidentiality, case referral criteria, and evaluation. A short scenario is illustrated to
demonstrate a typical child sexual abuse team meeting. This overview describes the
multidisciplinary approach as enhancing service coordination, increasing
communication among agencies, and enhancing professionals' insight from
discussing cases. [WW]
Rogers,
C. M. (1982). Child sexual abuse and the courts: Preliminary findings. Social Work and Human Sexuality, 1(1),
145-153.
Runyan,
D. K., Everson, M. D., Edelsohn, G. A., Hunter, W. M., & Coulter, M. L.
(1988). Impact of legal intervention on sexually abused children. The
Journal of Pediatrics, 113(4), 647-653.
This
prospective study examined the emotional impact of involvement in criminal and
juvenile courts for victims of sexual abuse.
A cohort of seventy-five victims was followed for 5 months. Anxiety and distress were measured at intake
and at 5-months using the Child Assessment Scale (CAS) and the Child Behavior
Checklist (CBCL). Results indicated
that children involved in the criminal court system whose case was still
pending after 5 months improved less than those whose case was resolved or who
were not involved in criminal court at all.
Children who testified in juvenile court improved more than all other
victims. The authors concluded that
although the sample was small, the main findings suggest that lengthier cases
impede healing processes and testifying in juvenile court is not harmful and is
possibly a healing experience for sexual abuse victims. [LJ]
Runyan,
D. K., Hunter, W. M., Everson, M. D., Whitcomb, D., & DeVos, E. (1994). The
intervention stressors inventory: A
measure of the stress of intervention for sexually abused children. Child
Abuse and Neglect, 18(4), 319-329.
This
article describes the development and validation of the Intervention Stressors
Inventory (ISI), a new scale to measure the level of stress sexually abused
children experience as a result of societal intervention. The ISI was used to quantify the number of stressful
events such as interview with law enforcer, medical exam, court testimony, and
cross-examination. Estimates of the
relative stress of these interventions were obtained from 98
professionals. After receiving the
professional ratings, standard stress level weights for each event were calculated
using geometric means of the ratings.
The validity of the ISI was assessed by interviewing 254 sexually abused
children and their parents about their intervention experience in four
jurisdictions across the country.
Early
results suggest that this could be a useful tool. Total intervention scores were higher for adolescents than for
younger children. Intervention scores
did not differ for children who experienced vaginal or anal penetration and
those who did not. However, higher
intervention scores were accompanied when victimization included physical force
or threat of force. Intervention varied
by offender's relationship to the victim.
Extrafamilial cases had significantly higher adjudication and testimony
scores, while intrafamilial victims had more protective service
intervention. A weakness of this study
was the low return rate by professionals rating the inventory, with 98 of 316
professionals responding. It is not
clear how the professionals who responded differed from those who did not. Another limitation is that the sample of
adult experts rating the stress-inducing events may have had different
perceptions about the stress than the children experiencing the events. [WW]
Sandberg,
D. N. (1987). Child sexual abuse: To
prosecute or not? New Hampshire Bar Journal, 29(1), 15-27.
[MS]
Sas,
L. Sex offenders and their victims- empowering children for abuse
litigation: New data . Oakville,
Ontario: Child Witness Project, London Family Court Clinic.
[LJ]
Sas,
L., Hurley, P., Hatch, A., Malia, S., & Dick, T. (1993). Three years
after the verdict: A longitudinal study of the social and psychological
adjustment of child witnesses referred to the child witness project.
(Research FVDS #4887-06-91-026). London, Ontario: Family Violence Prevention
Division of Health Canada under the Family Violence Initiative.
Sas,
L. D., Wolfe, D. A., & Gowdey, K. (1996). Children and the courts in
Canada. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 23(2), 338-357.
Sas, L.
(1997). Sexually abused children as witnesses: Progress and pitfalls. In D. A.
Wolfe, R. J. McMahon, & R. D. Peters (Eds.), Child abuse: New directions in prevention and treatment
across the lifespan (Vol. 4, pp. 248-267). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
Inc.
Sas,
L. (1997). Sexually abused children as witnesses. In D. A. Wolfe, R. J.
McMahon, & R. D. Peters (Eds.), Child abuse: new directions in prevention and treatment across the lifespan
(pp. 248-267). London: Sage Publications.
[LJ]
Schetky,
D. H. (1988). The child as witness. In D. H. Schetky & A. H. Green (Eds.), Child
sexual abuse: A handbook for healthcare and legal professionals (pp.
166-180). New York City: Brunner/Mazel, Publishers.
Sheppard,
D. I., & Zangrillo, P. A. (1996). Coordinating investigations of child
abuse. Public Welfare, 21-31.
[WW]
Skaff,
L. F. (1988). Child maltreatment coordinating committees for effective service
delivery. Child Welfare, LXVII(3), 217-230.
This
article describes a nationwide review of the descriptive information on
coordinating committees and explores factors associated with committee
effectiveness. The study tests two
hypotheses. First, committee
participation will be greater when members are allowed equal power in group
decisions or when the committee is perceived to be effective by potential group
members. Second, committee
collaboration will be greater if one of the following exists; perceived
equality of power among members, a sharable group goal, the committee operates
in a neutral setting, the community supports the committee. The dependent variables were committee
participation and member collaboration.
A stratified random sampling procedure was used. A total of 188 were reviewed and 24
coordinating committees were used to test the hypotheses. Of all the independent variables testes,
only perceived committee effectiveness was significantly related to committee
participation. Member collaboration was
found to be significantly related to many factors. When communities emphasized community wide goals versus
individual agency concerns, collaboration was greater. Equal member power and a neutral committee
setting both increased the likelihood of collaboration. One of the most essential benefits of
coordinating committees was the opportunity to communicate directly and thus
gain new services and legislation and increase community awareness. Many committees were able to sustain
prevention and treatment programs that would otherwise have been
eliminated. [WW]
Small,
M. A., & Wanke, K. L. (1994). State responses to child maltreatment, Young
Victims, Young Offenders (pp. 11-26). Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, Inc.
Smith,
B. E., & Goretsky, S. R. The prosecution of child sexual abuse cases: Part I. ABA Juvenile and Child Welfare
Law Reporter, 11, 78-80.
Smith,
B. E., & Goretsky, S. R. The prosecution of child sexual abuse cases: Part II. ABA Juvenile and Child Welfare
Law Reporter, 11, 94-96.
Smith,
S. B. (1985). Children's story:
Sexually molested children in criminal court. (New Revised ed.).
Walnut Creek, CA: Launch Press.
Smith,
B. E. (1989). The multidisciplinary team approach to investigating of
out-of-home abuse cases. Response, 12(3), 10-12.
Smith,
B. E. (1990). The adjudication of child sexual abuse cases, Victims of
Crime. Problems, Policies, and Programs
(Vol. 25, pp. 104-119). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Smith,
B. E., & Elstein, S. G. (1993). The prosecution of child sexual and
physical abuse cases (Final Report ). Washington, D.C.: The National Center
on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Smith,
B. E., Elstein, S. G., Laszlo, A. T., Akimoto, M. C., Ayres, M. B., &
Smith, J. B. (1994). Children on hold: Improving the response to children whose
parents are arrested and incarcerated (Final ). Washington, DC: ABA Center
on Children and the Law.
Smith,
J. C., Runyan, D. K., & Fredrickson, D. D. (1994). The Little Rascals' day
care center case: A perspective on
medical testimony in a prominent public trial. Journal of Child Sexual
Abuse, 3(2), 89-97.
Smith,
B. E. (1995). Prosecuting child physical abuse cases: A case study in San Diego (Research in
Brief NCJ 152978). San Diego: NIJ.
Sorenson,
E. (1993). A rose by any name would smell as sweet: Enhancing the functioning child advocacy center. Journal of
Child Sexual Abuse, 2(4), 111-113.
[LJ]
Stevens,
G., Fischer, D. G., & Berg, L. (1992). Review and monitoring of child
sexual abuse cases in selected sites in Saskatchewan: Studies on the sexual abuse of children in Canada: Department
of Justice, Canada.
Stroud,
D. D., Martens, S. L., & Barker, J. (2000). Criminal investigation of child
sexual abuse: A comparison of cases
referred to the prosecutor to those not referred. Child Abuse and Neglect,
24(5), 689-700.
[TC]
Tedesco,
J. F., & Schnell, S. V. (1987). Children's reaction to sex abuse
investigation and litigation. Child Abuse and Neglect, 11, 267-272.
This study
was one of the first empirical examinations of the experiences of child abuse
victims in the criminal justice system.
Questionnaires were returned from 48 child victims who testified in a
criminal trial. These children had been
interviewed from 1 to 40 times by, most typically, three different
interviewers. Nine children had been
required to testify in front of the abuser in a court trial. Forty-eight percent of the sample rated
their investigation experiences as helpful, 19% as harmful, 19% as both and 2%
as neither. A greater number of
interviewers and testifying in front of the abuser were related to perceiving
the experience as more harmful.
Although the size and representativeness of the sample limit
generalizability of the findings, the research offers preliminary evidence that
the prosecutory experience is not always perceived as a negative one by
victims. [LJ]
Tjaden,
P. G., & Thoennes, N. (1992). Predictors of legal intervention in child
maltreatment cases. Child Abuse and Neglect, 16, 807-821.
This
study examined the extent and nature of legal intervention in substantiated
intrafamilial child abuse and neglect cases (N=833) reported in Denver, CO, Los
Angeles, CA, Newcastle, DE Counties in 1985-1986. Legal intervention (dependency and criminal filings) was found to
be rare, while treatment plan development and child placement out of the home
were common. Of the cases with legal
intervention, many proceeded to trial, plea bargaining, and conviction. Criminal filings were more likely to result
from cases involving female victims 7-12 years old, a perpetrator of an ethnic
minority or relationship other than parental, severe maltreatment, and sexual
abuse. Dependency filing resulted more
frequently from severe and frequent maltreatment, sexual abuse, and
abandonment. [LJ]
Tjaden,
P. G., & Anhalt, J. (1994). The impact of joint law enforcement-child
protective services investigations in child maltreatment cases. . Denver,
CO: Center of Policy Research.
