April 2004Vol. 5, No. 3Print issueSpotlight on National Child Abuse Prevention

In the January 2004 edition of the Juvenile Justice Bulletin, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) reviews six possible explanations for a 40 percent drop in substantiated sexual abuse cases between 1992 and 2000 (from 149,800 to 89,355). While it is likely that multiple factors are involved, the article concludes there is evidence indicating that a "real decline," as opposed to changes in reporting trends or data collection, is responsible for the trend.

Evidence cited includes:

• A decline in the number of self-reports of sexual abuse by victims
• Declines in related social problems (such as teen pregnancy)
• Declines in the most readily preventable sexual abuse cases
• An increase in incarceration of sexual abuse offenders

The article also explores five other possible explanations for the decline in substantiated child sexual abuse cases, including:

• Increasing conservatism within child protection agencies regarding the cases they investigate and substantiate
• Exclusion of cases that do not involve caretakers
• Changes in child protection services data collection methods or definitions
• Diminished reporting due to a sexual abuse backlash
• A reduction in the supply of older but previously undisclosed cases available for new disclosures

The authors did not find consistent evidence for any of these alternate explanations. While there is partial evidence in some areas of the country or during some time periods for some of these, the overall decline is so widespread and concerns so many age groups and types of abuse that the authors found the theory of "real decline" most plausible.

A full copy of this report can be accessed on the OJJDP website at http://www.ojjdp.gov/publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=199298&ti=&si=&sei=&kw=&PreviousPage=PubResults&strSortby=date&p=&strPubSearch=.

Related Item

The OJJDP last reported on this topic in January 2001. Find a summary of that article in "Researchers Ponder Causes for Decline in Child Sexual Abuse Cases" in the May/June 2001 issue of Children's Bureau Express.

A study published in the December 2003 issue of Children and Youth Services Review uses Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data to demonstrate that a large proportion of children whose parental rights are terminated (TPR) still do not achieve permanence within 1 year. The study also examines how particular case factors, including age, race, and geographic location, affect how quickly children exit foster care.

The authors studied a cohort of 1,995 foster children in 42 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico whose parental rights were terminated during the same month (October 1997). Of these children, only 35 percent were found to have exited foster care within 1 year. The report then provides descriptive information about the children and compares factors typical of children discharged from foster care within 1 year of their birth parents' rights being terminated to those typical of children not discharged within 1 year. Characteristics found to be associated with leaving at a slower rate included:

• Age. 44 percent of the children entering foster care as infants were discharged within 1 year, compared to 31 percent of children who were over age 1 when they entered care.
• Race. The author found that on any given day, African American children were 23 percent less likely than children of other races or ethnicities to exit care.
• Kinship placement. 55 percent of children in pre-adoptive placements were discharged within 1 year, compared to 19 percent of children in kinship placements.
• Multiple placement settings. Children who were discharged within 1 year of TPR had an average of 2.97 previous placement settings, while children not discharged within 1 year had an average of 3.46 placement settings.

The study also found that the rate of exiting foster care after TPR varied by State. Some State differences remained even after accounting for client demographics and other caseload differences. The author suggests this might be a result of how different States view permanency or may reflect policy and practical differences affecting foster children. Further research will be necessary to account for State differences.

The author concludes that these findings raise concerns about the large proportion of children who do not have permanence within 1 year after TPR. The author questions whether policy changes are needed to decrease the lengths of stay after TPR and stresses the need for more empirical studies on the meaning of legal permanency to children and alternative ways to recognize family bonds.

The study, "After Parental Rights are Terminated: Factors Associated with Exiting Foster Care," can be found in Children and Youth Services Review, Vol. 25, No. 12. Find ordering information on the ScienceDirect website at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740903001051. Requests for reprints should be sent to Brenda D. Smith (bsmith@albany.edu), School of Social Welfare, State University of New York, 135 Western Avenue, Albany, NY 12222.

Results from a recent study published in the Journal of Family Violence (Vol. 19, No. 1) indicate that certain psychosocial risk factors are associated with a mother's high potential for child abuse and neglect over time. These results may help practitioners identify families who are at greatest risk of chronic maltreatment and implement long-term interventions that take these risk factors into account.

The study involved 56 mothers who either maltreated their children or were at high risk for maltreatment. After 4 years, the women who still had an open case with a child protection agency or displayed strong tendencies for abuse (chronic abuse problems) were compared with those women with inactive child protection cases and those who displayed weak tendencies for abuse (transitory abuse problems). Results show that 6 of the 14 risk factors studied were associated with chronic abuse problems after 4 years:

• High potential for abuse and neglect at intake
• Presence of both a mother and father in the home*
• Large number of children
• Mother had been in foster care as a child
• Mother had been sexually abused
• Mother had run away as an adolescent

Additionally, mothers with more than eight risk factors were found to be much more likely to have chronic abuse problems than mothers with fewer than eight risk factors.

An abstract and ordering information are available on the Journal of Family Violence website at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/B%3AJOFV.0000011579.18333.c9.

*This finding is not consistent with other research.

Related Items

Read more about risk factors for child maltreatment in previous issues of Children's Bureau Express:

• "Predictors of Recurrence in Child Protective Cases Involving Substance Abuse" (October 2003)
• "LONGSCAN Examines Fatherhood" (April 2002)

Estimating the likelihood of future child maltreatment is an integral part of case planning and management, yet current policies and practices in risk assessment may be inadequate or flawed. This topic is the subject of a recent white paper published by the Center for Child Welfare Policy of the North American Resource Center for Child Welfare.

