Objectives: Concerns have been raised that child welfare systems may inappropriately target poor families for intrusive interventions. The term “neglect” has been critiqued as a class-based label applied disproportionately to poor families. The objectives of the study are: to identify the nature and frequency of clinical and poverty-related concerns in child neglect investigations and to assess the service referral response to these needs; to examine the contribution of poverty-related need to case decision-making; and to explore whether substantiated cases of neglect can be divided into subtypes based on different constellations of clinical and poverty-related needs. Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected through the 2008 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS‑2008), a nationally representative dataset. A selected subsample of neglect investigations from the CIS‑2008 (N = 4,489) is examined through descriptive analyses, logistic regression, and two-step cluster analysis in order to explore each research objective. Results: Children and caregivers investigated for neglect presented with a range of clinical and poverty-related difficulties. Contrary to some previous research, the existence of poverty-related needs did not influence case dispositions after controlling for other relevant risk factors. However, some variables that should be, in theory, extraneous to case decision-making emerged as significant in the multivariate models, most notably Aboriginal status, with Aboriginal children having increased odds of substantiation, ongoing service provision and placement. Cluster analyses revealed that cases of neglect could be partitioned into three clusters, with no cluster emerging characterized by poverty alone. Conclusions: The majority of children investigated for neglect live in families experiencing poverty-related needs, and with caregivers struggling with clinical difficulties. While poverty-related need on its own does not explain the high proportion of poor families reported to the child welfare system, nor does it account for significant variance in case decision making, cluster analysis suggests that there exists a subgroup of “neglected” children living in families perhaps best characterized by the broader notion of social disadvantage. These families may be better served through an orientation of family support/family welfare rather than through the current residual child protection paradigm.

Each state and territory within the United States is required by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act [42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.] to maintain a mandatory suspected child abuse and neglect reporting law, requiring certain professionals who regularly see children to report any suspicions of child maltreatment to child protective services. It is well documented that mandatory reporters fail to report each case of suspected child maltreatment they witness. This study sought to determine whether differences in three specific variables within the mandatory report laws had an effect on the frequency with which medical personnel report suspected child abuse and neglect. The three variables analyzed were: definitional scope of emotional abuse; standard of knowledge required for a report; and severity of penalty imposed on those who knowingly fail to report cases of child abuse and neglect. Data was obtained from the Child Maltreatment 2006 annual report printed by the Health and Human Services Administration of Children, Youth and Families. Of the three variables assessed, only severity of penalty yielded a significant association with report rate. States with lower report rates were significantly more likely to have lenient penalties for failure to report compared with those who had report rates above the national average (O.R. = 5.0, 95% C.I. = 1.165-21.465). It is recommended that states consider increasing the severity of the sanctions enforced for failure to report suspected child abuse and neglect. Although standard of knowledge requirements were not significantly associated with report rates, the literature suggests that standardization of this portion of the mandatory report laws could improve report rates, particularly among physicians.

The main aim of this research was to identify a family support programme which could be used as a primary prevention strategy against child abuse as a first positive step within the family, the basic unit of society, towards reducing community violence. The central focus of this intervention was that it should be appropriate for use in a multi-ethnic South African context and implementable by community health nurses or related lay health personnel with minimal training. No such programme was identified. The researcher attempted to integrate the most appropriate and scientifically substantiated features of existing programmes and develop a unique South African programme. This programme was developed and tested in a participatory manner with multiethnic communities. Community health nurse facilitators were trained and evaluated and the developed programme was then implemented by these facilitators in several sites. The influences of the developed programme were extensively evaluated. Changes in attitudes, feelings and behaviour of the child, the mother, the maternal-child interaction and the family system were explored. A quasi-experimental design with pre and post testing of the experimental group and two control groups (control 1 received social support and control 2 receiving routine clinic nursing only) was utilized. Completed analysis has yielded some exciting and provocative results. There are clear differences in each of the groups attitudes to their children. On the Mother-Child Relationship Evaluation (MCRE) positive gains in maternal-child relationship were established for the experimental group and this was greater than that of both controls (t-test = 4.151 @ alpha = 0.0013; H=4.0734 @ alpha = 0.04 and F=7.031 @ alpha = 0.0004). On the Family Assessment Device (FAD) some limited changes were observed in the experimental group over the controls (F= 3 .33 @ alpha = 0.05). This is a positive outcome indicating that the family support programme evidenced significant changes in the participants relationships with their children and in their families and wider social life. Mothers and facilitators qualitative feedback reported positive interaction with young and older children and changed maternal and child attitude and behaviour. Despite the critical shortage of staff in community health settings facilitators continue to implement the programme voluntarily in their service settings. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1995.