This
study compared process and outcome of investigations in five communities that
varied in the degree to which police and CPS investigations were conducted
jointly. The authors found that the
term "joint investigation" was loosely defined, and operationally
defined it as involving at least one contact between the two agency
investigators during the CPS investigation or one conjoint interview sometime
during the investigation process. Joint
investigations were more common with sexual abuse, with more serious abuse and
with multiple forms of abuse. They were
more frequent when law enforcement was the first agency officially reporting
the abuse, and in the context of emergency medical treatment for the victim.
In
comparison to independent investigations, joint investigations had:
· Shorter caseworker response times
· Lengthier investigations
· More contacts during the
investigations
· More frequent use of face-to-face
interviews with persons involved in the case
· More custody removals
· More perpetrator departures from the
home
· More perpetrator confessions
· More frequent victim corroboration
· More substantiated reports
· More dependency filings
· More criminal prosecutions
· More guilty pleas
Joint
investigations did not have more repeat interviews than independent
investigations.
The
impressive list of differences between joint and independent investigations is
difficult to interpret, however, because they could all plausibly be explained
by the differences in the type of cases investigated jointly versus
independently (e.g., in seriousness and
type of abuse). Moreover, there is no
way of ruling out the possibility that cases on which agencies decided to
intervene more intensely were assigned to be jointly investigated. The authors did not statistically control
for possible confounds, nor did they address them in the text.
The more
rigorous comparison of communities that differed on degree of joint versus
independent investigations did not suggest an effect of cooperation. Communities differed significantly on a
number of process and outcome variables, but these differences were never
related to the communities' rank on degree of police-social worker cooperation
on investigations. [TC]
Trute,
B., Adkins, E., & MacDonald, G. (1996). Professional attitudes regarding
treatment and punishment of incest: Comparing police, child welfare, and
community mental health. Journal of Family Violence, 11(3), 237-249.
This
study the differences in attitudes between the 3 primary agencies involved with
intrafamilial child sexual abuse: police, child welfare and community mental
health. In a large Canadian farming
community, personnel were sampled from 3 agencies and given 3 previously
developed vignettes with 3 Likert-type items each relating to treatment and
punishment issues. The consistent
themes of the tests were view of perpetrator as mentally ill rather than
criminal, view that mother and daughter were victims rather than guilty
participants, and that court mandated treatment would benefit the incest
situation. Police were significantly
more likely to consider the offending parent as criminal and to find the mother
complicit. It was noted that the police
had more male subjects. Additionally,
the other services maintained older employees. [MS]
Watkins,
S. A. (1990). The double victim: The
sexually abused child and the judicial system. Child and Adolescent Social
Work, 7(1), 29-43.
This
article gives a historical perspective on child sexual abuse to illustrate that
child sexual abuse is not a new social problem. For example, the earliest English rape law appeared in 1576. Although it is difficult to determine the
first sexual abuse case in the American judicial system, a number of criminal
cases involving child abuse existed in the mid 1600s. The 1874 New York case of Mary Ellen Wilson has been recognized
as beginning the child protection movement in the United States. The New York society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children was founded in 1874 and emphasized the prosecution of
parents and the removal of children from abusive homes. In 1899, the juvenile court was created
under the English law that justified state intervention to act in place of the
parent. Early advocates of the juvenile
court wanted the court to look more like a family room than an adult criminal
courtroom. By 1927 all but 2 states had
a juvenile court. However, the juvenile
court had to handle a wide range of problems and was not prepared to deal with
the wide range of child abuse problems.
In the mid 1960s all fifty states introduced some type of child abuse
reporting statutes. In 1988 the Supreme
Court in Coy v Iowa decided that using a screen in the courtroom violated the
defendant's constitutional right to face-to-face confrontation.
Even
though child abuse is both a criminal and civil offense, the decision to
prosecute is complex and differs in every community. Another difficult issue is that our constitutional rights are
more aligned with the defendant rather than the victim witness. Protective service workers' primary concern
is reducing the trauma for the child.
Approaches for reducing trauma have included establishing
interdisciplinary teams, coordinating juvenile and criminal court proceedings,
providing a special advocate for the child in court, limiting the number of
interviews, having special sexual abuse prosecution teams, methods to avoid a
child's testimony at grand jury and preliminary hearings, and developing
alternatives in a child's testimony in open court. [WW]
Weiss,
E. H., & Berg, R. F. (1982). Child victims of sexual assault: Impact of court procedures. Journal of
the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 21(5), 513-518.
The
article is one of the earlier published descriptions of professional concern
about the impact of the court system on child victims of abuse. The authors' concerns arose from their
experiences with child abuse victims in Washington D.C. The article summarizes of the effects of
sexual victimization on children, describes the procedures of the three courts
child victims often become involved with (criminal, delinquency, and family),
and outlines the ways in which the procedures can be insensitive to children's
needs and possibly exacerbate the victims' trauma and stress reactions. The authors use examples from clinical cases
to illustrate their points and follow up with recommendations for mental health
workers and the court system. Despite
the age of the article, it offers a useful introduction to the concerns
professionals have about the impact of court procedures on child victim
witnesses. [LJ]
Whitcomb,
D., Runyan, D., DeVos, E., Hunter, W., Cross, T., Everson, M., Peeler, N.,
& Porter, C. (1992). When the victim is a child. (2 ed.).
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National
Institute of Justice.
Whitcomb,
D., Goodman, G. S., Runyan, D. K., & Hoak, S. (1994). The emotional
effects of testifying on sexually abused children (NIJ: Research in Brief NCJ 146414). Washington,
D. C.: Department of Justice.
This
research brief published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) summarizes
findings from three of the largest studies on the effects of testifying on
child victims. Results are summarized
from: 1) a study by Desmond Runyan and
his colleagues based in North Carolina; 2) a study by Gail Goodman and her
colleagues based in Denver, Colorado; and 3) a multi-site research project by
Debra Whitcomb and her colleagues funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). All three studies found that children were
highly anxious at intake, but, for the most part, improved greatly over time
regardless of their experiences in court.
Findings on the specific effects of
testifying were mixed. Goodman, et al.
found negative effects for child witnesses at a seven-month follow-up. Runyan, et al., on the other hand, found
testifiers in juvenile court improved more than non-testifiers at a 5-month
follow-up. At longer follow-up periods
none of the studies found significant differences between child victims who
testified and those who did not. Other
findings included the importance of maternal support in children's emotional
well-being and the negative impact of multiple interviews or testimony and
delays in the court process on children. [LJ]
Whitcomb,
D., & Hardin, M. (1996). Coordinating criminal and juvenile court
proceedings in child maltreatment cases. National Institute of Justice
Research Preview, 1-3.
This
article summarizes a National Institute of Justice-funded study conducted by
Education Development Center, Inc. and the American Bar Association's Center on
Children and the Law. The purpose of
the study was to examine the philosophical difference of emphasis between
treatment in juvenile court and punishment in criminal court. A nationally representative sample of 103 criminal
prosecutors and 59 attorneys who represent child protection agencies in the
juvenile court were interviewed. The
study found that although many child protection and law enforcement agencies
work well together during the investigation process, attorneys in criminal and
juvenile courts have not achieved a similar level of cooperation. Prosecutors responded that 60% of their
child maltreatment cases were concurrently involved in juvenile court
proceeding, while child protection attorneys estimated that 13% of their
caseloads were involved in criminal courts.
Approximately half of the attorneys replied that dual-court cases
proceed independently, 1/5 of the prosecutors could not name the individual or
agency responsible for representing the child protection agency in juvenile
court, and several respondents felt that attempts to coordinate would not be
effective because of different missions of criminal and juvenile courts. Site visits were conducted with four
jurisdictions that expressed concern about coordination. Policy implications include delineating the
nature of information that may be shared between the courts and under what
circumstances and including child protection attorneys on existing multidisciplinary
teams. Greater cooperation is needed in
order to protect children from harm. [WW]
White,
S., & Quinn, K. M. (1988). Investigatory independence in child sexual abuse
evaluations: Conceptual considerations.
Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 16(3), 269-278.
Williams,
G. (1993). The expansion of advocacy center's role: Too much? Too soon? Journal
of Child Sexual Abuse, 2(4), 115-118.
[CA]
Wolfe,
V. V., Sas, L., & Wilson, S. K. (1987). Some issues in preparing sexually
abused children for courtroom testimony. Behavior Therapist, 10(5),
107-113.
Wood,
J. M., & Garven, S. (2000). How sexual abuse interviews go astray: Implications for prosecutors, police, and
child protection services. Child Maltreatment, 5(2), 109-129.
[M.E.]
Wulkan,
D., & Bulkley, J. (198?). General survey findings relating to prosecutorial
practices and policies. In J. Bulkely (Ed.), Innovations in the prosecution
of child sexual abuse (pp. 1-8). Washington D.C.: American Bar Association.
Investigation and Investigative
Agencies
Brannon,
C. L. (1994). The trauma of testifying in court for child victims of sexual
assault v. the accused's rights to confrontation. Law & Psychology
Review, 18, 439-460.
[LJ]
Elstein,
S. G., Smith, B. E., & Davidson, H. (1996). The use of closed-circuit television
and videotaped testimony in child sexual abuse trials: An evaluation of BJA's
funding program (Final Report ). Washington, D.C.: American Bar Association
Center on Children and the Law.
Flin,
R. H. (1992). Child witnesses in British courts. In F. Losel, D. Bender, &
T. Bliesener (Eds.), Psychology and the law: International perspectives (pp. 365-373). Berlin: Walter de
Gruyter and Co.
Goodman,
G. S., Taub, E. P., Jones, D. P. H., England, P., Port, L. K., Rudy, L., &
Prado, L. (1992). Testifying in criminal court: Emotional effects on child sexual assault victims. (Vol. 57).
Chicago, IL: The Univesity of Chicago Press.
[LJ]
Jaffe,
P., Wilson, S. K., & Sas, L. (1987). Court
testimony of child sexual abuse victims: Emerging issues in clinical assessments. Canadian Psychology,
28(3), 291-295.
[LJ]
Lipovsky,
J., & Stern, P. (1997). Preparing children for court: An interdisciplinary view. Child
Maltreatment, 2(2), 150-163.
