Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The primary intent of this study was to seek solutions to the practical problems
experienced by practitioners in their management of child abuse cases. A
fundamental problem regarding the current management of child abuse is that there
is no guarantee that a child entering the child protective system will be dealt with
in terms of a set procedure and/or protected against further abuse. To address this
problem in the Western Cape, the Intervention Research (IR) methodology
(Rothman & Thomas, 1994) was used to develop a Protocol for the Multi-
Disciplinary Management of Child Abuse and Neglect.
IV
The protocol was designed for agencies that intervene in instances of child abuse.
It establishes criteria and procedures for interdisciplinary co-ordination and
effective case management, delineates the professional roles and responsibilities
and provides step-by-step intervention procedures.
The Intervention Research Design and Development methodology provided a
useful framework to apply social science research methods to child protective
practice and policy reform. IR focuses on the design of practice guidelines for
intervention and policy reform. It can be conducted in a diversity of practice
settings and therefore enhances collaborative efforts and inter-agency exchange
among practitioners and among practitioners and universities.
The study evolved through six phases involving inter-as well as intra-disciplinary
activities. These activities were guided by systematic and deliberate research
procedures, techniques and instruments. The research phases included: problem
analysis; information gathering and synthesis; the development and design of the
protocol; testing the protocol through a process of workshops and finally, the
launch and dissemination of the protocol.
http://etd.uwc.ac.za
A core element of the study was the active participation and collaboration of a
broad range of key stakeholders, including: victims of child abuse, their families,
service providers, and policy makers. The methods and instruments used were
therefore designed to enhance participation and included interviews, workshops
and observation of court processes. The bottom-up approach and collaborative
design enhanced the level of contextual relevance, ownership and the commitment
of stakeholders. As a demonstration of this commitment, the protocol has been
endorsed by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health and Social Services
of the Western Cape. The Department of Social Services has committed financial
support to the project and is pilot testing it in three districts.
The study cautions that protocols alone cannot eradicate and solve all the problems
in the child protective field and asserts that there is an urgent and critical need to
develop and to implement a National Strategy on Child Abuse. Such a National
strategy should include legislation that supports and enforces all aspects of a
national policy on child abuse. At minimum, national policy should ensure
consistent political will and leadership. This means that broad statements about the
obligations of politicians and state officials is not enough. These should be
followed by specific accountability and measuring mechanisms for enforcement.
State policy should also provide guidelines for standardized and appropriate
working conditions, recruitment and training of staff. Furthermore, it should
provide for a broad array of effective and accessible services to all children and
families and the co-ordination of such services. Finally, legislation should include
specific obligations regarding the appropriation of adequate and flexible funding
to see that commitments made to children are realized
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/8547 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Barnes-Septermber, Roseline, L |
| Contributors | Sonn, Fanie, Kotze, Frans |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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