Objectives: Concerns have been raised that child welfare systems may inappropriately target poor families for intrusive interventions. The term “neglect” has been critiqued as a class-based label applied disproportionately to poor families. The objectives of the study are: to identify the nature and frequency of clinical and poverty-related concerns in child neglect investigations and to assess the service referral response to these needs; to examine the contribution of poverty-related need to case decision-making; and to explore whether substantiated cases of neglect can be divided into subtypes based on different constellations of clinical and poverty-related needs. Methods: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected through the 2008 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS‑2008), a nationally representative dataset. A selected subsample of neglect investigations from the CIS‑2008 (N = 4,489) is examined through descriptive analyses, logistic regression, and two-step cluster analysis in order to explore each research objective. Results: Children and caregivers investigated for neglect presented with a range of clinical and poverty-related difficulties. Contrary to some previous research, the existence of poverty-related needs did not influence case dispositions after controlling for other relevant risk factors. However, some variables that should be, in theory, extraneous to case decision-making emerged as significant in the multivariate models, most notably Aboriginal status, with Aboriginal children having increased odds of substantiation, ongoing service provision and placement. Cluster analyses revealed that cases of neglect could be partitioned into three clusters, with no cluster emerging characterized by poverty alone. Conclusions: The majority of children investigated for neglect live in families experiencing poverty-related needs, and with caregivers struggling with clinical difficulties. While poverty-related need on its own does not explain the high proportion of poor families reported to the child welfare system, nor does it account for significant variance in case decision making, cluster analysis suggests that there exists a subgroup of “neglected” children living in families perhaps best characterized by the broader notion of social disadvantage. These families may be better served through an orientation of family support/family welfare rather than through the current residual child protection paradigm.

According to the Children's Bureau of Taiwan (2007), the number of Taiwanese children abused and neglected sharply increased from 6,059 to 10,094 between 2000 and 2006. Reports of abused and neglected children also rose from 8,494 to 13,986 in that period. This followed enactment of the Children and Youth Welfare Law in 2003 imposing a range of health, education and social welfare professionals, including nurses, the statutory duty to report suspected child abuse and neglect. Previous studies in Taiwan have indicated that despite the legislation, a range of factors continue to act against nurses reporting child abuse and neglect (CAN) cases according to the law. Previous research had examined factors that influence CAN reporting by health, education, and welfare professionals including registered nurses in Taiwan. The study herein sought to extend knowledge of these factors by identifying and assessing nurses' self-efficacy as a prime factor influencing professional commitment to legal reporting of CAN. The aims of this research were to: (1) examine influencing factors of nurses' likelihood to report CAN in Taiwanese health care settings, and (2) develop and test a new instrument Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Self Efficacy (CANRSE) to measure nurses' self-efficacy in CAN reporting. The research was conducted in two phases. Phase one investigated nurses' experience with CAN reporting and examined relationships between nurses' perceptions, attitudes, knowledge, and likelihood to report CAN cases. Two hundred and thirty-eight nurses from emergency departments, paediatric units and community centres in Taiwan completed a survey. The results showed that using a series of vignettes, a significant relationship existed between the likelihood to report CAN and perception, attitude, and knowledge. Notably, perception was the most significant variable in predicting nurses' likelihood to report CAN cases. Findings indicated nurses had poor perceptions of recognizing and reporting CAN and lacked faith in child protection services. Knowledge of Taiwanese CAN reporting laws was poor. In general, most nurses believed that they needed more training courses on the recognition and reporting of CAN. These findings, in particular the importance of perceptions of legal reporting behaviour, were worthy of further investigation. In Phase two, a measure of CANRSE was developed and tested. Data were collected from 496 nurses working in Taiwanese health care settings. Development of the CANRSE was guided by an extensive literature review, findings from Phase one of the study and by an expert panel. The CANRSE consisted of five sections: (1) demographic information, (2) efficacy-expectation for suspected cases, (3) efficacy-expectation for known cases, (4) outcome-expectation of CAN reporting, and (5) likelihood to report CAN. The influence of nurses' self-efficacy on their likelihood to report CAN cases was also analysed. Structure of the CANRSE was supported by structural equation modeling using AMOS 6.0. Additionally, correlation and regression analyses were applied to investigate the validity and reliability of the CANRSE. CANRSE met accepted psychometric standards for reliability and validity in this study. Nurses' CAN self-efficacy yielded strong prediction over personal characteristics, experience as a nurse, experience as a parent, and age. Thus, the research provides an important contribution to the literature relating to mandatory reporting by professional groups in particular nurses. It was the first research to successfully develop a new instrument to evaluate nurses' selfefficacy in CAN reporting. The findings provide a basis for understanding the influence of Taiwanese nurses' decision making for CAN reporting. Further research can extend the scope of CAN training programs and their evaluation.