[LJ]
Mann,
E. M. (1985). The assessment of credibility of sexually abused children in
criminal court cases. American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 6, 9-15.
[LJ]
McBarnet,
D. (1983). Victim in the witness box - Confronting victimology's stereotype. Contemporary
Crisis, 7, 293-303.
The
purpose of the paper is to explain the experience of the victim in court within
the structure of the trial process, and demonstrate how devastating the legal
process is to the victim beyond the surface of the legal system. The first aspect of the legal system that
serves to degrade the victim is the adversarial nature of the legal
system. The author explains that the
victim is considered a primary witness in a case, not someone who has been
harmed. But the victim-witness does not
have the same rights as the offender.
The offender can chose not to testify, and thereby not be subjected to
cross-examination. Previous criminal
activity of the offender is protected from being submitted into court, whereas
the victim's previous history including sexual history is a primary focus. Attorneys view the victim's rape experience
as a case to be tried and won. The
purpose of cross-examination is to discredit each of the witnesses. This includes the victim-witness for the
defense, as well as the offender-witness for the prosecution. Victims seem to expect abrupt treatment by
the defense attorney, but are offended by similar treatment from the
prosecution. This paper states the
purpose of the abruptness on the part of the prosecution is in an effort to
control the victim-witness from giving too much information that may discredit
or contaminate their testimony and put the case in jeopardy. Another aspect of the legal system that
demeans the victim is the apparent lack of concern throughout their contact
with the legal system. This is
partially due to the fact that the crime is considered "alleged"
until proven otherwise. Again, because
sexual assault is considered a crime against the state, the victim is relegated
to status of witness. This means the
victim will not be able to testify unless called, and the case will not even be
prosecuted unless the state feels it can win.
The prosecutor is acting in the "state's" best interest, while
defense is acting of behalf of the accused.
Furthermore, the perpetrator pays fines to the state not the
victim. Victims who refuse to show up
in court can be penalized for obstructing justice. The ultimate victim degradation, according to the author, is the
judge's use of power to maintain law and order despite the victim's wishes or
well-being. [MS]
McGough,
L. S. (1997). Stretching the blanket:
Legal reforms affecting child witnesses. Learning and Individual
Differences, 9(4), 317-340.
The
Supreme Court has issued six decisions that are presented by the authors as profoundly
affecting children's testimony in child sexual abuse cases. (1) Coy v. Iowa
(1988) and Maryland v. Craig (1990) concerning alterations to the courtroom
environment which would shield the child from seeing the accused while
testifying. Shielding may enhance the
reliability of the testimony, therefore overriding the accused's right to
confrontation which is considered another truth-finding function in Due
Process. (2) Kentucky v. Stincer (1987) addresses eliminating or changing
traditional special showing of pre-testimonial 'competency' for potential child
witnesses. The case states "an
accused must be afforded the right to conduct a full and complete inquiry
regarding a witness's competency in order to effectuate the command of the
confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment and the due process clause of the
Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments."
(3) An appellate court decision in New Jersey, State v. Michaels (NJ
1993 & 1994) delves into the heightened scrutiny deserved by purposeful
forensic interviewing of an alleged child sexual abuse victim. The prosecution was found to have tainted
the testimony of the child through interviewer distortion, thus requiring a
demonstration that testimony is pure of tampering. (4) Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals (1993) permits a
greater range of expert testimony on the reliability of children's reports of
abuse. Factors to be weighed by the
court are whether the theory has been tested and validated; whether there are
published findings that support the theory that have been subject to peer
review; and what is the potential rate of error, along with scientific
consensus. This will also allow courts
to be more receptive to social science, according to the author, and allow
social scientists as expert witnesses.
(5) Idaho v. Wright (1990) and White v. Illinois (1992) discussed the
required burden of proof of reliability before an adult witness can testify
about children's reports of abuse. The former case allowed testimony of
caregivers and medical personnel, but the decision was turned over because the
Supreme Court said the prosecution failed to demonstrate the trustworthiness of
the statements. In the second case, the
prosecution did not even attempt to present the physician's
"hearsay." (6) Tome v. United
States (1995) regards the admissibility of a child's initial complaints of
sexual abuse to rebut to claims that the child was fabricating trial
testimony. A problem arose however when
the statements were made after the alleged motivation for the fabrication. If statements would have begun prior to the
motivation, the court might have allowed 6 corroborating statements. [MS]
Myers,
J. (1988). Criminal procedure:
Face-to-face confrontation in child sex abuse prosecutions. University
of Florida Law Review, 40(5), 1049-1059.
Sas,
L. (1997). Sexually abused children as witnesses: Progress and pitfalls. In D.
A. Wolfe, R. J. McMahon, & R. D. Peters (Eds.), Child abuse: New directions in prevention and treatment
across the lifespan (Vol. 4, pp. 248-267). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Schetky,
D. H. (1988). The child as witness. In D. H. Schetky & A. H. Green (Eds.), Child
sexual abuse: A handbook for healthcare and legal professionals (pp.
166-180). New York City: Brunner/Mazel, Publishers.
Wolfe,
V. V., Sas, L., & Wilson, S. K. (1987). Some issues in preparing sexually
abused children for courtroom testimony. Behavior Therapist, 10(5),
107-113.
Bradshaw,
T. L. M., Alan E. (1990). Beyond a reasonable doubt: Factors that influence the
legal disposition of child sexual abuses cases. Crime & Delinquency, 36(2),
276-285.
This
study abstracted data from 350 child sexual abuse cases referred for
prosecution in Ector County (Odessa) Texas between 1975 and 1987. In a stepwise multiple regression analysis,
presence of medical evidence and presence of a statement by the offender
significantly predicted plea or conviction, together explaining 16% of the
variance. Victim age and seriousness of
the offense were not significant predictors.
Shorter interval from abuse to reporting was associated with plea or
conviction in a bivariate analysis. But
it had no significant effect in the multiple regression after controlling for medical
evidence and offender statement, perhaps because the interval from abuse to
reporting acted indirectly by changing the likelihood of medical evidence or
offender statement. The authors suggest
that traditional prosecution methods apply to child sexual abuse cases, and
recommend increased interagency cooperation. [TC]
Brewer,
K. D., Rowe, D. M., & Brewer, D. D. (1997). Factors related to prosecution
of child sexual abuse cases. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 6(1),
91-111.
Bulkey,
J. A. (1992). The prosecution's use of social science expert testimony in child
sexual abuse cases: National trends and
recommendations. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 1(2), 73-93.
Bulkley,
J. (1988). Legal proceedings, reforms, and emerging issues in child sexual abuse
cases. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 6(2), 153-180.
Bureau
of Justice Statistics. (1997). What is the sequence of events in the
criminal justice system? [On-Line]. Adapted from "The challenge of
crime in a free society." by the President's Commission on Law Enforcement
and Administration of Justice, 1967.
This revision is a result of the Symposium on the 30th Anniversary of
the President's Commission. Available: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/flowchart.htm
[2001, March].
Cashmore,
J., & Horsky, M. (1988). The prosecution of child sexual assault. Australian
and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 21, 241-252.
Champion,
D. J. (1988). Child sexual abusers and sentencing severity. Federal
Probation, 52(1), 53-57.
[TC]
Chapman,
J. R., & Smith, B. (1987). Are sexual abusers of children treated
differently than those who abuse adults? Response, 10(2), 17-21.
This
study compares criminal penalties for perpetrators of child sexual abuse (CSA)
and adult sexual assault (ASA) between 1980 and 1985. CSA and ASA sentences were compared in 3 counties in 3 different
states (N=296). Alleged child sexual
abuse perpetrators experienced fewer prosecutions and convictions, less
incarceration time, and more probation for child sexual abuse perpetrators as
compared to alleged offenders against adults.
More CSA offenders plead guilty (73%) than adult victim cases
(67%). The researchers believe that
this is the result of prosecutors ensuring they have extremely strong cases
before going to court. They also state that slightly over one third of CSA
offenders received short sentences of no more than 5 months and at least 10%
received a sentence of 1 month.
Fifty-five percent of CSA offenders received 12 months or less with 18%
receiving more than a 10 year sentence.
In contrast, 39% ASA offenders receive longer sentences of more than 10
years, while 23% of adult offenders received sentences of one year or
less. Offenders were sentenced to
probation nearly twice as often in CSA as ASA.
Familiarity with the abuser was more common in CSA, yet only 19% of the
offenders in CSA cases were issued "no contact" orders from the
court. Mandatory counseling was issued
in almost half of the CSA cases as compared to only 13% of adult cases. [MS]
Chapman,
J. R., & Smith, B. E. (1987). Child sexual abuse: An analysis of case processing.
Washington D.C.: American Bar Association.
Cheit,
R. E. (1997). Child molesters in the criminal justice system: A comprehensive case-flow analysis of the
Rhode Island docket (1985-1993). New England Journal on Criminal and Civil
Confinement, 23(2), 267-301.
Conte,
J. R., & Berliner, L. (1981). Prosecution of the offender in cases of
sexual assault against children. Victimology: An International Journal, 6(1-4), 102-109.
Cross,
T. P., Whitcomb, D., & De Vos, E. (1995). Criminal justice outcomes of
prosecution of child sexual abuse: A
case flow analysis. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(12), 1431-1442.
Cross,
T. P., Martell, D., McDonald, E., & Ahl, M. (1999). The criminal justice system
and child placement in child sexual abuse cases. Child Maltreatment, 4(1),
32-44.
This
study examines the relationship of criminal justice decision making to child
placement and how other child, family, abuse, and investigation characteristics
relate to child placement. All child sexual abuse charges referred to
prosecutors in four jurisdictions across the country were tracked. A sample (N=289) of the child victims and
families were interviewed at the time of referral and 8 to 9 months later, data
on life events (including child placement), maternal support, and child and
family adjustment were gathered. Cases
that were declined for prosecution were almost three times more likely to
involve some type of child placement and more than three times more likely to
involve placement with a relative than were cases that were accepted. Family disturbance, maternal support, and
prosecution were significantly related to child placement. Abuse characteristics such as duration of
abuse contributed to child placement outcomes for the total sample and for the
intrafamilial group, but not for the extrafamilial group. About 10% of children and families were
caught in a bind because the criminal justice system did not prosecute and
children were placed outside the home.
The findings indicate that criminal justice and child protection
agencies need to work together to develop effective strategies to protect
children. [WW]
Cross,
T. P., Martell, D., McDonald, E., Ahl, M., Dugger, A., & Pickoff, E.
(1999). Lack of prosecution in sexual abuse cases associated with increased
risk of child placement, study indicates. The National Child Advocate,
4-5.
This was
a secondary analysis of data from the Child Victim as Witness Project. Data included all cases of sexual abuse of
children and adolescents who were referred to prosecutors' offices over a
one-year period (1988-1989) in four urban jurisdictions. Cases on average included child victims 10
years old, female, and two-thirds white.
The perpetrator was a family member is just over half of the cases. 75% of the cases were accepted for
prosecution, and in 25% of the cases, children were placed at least once with a
relative, in a foster home, or in another type of institutional setting. Cases that were declined for prosecution
were nearly three times as likely to involve some type of child placement
compared to cases that were accepted for prosecution. These findings indicate that the effort to protect children from
the stress of prosecution may unintentionally increase risk of child
placement. This relationship between
prosecution and placement is further evidence for the value of
multidisciplinary teams. [WW]
Cross,
T. P., Vos, E. D., & Whitcomb, D. (1994). Prosecution of child sexual
abuse: Which cases are accepted? Child
Abuse and Neglect, 18(8), 663-677.
[WW]
Cullen,
B. J., Smith, P. H., Funk, J. B., & Haaf, R. A. (2000). A matched cohort
comparison of a criminal justice system's response to child sexual abuse: A profile of perpetrators. Child Abuse
& Neglect, 24(4), 569-577.
This
study examined the differenced between perpetrator groups of child sexual abuse
(CSA) and felony level non-sexual crimes over a 5-year period within the same
district, and the same prosecutor's office.
Areas of comparison were felon characteristics, prosecutorial discretion
(plea bargaining), and sentencing differences.
44% of
the CSA group was charged with a Felony 1 (F-1, the most severe), which
includes Rape and Aggravated Felonious Sexual Penetration, whereas 55% were
charged with a Felony 3 crime (F-3, less severe), which includes Sexual
Battery, Corruption of a Minor, and Gross Sexual Imposition, and only 1% was
charged with Misdemeanor (M-3, Sexual Imposition). The Misdemeanor was dropped from the study. The same amount of cases was randomly chosen
from the Non-CSA crimes to match the number of F-1 (23, Aggravated Burglary,
Attempted Murder, Kidnapping) and F-3 (31, Grand Theft, Aggravated Trafficking
in Drugs) cases. CSA victims consisted
primarily of European American females with an average age of 11.13 when the
prosecutor accepted the case.
Approximately 39% of the abuse was intrafamilial, 60%
extrafamilial. Boyfriends were included
in extrafamilial. There was only one charged abuser in 99% of the cases. 42% of the reported abuse cases stated the
abuse occurred only one time, with reported abuse occurring more than 10 times
in only 6% of the cases. [MS]
Davidson,
H. A. (1997). The courts and child maltreatment. In M. E. Helfer & R. S.
Kempe (Eds.), Battered Child (5 ed., pp. 482-499).
Davis,
N. S., & Wells, S. J. (1998). Justice system processing of child abuse and
neglect cases, Legal intervention in family violence: Research findings and policy implications.
(pp. 15-17): National Institute of Justice.
Dible,
D. A., & Teske, R. H. C. (1993). An analysis of the prosecutory effects of
a child sexual abuse victim-witness program. Journal of Criminal Justice, 21,
79-85.
This
study assessed the effects of a specialized victim-witness unit for child
sexual abuse cases. This case study
included all child sexual abuse cases prosecuted by the District Attorney's
office of Collin County, Texas from 1983 through 1989. The 352 cases were divided into two
categories: those prosecuted before or after August 17, 1985 when Texas
established a victim-witness assistance program. The program was created to provide support services for victims
and their families throughout the stages of the criminal justice system. The assessment of the program focused on
prosecution and sentencing implications.
Subsequent to the introduction of the victim-witness program, guilty
verdicts at trials increased from 38% to 72%, there was an increase in the
seriousness of the offenses prosecuted, prison sentences almost doubled from
25% to 48%, the average length of prison sentences for guilty pleas resulting
in prison sentences increased from 9.24 years to 16.48 years, and the average
length of sentences for both probation and prison increased.
Because
there were no control groups and only one agency was included, the implications
of the results are limited. However,
the results indicate that the implementation of a victim-witness program has
the potential to enhance prosecution and sentencing of child sexual abuse
cases. [WW]
Finkelhor,
D. (1983). Removing the child- prosecuting the offender in cases of sexual
abuse: Evidence from the National Reporting System for Child Abuse and Neglect.
Child Abuse and Neglect, 7, 195-205.
Fridell,
L. A. (1991). Intrafamilial child sexual abuse treatment: Prosecution following expulsion. Child
abuse and neglect, 15, 587-592.
Graves,
P. A., & Sgroi, S. M. (1982). Law enforcement and child sexual abuse. In S.
M. Sgroi (Ed.), handbook of clinical intervention in child sexual abuse
(pp. 309-333). Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books.
Gray,
E. (1993). Unequal justice: The
prosecution of child sexual abuse. New York: The Free Press.
Harshbarger,
S. (1987). Prosecution is an appropriate response in child sexual abuse cases. Journal
of Interpersonal Violence, 108-112.
[MS]
Hebert,
P. J. (1987). Sexual abuse of children by professionals: A case study in seeking criminal prosecution
and civil damages. Response, 10(1), 18-20.
[M.E.]
Knepper,
P. E., & Barton, S. M. (1997). The effect of courtroom dynamics on child
maltreatment proceedings. Social Service Review, 71(2), 288-308.
Levesque,
R. J. R. (1995). Prosecuting sex crimes against children: Time for
"outrageous" proposals? Law & Psychology Review, 19,
59-91.
The
authors of this article outline the failures of child welfare to successfully
provide services to maltreated children and their families. A lack of funding for services, an
over-emphasis on foster care, limited resources, and a lack of investment in
treatment by families are discussed as issues limiting the success of
service-provision to this population. A
focus on help-seeking and service utilization research is recommended as
offering important potential implications for improving service delivery. Specifically, the authors suggest that there
needs to be more research examining needs for services from families'
perspective, more research on informal help-seeking by families, and
longitudinal research looking at ways in which social networks of high-risk
families encourage or discourage formal help-seeking. [TC]
Long,
G. F. (1988). Legal issues in child sexual abuse: Criminal cases and neglect
and dependency cases. In L. E. Auerbach (Ed.), Handbook on sexual abuse of
children: assessment and treatment issues (pp. 137-151). New York:
Springer.
MacMurray,
B. K. (1989). Criminal determination for child sexual abuse: Prosecutor case-screening judgments. Journal
of Interpersonal Violence, 4(2), 233-244.
Martone,
M., Jaudes, P. K., & Cavins, M. (1996). Criminal prosecution of child
sexual abuse cases. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20(5), 457-464.
Melton,
G., Goodman, G. S., Kalichman, S. C., Levine, M., Saywitz, K. J., &
Koocher, G. P. (1995). Empirical research on child maltreatment and the law. Journal
of Clinical Child Psychology, 24, 47-77.
National
Institute of Justice, & American Bar Association. (1998). Legal
interventions in family violence:
Research findings and policy implications (Research Report NCJ
171666). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice
Programs.
Newberger,
E. H. (1987). Prosecution: A
problematic approach to child abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence,
112-117.
[MS]
Peters,
J. M., Dinsmore, J., & Toth, P. (1989). Why prosecute child abuse? South
Dakota Law Review, 34, 649-659.
[MS]
Rogers,
C. M. (1982). Child sexual abuse and the courts: Preliminary findings. Social Work and Human Sexuality, 1(1),
145-153.
Sandberg,
D. N. (1987). Child sexual abuse: To
prosecute or not? New Hampshire Bar Journal, 29(1), 15-27.
[MS]
Smith,
B. E. (1990). The adjudication of child sexual abuse cases, Victims of
Crime. Problems, Policies, and Programs
(Vol. 25, pp. 104-119). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Smith,
B. E. (1995). Prosecuting child physical abuse cases: A case study in San Diego (Research in
Brief NCJ 152978). San Diego: NIJ.
Smith,
B. E., & Elstein, S. G. (1993). The prosecution of child sexual and
physical abuse cases (Final Report ). Washington, D.C.: The National Center
on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Smith,
B. E., & Goretsky, S. R. The prosecution of child sexual abuse cases: Part I. ABA Juvenile and Child Welfare
Law Reporter, 11, 78-80.
Smith,
B. E., & Goretsky, S. R. The prosecution of child sexual abuse cases: Part II. ABA Juvenile and Child Welfare
Law Reporter, 11, 94-96.
Smith,
J. C., Runyan, D. K., & Fredrickson, D. D. (1994). The Little Rascals' day
care center case: A perspective on
medical testimony in a prominent public trial. Journal of Child Sexual
Abuse, 3(2), 89-97.
Tjaden,
P. G., & Thoennes, N. (1992). Predictors of legal intervention in child
maltreatment cases. Child Abuse and Neglect, 16, 807-821.
This
study examined the extent and nature of legal intervention in substantiated
intrafamilial child abuse and neglect cases (N=833) reported in Denver, CO, Los
Angeles, CA, Newcastle, DE Counties in 1985-1986. Legal intervention (dependency and criminal filings) was found to
be rare, while treatment plan development and child placement out of the home
were common. Of the cases with legal
intervention, many proceeded to trial, plea bargaining, and conviction. Criminal filings were more likely to result
from cases involving female victims 7-12 years old, a perpetrator of an ethnic
minority or relationship other than parental, severe maltreatment, and sexual
abuse. Dependency filing resulted more
frequently from severe and frequent maltreatment, sexual abuse, and
abandonment. [LJ]
Watkins,
S. A. (1990). The double victim: The
sexually abused child and the judicial system. Child and Adolescent Social
Work, 7(1), 29-43.