<p>The aim of this study was to, with a social constructivistic approach, examine how parents,regarded as neglecting their children, are depicted in 12 LVU-legal cases from the Supreme Administrative Court in Sweden. By using a document analysis influenced by discourse analytical tools, we found that there are repeated descriptions of the parents, which constructs an image of parents as shortcoming in the care of their children. The categories lack of emotions, mental disorder, substance abuse and physical maltreatment were the main reasons for child neglect that the parents were described from. Attitudes towards authority, aggression and immaturity, lack of insight, and deficiencies in the home were repeated in the description of the parent. We further found that mothers were regarded as more responsible of the children compared to fathers. According to Goffman, describing certain groups of individuals with discredited words has a stigmatizing effect. It helps to reinforce what is considered normal or abnormal. Furthermore, we have found that the language of the LVU-legal cases, possess a power in the construction of parents who neglect their children, which was analyzed on the basis of Foucault's theory of power.</p>

This two-part study investigates the effectiveness of neurofeedback training for reducing behavioral problems commonly observed in abused/neglected children, and compares its efficacy to other treatment interventions with this population. Neuro-developmental sequelae of early relationship trauma are explored as an etiological framework for understanding disturbed affect-regulation, which appears central to the behavioral and emotional difficulties commonly experienced by this pediatric population. It is suggested that neurofeedback teaches children to self-regulate brain rhythmicity mechanisms, which in turn affects global improvements in behavior and mood. The pilot study utilizes records of 20 children removed from their biological homes by Child Protective Services. Children were assessed prior to treatment using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), and again after 30 sessions of individualized, qEEG-guided neurofeedback training. A t-test analysis of pre- and post-scores was computed, and indicated significant improvements following treatment. A meta-analysis of existing literature on treatment interventions with abused/neglected children provides individual and aggregate effect sizes for 33 outcome studies with this clinical population, and contextualizes the results of the present pilot study within other empirically validated treatment modalities. Establishment of an overall effect size for treatment for this pediatric population provides a needed method of comparing research results across studies when control groups may not be ethical or feasible.

No description available.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur anställda inom förskolan förhåller sig till anmälningsplikten. Med en kvalitativ metod och semistrukturerade intervjuer tar vi reda på hur anställda i förskolan resonerar kring anmälningsplikten, hur de i praktiken förhåller sig till att anmäla samt om det finns några specifika rutiner. Studiens empiri kommer vi att analysera med hjälp av organisationsteorin, detta med ett relationellt perspektiv. Resultatet i studien visar att förskolorna har rutiner för hur de ska anmäla medans rutinen för när de ska anmäla är kopplad till kommunikationen mellan ledning och personal. Det framkommer att pedagogernas värderingar och stödet från chefen påverkar hur personal inom barnomsorg förhåller sig till att anmäla. Hur de ser på anmälningsplikten ser olika ut för varje individ samt att de anser att de får allt för lite utbildning kring sin plikt att anmäla. / The purpose of this study is to study preschool employees behave when it comes to report neglect and how they act as mandatory reporters of suspected child neglect or abuse. Through a qualitative analysis and semistructured interviews we have studied how employees interpret the mandate to report, how they practically apply it in their day to day work, and also what the guidelines for reporting are, if any. The empirical research have been analyzed with the help of the organizational theory through a relational perspective. The results of the study show that while preschools indeed have requirements and processes in place for dealing with the legal duty to report child abuse, when to do so is more dependent on the communication between manager and employees. It appears that preschool employees personal values and level of support from management determines how personnel relates to reporting when abuse or neglect is observed or suspected in a childcare environment. How employees interpret mandated reporting is highly individual in addition to staff feeling like there is insufficient training when it comes to mandated reporting requirements and protocols.

No description available.