This
article gives a historical perspective on child sexual abuse to illustrate that
child sexual abuse is not a new social problem. For example, the earliest English rape law appeared in 1576. Although it is difficult to determine the
first sexual abuse case in the American judicial system, a number of criminal
cases involving child abuse existed in the mid 1600s. The 1874 New York case of Mary Ellen Wilson has been recognized
as beginning the child protection movement in the United States. The New York society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children was founded in 1874 and emphasized the prosecution of
parents and the removal of children from abusive homes. In 1899, the juvenile court was created
under the English law that justified state intervention to act in place of the
parent. Early advocates of the juvenile
court wanted the court to look more like a family room than an adult criminal
courtroom. By 1927 all but 2 states had
a juvenile court. However, the juvenile
court had to handle a wide range of problems and was not prepared to deal with
the wide range of child abuse problems.
In the mid 1960s all fifty states introduced some type of child abuse
reporting statutes. In 1988 the Supreme
Court in Coy v Iowa decided that using a screen in the courtroom violated the
defendant's constitutional right to face-to-face confrontation.
Even
though child abuse is both a criminal and civil offense, the decision to
prosecute is complex and differs in every community. Another difficult issue is that our constitutional rights are
more aligned with the defendant rather than the victim witness. Protective service workers' primary concern
is reducing the trauma for the child.
Approaches for reducing trauma have included establishing
interdisciplinary teams, coordinating juvenile and criminal court proceedings,
providing a special advocate for the child in court, limiting the number of
interviews, having special sexual abuse prosecution teams, methods to avoid a
child's testimony at grand jury and preliminary hearings, and developing
alternatives in a child's testimony in open court. [WW]
Whitcomb,
D., & Hardin, M. (1996). Coordinating criminal and juvenile court
proceedings in child maltreatment cases. National Institute of Justice
Research Preview, 1-3.
This
article summarizes a National Institute of Justice-funded study conducted by
Education Development Center, Inc. and the American Bar Association's Center on
Children and the Law. The purpose of
the study was to examine the philosophical difference of emphasis between
treatment in juvenile court and punishment in criminal court. A nationally representative sample of 103
criminal prosecutors and 59 attorneys who represent child protection agencies
in the juvenile court were interviewed.
The study found that although many child protection and law enforcement
agencies work well together during the investigation process, attorneys in
criminal and juvenile courts have not achieved a similar level of
cooperation. Prosecutors responded
that 60% of their child maltreatment cases were concurrently involved in
juvenile court proceeding, while child protection attorneys estimated that 13%
of their caseloads were involved in criminal courts. Approximately half of the attorneys replied that dual-court cases
proceed independently, 1/5 of the prosecutors could not name the individual or
agency responsible for representing the child protection agency in juvenile
court, and several respondents felt that attempts to coordinate would not be
effective because of different missions of criminal and juvenile courts. Site visits were conducted with four
jurisdictions that expressed concern about coordination. Policy implications include delineating the
nature of information that may be shared between the courts and under what
circumstances and including child protection attorneys on existing multidisciplinary
teams. Greater cooperation is needed in
order to protect children from harm. [WW]
Whitcomb,
D., Runyan, D., DeVos, E., Hunter, W., Cross, T., Everson, M., Peeler, N.,
& Porter, C. (1992). When the victim is a child. (2 ed.). Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of
Justice.
Wulkan,
D., & Bulkley, J. (198?). General survey findings relating to prosecutorial
practices and policies. In J. Bulkely (Ed.), Innovations in the prosecution
of child sexual abuse (pp. 1-8). Washington D.C.: American Bar Association.
Berliner,
L., & Conte, J. R. (1995). The effects of disclosure and intervention on
sexually abused children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(3), 371-384.
This
study was a retrospective examination of the impact of disclosure and
subsequent interventions for sexual abuse victims. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 82 sexual
abuse victims and their families about their experiences with different
post-disclosure interventions. Having
contact with a greater number of professionals following disclosure was related
to greater negative impact of the abuse.
Testifying in court had no relationship to impact. Qualitative data revealed that most children
had positive associations to system interventions, particularly when they felt
that they had been treated in a respectful and caring manner. [LJ]
Bishop,
S. J., Murphy, J. M., Jellinek, M. S., Quinn, S. D., & Poitrast, J. F. G.
(1992). Protecting seriously mistreated children: Time delays in a court
sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 465-474.
[TC]
Dezwirek-Sas,
L. (1992). Empowering child witnesses for sexual abuse prosecution. In H. F.
Dent, R. (Ed.), Children as Witnesses (pp. 181-199). Chichester, West:
John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.
[LJ]
Fleiss,
J. L., Williams, J. B. W., & Dubro, A. F. (1986). The logistic regression
analysis of psychiatric data. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 20(3),
145-209.
Henry,
J. (1997). System intervention trauma to child sexual abuse victims following
disclosure. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12(4), 499-512.
This
study looked retrospectively at the effects of post-disclosure interventions on
victims of sexual abuse. Ninety
children participated from 3 communities with varying degrees of inter-agency
coordination. Thirty children overall
were required to testify in either juvenile or criminal court. Results indicated that higher trauma scores,
as measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist, were related to an increased
number of interviews, even when other aspects of the abuse such as seriousness
were controlled for. Lower trauma
scores were related to the presence of a trusted professional. No relationship was found between trauma and
testifying, removal from the home, type of court, disposition of case, and
medical exams. Seventy-two percent of
children recalled their experiences with agency intervention as positive.
Although
this study offers important information on the overall relationship between
child trauma and different investigation experiences, comparisons between
the communities were more difficult to interpret. Despite unspecified differences in coordination of investigations
between communities, no differences were found on child trauma scores. However, the small sample size and the
retrospective design of the study reduce the power of the study and therefore
limit the ability to detect such differences. [LJ]
Jellinek,
M. S., Little, M., Benedict, K., Murphy, J. M., Pagano, M., Poitrast, F., &
Quinn, D. (1995). Placement outcomes of 206 severely maltreated children in the
Boston juvenile court system: A
7.5-year follow-up study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(9), 1051-1064.
Jellinek,
M. S., Murphy, J. M., Poitrast, F., Quinn, D., Bishop, S. J., & Goshko, M.
(1992). Serious child maltreatment in Massachusetts: The course of 206 children through the courts. Child Abuse and
Neglect, 16(2), 179-185.
This
study followed 206 severely abused and/or neglected children involved in care
and protection petitions through the Boston Juvenile Court for 4 years. The majority of the parents of these
children were found to suffer from psychiatric disorders (84%) and poverty
(66.7%), and 81% had previously been involved with the Department of Social
Services. Parental compliance with
services ordered by the court was the strongest predictor of judicial decisions
to permanently remove the child from or return the child to parental custody. Twenty-nine percent of the children returned
to their parents were victims of subsequent maltreatment within the 3-year
follow-up period. The authors'
conclusion is that children are not well served by the current legal and social
service systems. [EC]
Lipovsky,
J. A. (1994). The impact of court on children:
Research findings and practical recommendations. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 9(2), 238-257.
[LJ]
Lipovsky,
J. A., Tidwell, R., Crisp, J., Kilpatrick, D. G., Saunders, B. E., &
Dawson, V. L. (1992). Child witnesses in criminal court -- Descriptive
information from three southern states. Law and Human Behavior, 16(6),
635-650.
Mahady-Smith,
C. M. (1985). The young victim as witness for the prosecution: Another form of abuse? Dickinson Law
Review, 89(3), 721-749.
Oates,
R. K., Lynch, D. L., Stern, A. E., O'Toole, B. I., & Cooney, G. (1995). The
criminal justice system and the sexually abused child: Help or hindrance? The Medical Journal of
Australia, 162(6), 126-130.
This
study used a prospective design to examine the impact of the criminal justice
system on sexual abuse victims (N = 59).
Parent interviews were conducted and data was collected on child
self-esteem, depression, and behavior problems. Thirty-three cases were committed for trial or sentencing and 8
children testified in court. Although
the majority of parents described their experiences with the criminal justice
system as unsatisfying and felt it was overly stressful for the children, no
relationship was found between testifying and child distress measures. Although sample size limits the power of the
study, the findings suggest that the impact of the criminal justice system
might be transient and less important than other variables in affecting child
victims' well being. [LJ]
Runyan,
D. K., Everson, M. D., Edelsohn, G. A., Hunter, W. M., & Coulter, M. L.
(1988). Impact of legal intervention on sexually abused children. The
Journal of Pediatrics, 113(4), 647-653.
This prospective
study examined the emotional impact of involvement in criminal and juvenile
courts for victims of sexual abuse. A
cohort of seventy-five victims was followed for 5 months. Anxiety and distress were measured at intake
and at 5-months using the Child Assessment Scale (CAS) and the Child Behavior
Checklist (CBCL). Results indicated
that children involved in the criminal court system whose case was still
pending after 5 months improved less than those whose case was resolved or who
were not involved in criminal court at all.
Children who testified in juvenile court improved more than all other
victims. The authors concluded that
although the sample was small, the main findings suggest that lengthier cases
impede healing processes and testifying in juvenile court is not harmful and is
possibly a healing experience for sexual abuse victims. [LJ]
Runyan,
D. K., Hunter, W. M., Everson, M. D., Whitcomb, D., & DeVos, E. (1994). The
intervention stressors inventory: A
measure of the stress of intervention for sexually abused children. Child
Abuse and Neglect, 18(4), 319-329.
This
article describes the development and validation of the Intervention Stressors
Inventory (ISI), a new scale to measure the level of stress sexually abused children
experience as a result of societal intervention. The ISI was used to quantify the number of stressful events such
as interview with law enforcer, medical exam, court testimony, and
cross-examination. Estimates of the
relative stress of these interventions were obtained from 98
professionals. After receiving the
professional ratings, standard stress level weights for each event were
calculated using geometric means of the ratings. The validity of the ISI was assessed by interviewing 254 sexually
abused children and their parents about their intervention experience in four
jurisdictions across the country.
Early
results suggest that this could be a useful tool. Total intervention scores were higher for adolescents than for
younger children. Intervention scores
did not differ for children who experienced vaginal or anal penetration and
those who did not. However, higher
intervention scores were accompanied when victimization included physical force
or threat of force. Intervention varied
by offender's relationship to the victim.
Extrafamilial cases had significantly higher adjudication and testimony
scores, while intrafamilial victims had more protective service intervention. A weakness of this study was the low return
rate by professionals rating the inventory, with 98 of 316 professionals
responding. It is not clear how the
professionals who responded differed from those who did not. Another limitation is that the sample of
adult experts rating the stress-inducing events may have had different
perceptions about the stress than the children experiencing the events. [WW]
Sas,
L. Sex offenders and their victims- empowering children for abuse
litigation: New data . Oakville,
Ontario: Child Witness Project, London Family Court Clinic.
[LJ]
Sas,
L. (1997). Sexually abused children as witnesses. In D. A. Wolfe, R. J.
McMahon, & R. D. Peters (Eds.), Child abuse: new directions in prevention and treatment across the lifespan
(pp. 248-267). London: Sage Publications.
[LJ]
Sas,
L., Hurley, P., Hatch, A., Malia, S., & Dick, T. (1993). Three years
after the verdict: A longitudinal study of the social and psychological
adjustment of child witnesses referred to the child witness project.
(Research FVDS #4887-06-91-026). London, Ontario: Family Violence Prevention
Division of Health Canada under the Family Violence Initiative.
Sas,
L. D., Wolfe, D. A., & Gowdey, K. (1996). Children and the courts in
Canada. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 23(2), 338-357.
Smith,
B. E., Elstein, S. G., Laszlo, A. T., Akimoto, M. C., Ayres, M. B., &
Smith, J. B. (1994). Children on hold: Improving the response to children
whose parents are arrested and incarcerated (Final ). Washington, DC: ABA
Center on Children and the Law.
Smith,
S. B. (1985). Children's story:
Sexually molested children in criminal court. (New Revised ed.).
Walnut Creek, CA: Launch Press.
Tedesco,
J. F., & Schnell, S. V. (1987). Children's reaction to sex abuse
investigation and litigation. Child Abuse and Neglect, 11, 267-272.
This
study was one of the first empirical examinations of the experiences of child
abuse victims in the criminal justice system.
Questionnaires were returned from 48 child victims who testified in a
criminal trial. These children had been
interviewed from 1 to 40 times by, most typically, three different
interviewers. Nine children had been
required to testify in front of the abuser in a court trial. Forty-eight percent of the sample rated
their investigation experiences as helpful, 19% as harmful, 19% as both and 2%
as neither. A greater number of
interviewers and testifying in front of the abuser were related to perceiving
the experience as more harmful.
Although the size and representativeness of the sample limit
generalizability of the findings, the research offers preliminary evidence that
the prosecutory experience is not always perceived as a negative one by
victims. [LJ]
Weiss,
E. H., & Berg, R. F. (1982). Child victims of sexual assault: Impact of court procedures. Journal of
the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 21(5), 513-518.
The
article is one of the earlier published descriptions of professional concern
about the impact of the court system on child victims of abuse. The authors' concerns arose from their
experiences with child abuse victims in Washington D.C. The article summarizes of the effects of
sexual victimization on children, describes the procedures of the three courts
child victims often become involved with (criminal, delinquency, and family),
and outlines the ways in which the procedures can be insensitive to children's
needs and possibly exacerbate the victims' trauma and stress reactions. The authors use examples from clinical cases
to illustrate their points and follow up with recommendations for mental health
workers and the court system. Despite
the age of the article, it offers a useful introduction to the concerns
professionals have about the impact of court procedures on child victim
witnesses. [LJ]
Whitcomb,
D., Goodman, G. S., Runyan, D. K., & Hoak, S. (1994). The emotional
effects of testifying on sexually abused children (NIJ: Research in Brief NCJ 146414). Washington,
D. C.: Department of Justice.
This
research brief published by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) summarizes
findings from three of the largest studies on the effects of testifying on
child victims. Results are summarized
from: 1) a study by Desmond Runyan and
his colleagues based in North Carolina; 2) a study by Gail Goodman and her
colleagues based in Denver, Colorado; and 3) a multi-site research project by
Debra Whitcomb and her colleagues funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). All three studies found that children were
highly anxious at intake, but, for the most part, improved greatly over time
regardless of their experiences in court.
Findings on the specific effects of
testifying were mixed. Goodman, et al.
found negative effects for child witnesses at a seven-month follow-up. Runyan, et al., on the other hand, found
testifiers in juvenile court improved more than non-testifiers at a 5-month
follow-up. At longer follow-up periods
none of the studies found significant differences between child victims who
testified and those who did not. Other
findings included the importance of maternal support in children's emotional
well-being and the negative impact of multiple interviews or testimony and
delays in the court process on children. [LJ]
Chapman,
J. R., & Smith, B. (1987). Response of social service and criminal justice
agencies to child sexual abuse complaints. Response, 10(3), 7-13.
This
research examined the actions taken by social service and criminal justice
agencies in all founded child sexual abuse cases in two counties. The sample was a random sample survey of 183
closed social service cases and 205 closed police cases. Of the social service cases, 21% were closed
in less than 1 month and about 80% were closed in 12 months or less. Child welfare agencies took action in only
41% of the founded cases, which means that 59% of the founded cases received
neither juvenile court action nor service agreements through social
services. When action was taken, the
most frequent action taken was temporary removal of child from home (71% of
cases). Other actions were child placed
in foster care (41%), child placed with family, friend, others (44%), child
welfare agency service given protective supervision of child (60%), and abuser
removed from home (62%). Counseling was
ordered for 44% of the children in child welfare founded complaints. Counseling was order for 56% of the abusers,
65% through court mandate and 35% through informal agreements. Response of the justice system indicated
that the abuser was arrested 51% of the time.
Convicted abusers were incarcerated in 60% of the cases, with 59% of the
sentences involving 12 months or less. Less than half of the cases (41%)
resulted in civil actions or informal service agreements. Therefore, 59% received neither juvenile
court action nor service agreements. Because this study examined case
processing in two sites, it is not known whether this research represents the
national response of social service and criminal justice agencies. [WW]
Dam, C.
V., Halliday, L., & Bates, C. (1985). The occurrence of sexual abuse in a
small community. Canadian Journal of Community, 4(1), 105-111.
Mrazek,
P. J., Lynch, M. A., & Bentovim, A. (1983). Sexual abuse of children in the
United Kingdom. Child Abuse and Neglect, 7, 147-153.
Small,
M. A., & Wanke, K. L. (1994). State responses to child maltreatment, Young
Victims, Young Offenders (pp. 11-26). Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, Inc.
Stevens,
G., Fischer, D. G., & Berg, L. (1992). Review and monitoring of child
sexual abuse cases in selected sites in Saskatchewan: Studies on the sexual abuse of children in Canada: Department
of Justice, Canada.
Stroud,
D. D., Martens, S. L., & Barker, J. (2000). Criminal investigation of child
sexual abuse: A comparison of cases
referred to the prosecutor to those not referred. Child Abuse and Neglect,
24(5), 689-700.
[TC]
Trute,
B., Adkins, E., & MacDonald, G. (1996). Professional attitudes regarding
treatment and punishment of incest: Comparing police, child welfare, and
community mental health. Journal of Family Violence, 11(3), 237-249.
This
study the differences in attitudes between the 3 primary agencies involved with
intrafamilial child sexual abuse: police, child welfare and community mental
health. In a large Canadian farming
community, personnel were sampled from 3 agencies and given 3 previously
developed vignettes with 3 Likert-type items each relating to treatment and
punishment issues. The consistent
themes of the tests were view of perpetrator as mentally ill rather than
criminal, view that mother and daughter were victims rather than guilty
participants, and that court mandated treatment would benefit the incest
situation. Police were significantly
more likely to consider the offending parent as criminal and to find the mother
complicit. It was noted that the police
had more male subjects. Additionally,
the other services maintained older employees. [MS]
Conte,
J. R. (1984). The justice system and sexual abuse of children. Social
Service Review, 556-567.
DeFrancis,
V. (1969). Protecting the child victim of sex crimes committed by adults
(Final Report Child Welfare Research Grant R-222). Denver, CO: The American
Humane Association Children's Division.
DeJong,
A. R., & Rose, M. (1991). Legal proof of child sexual abuse in the absence
of physical evidence. Pediatrics, 88(3), 506-511.
[TC]
Dolan,
K. J. (1984). Evaluation of outcomes for reported cases of child sexual abuse
in Texas. Victimology: An
International Journal, 9(3-4), 383-397.
Ells,
M. (2000, March). Forming a multidisciplinary team to investigate child
abuse (Originally Printed November 1998) [On-Line]. Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Available: www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/portable_guides/forming/forward.html
[2001, March 23].
Meddin,
B., & Hansen, I. (1985). The services provided during a child abuse and/or
neglect case investigation and the barriers that exist to service provision. Child
Abuse and Neglect, 9, 175-182.
Nicholas-Carnes,
C., Nelson-Gardell, D., & Wilson, C. (1999). Addressing challenges and
controversies in child sexual abuse interviewing: The forensic evaluation protocol and research project. In K. C.
Faller (Ed.), Maltreatment in early childhood: Tools for research-based intervention (pp. 83-103).
Binghampton, NY: Haworth Maltreatment and Trauma Press.
[M.E.]
White,
S., & Quinn, K. M. (1988). Investigatory independence in child sexual abuse
evaluations: Conceptual considerations.
Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 16(3), 269-278.
Wood,
J. M., & Garven, S. (2000). How sexual abuse interviews go astray: Implications for prosecutors, police, and
child protection services. Child Maltreatment, 5(2), 109-129.
[M.E.]
Baum,
E., Grodin, M. A., Alpert, J. J., & Glantz, L. (1987). Child sexual abuse,
criminal justice, and the pediatrician. Pediatrics, 79(3), 437-439.
[WW]
DeJong,
A. R. (1998). Impact of child sexual abuse medical examinations on the
dependency and criminal systems. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(6),
645-652.
This
article reviews research about the role and context of child sexual abuse
medical examinations as well as the sociolegal impact of medical
examinations. The review indicates that
criminal prosecution for sexual abuse is more common than for other forms of
abuse and neglect, the prosecutor's decision to pursue criminal charges is
based on a number of factors (such as strength of evidence, likelihood of
conviction, and seriousness of abuse).
About half of all child sexual abuse cases referred for prosecution are
accepted and most result in guilty pleas and convictions. The existence of specific physical findings
doesn't seem to increase the likelihood of confession or conviction. The review indicates that there is little
data about the process or outcome of child sexual abuse cases in juvenile or
dependency court. The author concludes
that more information is needed about role the medical examination plays in the
process and outcome of child sexual abuse cases. Areas of research priorities focus on interviewing and obtaining
histories from children, demystifying the process how medical examinations
influence the child protection process, and describing cases which are not
accepted for prosecution. [WW]
Palusci,
V. J., Cox, E. O., Cyrus, T. A., Heartwell, S. W., Vandervort, F. E., &
Pott, E. S. (1999). Medical assessment and legal outcome in child sexual abuse.
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 153, 388-391.
Baum,
E., Grodin, M. A., Alpert, J. J., & Glantz, L. (1987). Child sexual abuse,
criminal justice, and the pediatrician. Pediatrics, 79(3), 437-439.
[WW]
DeJong,
A. R. (1998). Impact of child sexual abuse medical examinations on the
dependency and criminal systems. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(6),
645-652.
This
article reviews research about the role and context of child sexual abuse
medical examinations as well as the sociolegal impact of medical
examinations. The review indicates that
criminal prosecution for sexual abuse is more common than for other forms of
abuse and neglect, the prosecutor's decision to pursue criminal charges is
based on a number of factors (such as strength of evidence, likelihood of
conviction, and seriousness of abuse).
About half of all child sexual abuse cases referred for prosecution are
accepted and most result in guilty pleas and convictions. The existence of specific physical findings
doesn't seem to increase the likelihood of confession or conviction. The review indicates that there is little
data about the process or outcome of child sexual abuse cases in juvenile or
dependency court. The author concludes
that more information is needed about role the medical examination plays in the
process and outcome of child sexual abuse cases. Areas of research priorities focus on interviewing and obtaining
histories from children, demystifying the process how medical examinations
influence the child protection process, and describing cases which are not
accepted for prosecution. [WW]
Palusci,
V. J., Cox, E. O., Cyrus, T. A., Heartwell, S. W., Vandervort, F. E., &
Pott, E. S. (1999). Medical assessment and legal outcome in child sexual abuse.
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 153, 388-391.
Hochstadt,
N. J., & Harwicke, N. J. (1985). How effective is the multidisciplinary
approach? A follow up study. Child
Abuse and Neglect, 9, 365-372.
This
study evaluated the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary child abuse and
neglect program in Chicago based on service delivery. Service delivery was measured by the number of recommendations
that were followed/obtained by the child's CPS worker one year following
discharge. The sample included 180
children who had been reported to DCFS as suspected of being abused or
neglected. Two independent sources,
caseworker and parent, were required to corroborate whether services were
obtained. Recommended services obtained
one year after evaluation ranged from returning home (100%), foster care (92%),
visiting nurse (76%), and additional medical assessment (66%). Outpatient psychological service recommendations
were not followed as frequently as other service recommendations. For example, family psychotherapy was
obtained 44% of the times recommended, individual psychotherapy was obtained
35% of the time, and additional psychological/psychiatric assessments were
obtained 29% of the time. The type of
abuse/neglect did not influence the number of services obtained, but did
influence the type of service recommended, especially for failure to thrive
cases.
Although
this study indicates that a multidisciplinary team can have a positive effect
on the delivery of services, the study would have been strengthened by using a
control group. This would enhance the
ability of concluding that it was the multidisciplinary team that made a
difference in service delivery. The
results do indicate that the multidisciplinary team performs functions that
increase the probability of service acquisition such as providing
"clout" to dislodge services, reducing the fragmentation and
duplication of efforts and providing case coordination. [WW]
Beauchamp,
B. (2001). Belief in the future is based upon belief in the present: A discussion about program evaluation and
children's advocacy centers. Paper presented at The 17th National Symposium
on Child Abuse, Huntsville, AL.
Bross,
D. C., Ballo, N., & Korfmacher, J. (2000). Client evaluation of a
consultation team on crimes against children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24(1), 71-84.
This
study examines the role of a consulting forensic team approach to criminal
child abuse cases. The forensic team
was created in 1985 to improve criminal prosecutions and to provide additional
expertise to child abuse cases.
Professionals (n=18) who had referred cases for consultative services
were interviewed to evaluate the service. In other words, consumers of the
service were interviewed rather than providers of the service as in other
studies. All respondents agreed that
the team provided missing expertise. A
majority of respondents (83%) agreed that the team alleviated ambiguities in
the case, made possible resolution of cases that might otherwise remain
unresolved (67%), and made possible progress of cases that would otherwise be
delayed (56%). The general consensus to
the open ended discussion about the overall value of the team was that the team
was helpful, but not critical. However,
in one-third of the cases, the respondents volunteered that it was because of
the team that an appropriate result was reached. Not all results were positive.
The team did not resolve all of the cases, and the team's role and
ability to resolve disputes was unclear.
Limitations of the study were the small sample size and lack of a
comparison group. However, an
overwhelming majority agreed that the team provided moral support and improved
confidence that the case was being managed correctly. [WW]
Faller,
K. C., & Henry, J. (2000). Child sexual abuse: A case study in community collaboration. Child Abuse and
Neglect, 24, 1215-1225.
This
exploratory study examined processes and outcomes for 323 criminal court cases
(1988-1998) in a relatively small Midwestern United States community. The community developed a case management
plan in 1985 with the following special components, among others:
· Coordination between CPS and law
enforcement
· Videotapes of child interviews are
made whenever possible and used in the interrogation of suspects
· Non-confessing suspects are offered
polygraph examinations
The % of
cases with CPS involvement declined dramatically over the study period, due,
the authors suggest, to increasing caseloads and a consequent limitation on CPS
involvement in non-caretaker cases.
73% of child interviews were videotaped. 38% of offenders were polygraphed, with the polygrapher
diagnosing deception in 63% of the polygraphs and the offender confessing in 9%
of polygraphs. 64% of offenders
confessed during the investigation and 76% pleaded to some form of criminal
sexual conduct in the target case or another.
69% of cases charged, with the most common reason for not charging being
passing the polygraph. Only 15 cases
(5%) went to trial, with 6 convictions.
76% of offenders received some sort of sentence. Less than 10% of children had to be placed
outsider the home. The authors report
that the rates of charging, confession, plea and child placement compare
favorably to other studies. The
confession rate is especially notable because it referred exclusively to sex
crimes, and excluded bargaining to plead to a non-sexual crime. Based in part on discussions with community
professionals, the authors attribute the community's success to effective
collaboration among agencies, although this conclusion must be tentative
without more process data and a comparison group. [TC]
Glisson,
C., & Hemmelgarn, A. (1998). The effects of organizational climate and
interorganizational coordination on the quality and outcomes of children's
service systems. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(5), 401-421.
This
study assesses the effects of organizational variables such as organizational climate
and interorganizational relationships on service quality (comprehensiveness,
continuity, caseworker availability, and responsiveness) and outcomes. A quasi-experimental longitudinal design was
used. Qualitative and quantitative data
over a 3-year period was collected by 32 public children's services offices
located in 12 pilot counties and 12 matched control counties. The 250 children in the study had been
placed in state custody for at least 1 year by juvenile and family court judges
for neglect, abuse, status offenses, or delinquent behavior. A goal of the pilot project was to improve
service coordination (authorization, accountability, and monitoring procedures)
in order to enhance the quality and outcomes of services provided to
children. Linear structural equation
analysis was used to examine the relationships between organizational climate
and service outcomes. Improvements in
psychosocial functioning were significantly greater for children served by
offices with more positive climates (including low conflict, cooperation, role
clarity, and personalization). In
contrast, interorganizational coordination had a negative effect on service
quality and effect on outcomes. Teachers' descriptions of children's
psychosocial functioning were found to be better indicators of outcomes than
were parents' descriptions. Findings
suggest that service effectiveness is related more to organizational climate,
the service provider attitudes that characterize a given service system, than
to service system configurations. [WW]
Goldstein,
J., & Griffin, E. (1993). The use of a physician-social worker team in the
evaluation of sexual abuse. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2(2), 85-93.
This
study describes five years' experience establishing and developing a physician-social
worker team for the evidentiary evaluation of child sexual abuse. The center is located in an area of northern
San Diego County. The evaluation
consists of a videotaped interview and a physical examination where the
physician and social worker function as a unit. Three benefits of a strong physician-social worker team were
identified. First, the partnership
serves as a reminder than the child's history and physical examination are
linked and provide more information together than alone. Second, the team emphasizes and reinforces
the healing aspects of this work by providing gradual transitions for children.
The team enhances the family's security by providing a comprehensive and
therapeutic evaluation. Third, the team provides an avenue for dialogue and
support for the team members. The
authors conclude that a strong successful team is built on good communication
and the availability of each partner.
[WW]
Jaudes,
P. K., & Martone, M. (1992). Interdisciplinary evaluations of alleged sexual
abuse cases. Pediatrics, 89(6), 1164-1168.
This
article evaluates the Victim Sensitive Interviewing Program (VSIP) that was
implemented to decrease the number of interviews endured by a child who
allegedly had been sexually abused. The
VSIP provides a coordinated investigative interview, medical examination, and
follow-up medical and counseling services to alleged child sexual abuse
victims. A retrospective chart review
was performed on all children seen at a hospital-based center in Chicago. Sexual abuse assessments from 1985 through
1986 (38) were classified as pre-VSIP and compared with VSIP evaluations from
1987 through 1988 (226). There were a
number of significant differences comparing assessments pre-VSIP and VSIP; 11%
of pre-VSIP vs. 79% of VSIP had one interview, 24% of pre-VSIP vs. 88% of VSIP
were interviewed by only one interviewer, 68% of pre-VSIP vs. 88% of VSIP were
indicated cases of sexual abuse, 71% of pre-VSIP vs. 85% of VSIP identified the
perpetrator, and 33% of pre-VSIP vs. 60% of VSIP pressed charges if the
perpetrator was identified. Because
cases screened at this hospital-based center are likely to have a higher index
of suspicion, more information is needed about cases not screened at the
hospital. The authors strongly recommended
that interdisciplinary teams be formed to assess allegations of child sexual
abuse. [WW]
Jensen,
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(2), 139-156.
This
article presents the results of an evaluation of three Children's Justice
Centers (CJCs) in Utah. The authors
describe the CJCs and their use of the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) model in
investigating child sexual abuse. The
CJCs offer a "homelike" environment for children, use
multidisciplinary teams in interviews, and conduct weekly multidisciplinary
case reviews. Two hundred and
ninety-four children seen at three Utah CJCs participated in the project. Researchers collected data on abuse-related
variables, children and parents' satisfaction with their experiences, team
members' satisfaction with services provided, and legal case outcomes. A brief pretest-posttest assessment of
children's behaviors and emotions was conducted at intake and at a 3-month
follow-up with 87 of the subjects.
Child problem behaviors had significantly decreased at the 3-month
post-test. Eighty-eight percent of the
children felt "very good" to "a little good" about the
interview with only 12% of children reporting that they felt "bad" or
"very bad." Team members'
endorsed their satisfaction with the efficiency and effectiveness of the CJCs'
services across all sites. Parents'
satisfaction with the CJCs' services were high at intake but decreased by the
3-month follow-up. Although a control
group would have increased the interpretability of the findings, the study
nonetheless represents an important effort in an area where there is currently
little research. The lower rate of
parent satisfaction at the 3-month follow-up is interesting and suggests
further research is needed on efforts to meet the child and families
post-investigation needs. [LJ]
Kaminer,
B. B., Crowe, A. H., & Budde-Giltner, L. (1990). The prevalence and
characteristics of multidisciplinary teams for child abuse and neglect: A national survey. In M. B. W. Sandra M.
Stith, & Karen Rosen (Ed.), Violence Hits Home: Comprehensive Treatment Approaches to
Domestic Violence (pp. 549-567). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
[DL]
Kolbo,
J. R., & Strong, E. (1997). Multidisciplinary team approaches to the
investigation and resolution of child abuse and neglect: A national survey. Child Maltreatment, 2(1),
61-72.
The
purpose of this research was to examine trends in multidisciplinary team system
design. Interviews were conducted with
individuals knowledgeable about this approach in all 50 states (92% were CPS
staff). Of the 50 states, 33 reported
having statewide participation, 30 have implemented the multidisciplinary
approach using legislative mandate, and 3 have used departmental regulation or
directive. Of the 17 states not
requiring statewide participation, 11 have enacted statues encouraging the
development of teams under specific conditions. States identified the investigation of reported cases, treatment
plans, and consultation as the most common functions. Two-thirds of respondents reported one or more benefit, a
majority referred to increased coordination and collaboration and broader and
joint decision making process.
Challenges included confusion about leadership roles, ownership issues,
and scrutiny of their work. Although
the most frequent strategy to deal with these challenges was training, only 30%
of respondents reported their state providing ongoing training. Results are compared with previous
national surveys and described changes in the system design of
multidisciplinary teams. This study
suggests a change in multidisciplinary team functions from advising and consulting
to investigation and treatment plans.
This study also indicates that law enforcement and legal services have
taken larger roles due in part because team activities are often determined by
legislation. Community education and
monitoring of cases have become more prominent functions. [WW]
Krugman,
R. D. (1990). Future challenges for child protection teams: Research,
education, advocacy. In S. M. Stith, M. B. Williams, & K. Rosen (Eds.), Violence
Hits Home: Comprehensive Treatment Approaches
to Domestic Violence (pp. 616-624). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
This
article provides a brief overview of what is known about the different types of
child abuse as well as unanswered questions.
An overview of the role of child protection teams is described. Specific suggestions for dealing with
difficult issues facing those working in the field of child abuse and neglect
include the following; the need to recognize that complex problems do not have
simple solutions, that multidisciplinary teams must help fix responsibility for
efforts at the federal, state, and local levels, ongoing evaluation must be
included in all programs, there needs to be regionalized networks, greater
focus on prevention, an increase in training for all those involved in the
multidisciplinary team, an increase in the number of treatment facilities, an
increase in funding, an increase in political awareness and activity, and
realistic expectations from those working in this field. [WW]
Pardess,
E., Finzi, R., & Sever, J. (1993). Evaluating the best interests of the
child: A model of multidisciplinary
teamwork. Medicine and Law, 12, 205-211.
This
article describes a multidisciplinary teamwork model in conducting clinical
evaluations of children and families and preparing expert testimony. The overall procedure and goals of this
model are described based on the team's experience evaluating over 60 cases
involving child abuse and neglect over the past five years. The team consists
of a clinical psychologist, a psychiatric social worker, and a child
psychiatrist. Teamwork can reduce the
effects of personal biases, enhance validity and reliability, provide sharing
and support, and enhance integration of theory, techniques, and
examinations. Recommendations include a
separation of roles of expert witnesses and therapists, utilization of
different diagnostic tools, understanding the value of examining the
feasibility of recommendations with family members, and incorporating
strategies to attain parent consent.
[WW]
Reichard,
R. D. (1993). Dysfunctional families in dysfunctional systems? Why child advocacy centers may not be
enough. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 2(4), 103-109.
[LJ]
Rogan,
M. S. (1990). The multidisciplinary team approach to child abuse and neglect.
In M. B. W. Sandra M. Stith, & Karen Rosen (Ed.), Violence Hits
Home: Comprehensive Treatment
Approaches to Domestic Violence (pp. 105-114). New York: Springer
Publishing Company.
This
article describes the history of the multidisciplinary team approach to child
abuse and neglect. In 1974 the Child
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act created the National Center on Child Abuse
and Neglect to provide assistance to agencies and states. States responded by identifying the need for
coordinating services. The
multidisciplinary team approach was chosen as a solution to this problem. Although models vary, purposes of this
approach include providing a structured format for sharing professional
knowledge, improving the quality of services to the family, supporting casework
staff and other service providers, and helping resolve misunderstandings and
misconceptions. Other issues described
in this article include team membership, the role of a team coordinator,
confidentiality, case referral criteria, and evaluation. A short scenario is illustrated to
demonstrate a typical child sexual abuse team meeting. This overview describes the
multidisciplinary approach as enhancing service coordination, increasing
communication among agencies, and enhancing professionals' insight from
discussing cases. [WW]
Sheppard,
D. I., & Zangrillo, P. A. (1996). Coordinating investigations of child
abuse. Public Welfare, 21-31.
[WW]
Skaff,
L. F. (1988). Child maltreatment coordinating committees for effective service
delivery. Child Welfare, LXVII(3), 217-230.
This
article describes a nationwide review of the descriptive information on
coordinating committees and explores factors associated with committee
effectiveness. The study tests two
hypotheses. First, committee participation
will be greater when members are allowed equal power in group decisions or when
the committee is perceived to be effective by potential group members. Second, committee collaboration will be
greater if one of the following exists; perceived equality of power among
members, a sharable group goal, the committee operates in a neutral setting,
the community supports the committee.
The dependent variables were committee participation and member
collaboration. A stratified random
sampling procedure was used. A total of
188 were reviewed and 24 coordinating committees were used to test the
hypotheses. Of all the independent
variables testes, only perceived committee effectiveness was significantly
related to committee participation.
Member collaboration was found to be significantly related to many
factors. When communities emphasized
community wide goals versus individual agency concerns, collaboration was
greater. Equal member power and a
neutral committee setting both increased the likelihood of collaboration. One of the most essential benefits of
coordinating committees was the opportunity to communicate directly and thus
gain new services and legislation and increase community awareness. Many committees were able to sustain
prevention and treatment programs that would otherwise have been
eliminated. [WW]
Smith,
B. E. (1989). The multidisciplinary team approach to investigating of
out-of-home abuse cases. Response, 12(3), 10-12.
Sorenson,
E. (1993). A rose by any name would smell as sweet: Enhancing the functioning child advocacy center. Journal of
Child Sexual Abuse, 2(4), 111-113.
[LJ]
Tjaden,
P. G., & Anhalt, J. (1994). The impact of joint law enforcement-child
protective services investigations in child maltreatment cases. . Denver,
CO: Center of Policy Research.
This
study compared process and outcome of investigations in five communities that
varied in the degree to which police and CPS investigations were conducted
jointly. The authors found that the
term "joint investigation" was loosely defined, and operationally
defined it as involving at least one contact between the two agency
investigators during the CPS investigation or one conjoint interview sometime
during the investigation process. Joint
investigations were more common with sexual abuse, with more serious abuse and
with multiple forms of abuse. They were
more frequent when law enforcement was the first agency officially reporting
the abuse, and in the context of emergency medical treatment for the victim.
In
comparison to independent investigations, joint investigations had:
· Shorter caseworker response times
· Lengthier investigations
· More contacts during the
investigations
· More frequent use of face-to-face
interviews with persons involved in the case
· More custody removals
· More perpetrator departures from the
home
· More perpetrator confessions
· More frequent victim corroboration
· More substantiated reports
· More dependency filings
· More criminal prosecutions
· More guilty pleas
Joint
investigations did not have more repeat interviews than independent
investigations.
The
impressive list of differences between joint and independent investigations is difficult
to interpret, however, because they could all plausibly be explained by the
differences in the type of cases investigated jointly versus independently
(e.g., in seriousness and type of
abuse). Moreover, there is no way of
ruling out the possibility that cases on which agencies decided to intervene
more intensely were assigned to be jointly investigated. The authors did not statistically control
for possible confounds, nor did they address them in the text.
The more
rigorous comparison of communities that differed on degree of joint versus
independent investigations did not suggest an effect of cooperation. Communities differed significantly on a
number of process and outcome variables, but these differences were never
related to the communities' rank on degree of police-social worker cooperation
on investigations. [TC]
Williams,
G. (1993). The expansion of advocacy center's role: Too much? Too soon? Journal
of Child Sexual Abuse, 2(4), 115-118.
[CA]