Six issue areas are identified and discussed:

• Lack of agreement regarding the purpose and scope of risk assessment
• Inconsistency among concepts, terminology, and measures in risk assessment
• Methodological problems in risk assessment models and their validation
• Barriers to large-scale implementation of formal risk assessment
• Inappropriate use of risk assessment, such as for activities other than estimating recurrence of child maltreatment in a family
• Insufficient consideration of ethical and legal issues involved in risk assessment

Recommendations that emerge from this discussion focus on large-scale system changes needed throughout the child protective services field, such as standardizing assessment terminology, developing valid instruments, and distinguishing risk assessment from family assessment and safety assessment.

An abbreviated version of Issues in Risk Assessment in Child Protective Services will appear in the Advisor, a publication of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, while an expanded version is planned for a monograph series by the Child Welfare League of America.

The full text of the paper can be downloaded from the NARCCW website at www.ihs-trainet.com/CCWP/RA%20for%20PDF.pdf (322 KB).

A pilot program to research and improve the mental health of high-risk infants and young children in Florida has shown promising results. The multisite program, funded in 2000 by the State legislature, provided psychotherapy to children and their families to promote attachment and positive interactions between the child and mother (or primary caregiver). The program was designed to serve very young children who were at risk for out-of-home placement or already in foster care due to abuse and neglect.

The 25 sessions of psychotherapy incorporated methods to promote parental attachment and empathy, such as behavior-based strategies, play, and verbal interpretations. Extensive engagement activities, including case management and outreach services, were used to keep families in treatment.

A 3-year evaluation showed the following results:

• Of the 105 infant/caregiver pairs referred to the program, 84 completed the pre-assessment, 43 completed treatment, and 20 were in treatment at the time of the report.
• None of the parents had abuse reports during treatment.
• All children who were out of parental custody at referral were reunified or placed permanently.
• Fifty-eight percent of children showed improvements in developmental delays.
• Parent-child relationship functioning improved significantly.

A full report of this study, which was sponsored by the Florida State University Center for Prevention & Early Intervention Policy, can be accessed at www.fsu.edu/~cpeip/EvalGrntFinalRep.pdf. An article about one of the pilot sites (Miami) was recently published on the website of the National Center for State Courts at www.ncsconline.org/WC/Publications/KIS_MenHea_Trends03.pdf.(Editor's note: Both links are no longer active.)

Related Items

Read about another mental health intervention program for at-risk children in "New Jersey Taking Integrated Approach to Mental Health Needs of Children and Families" in the January 2002 issue of Children's Bureau Express.

A program that combines therapy for preschoolers with training for parents and foster parents is profiled in the March/April 2001 issue, in "Researchers Study Early Intervention for Preschool Foster Children."

Tens of thousands of children are adopted through the U.S. child welfare system each year. While many of these children do not require ongoing supports and services after their adoptions are finalized, a significant number do. Casey Family Services and The Casey Center for Effective Child Welfare Practice recently released two white papers to assist States in promoting and supporting post-adoption services for these children and their families.

Promising Practices in Adoption-Competent Mental Health Services (http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/Publications.aspx?pubguid={6D4613B4-E919-4209-80DE-9E4EA83E2F19}) helps States address the complex mental health needs of adopted children and their families by highlighting creative services, training initiatives, and collaborations that can emerge among child welfare, mental health, and Medicaid systems. While the paper reviews relevant research on the need for adoption-competent mental health services, its primary focus is on the perspectives and experiences of adoption professionals and families who have adopted children through the public welfare system. The practices described are strengths-based and family-centered, and include public policies, funding strategies, and mental health programs. The paper also offers 10 steps that public child welfare, mental health, and Medicaid agencies can implement right away.

Creative Strategies for Financing Post-Adoption Services (http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/Publications.aspx?pubguid={CE8CE638-3745-4B61-A813-DE2D6961DF84}) provides detailed descriptions of Federal funding streams, including which post-adoption services may be funded under each program. The report then offers examples of creative ways to utilize existing Federal funds to fund specific services (e.g., using Medicaid to support respite care). Finally, the paper offers specific strategies to assist States in developing and sustaining funding for post-adoption services.

A third white paper in the series, An Approach to Post-Adoption Services, was released previously (http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/Publications.aspx?pubguid={49ED6A2C-9AE5-4BC6-B9E9-C4904E6B1030}). As a group, these papers provide States with a road map to establishing and sustaining comprehensive post-adoption services.

Related Items

More information about post-adoption services can be found in previous issues of Children's Bureau Express:

• "Study Explores Use, Helpfulness of Post-Adoption Services" (June/July 2003)
• "Casey Family Services Releases White Paper on Post-Adoption Services" (April 2002)
• "New Study Looks at Success Rates of Adoptions of Children from Foster Care" (Nov/Dec 2001)

The Juvenile Justice Division of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) has gathered evidence on the connection between child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency in a recently published monograph, Understanding Child Maltreatment and Juvenile Delinquency: From Research to Effective Program, Practice, and Systemic Solutions.

Part 1 of the monograph reviews four studies that documented the relationship between childhood victimization and delinquent behavior. Part 2 reviews program efforts that have been implemented to break this cycle of violence. Some examples of successful programs include:

• Home visitation by a nurse to at-risk mothers during their pregnancy
• High-quality preschool that includes a home visitation component
• Response to child abuse or neglect that engages the family in service plan development
• Response to early delinquency through assessment, integration of service delivery, and community support
• Multisystemic therapy for serious juvenile offenders

The publication also calls for more widespread changes in policies and systems to meet the needs of all children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. To justify the costs of these programs, the report cites studies that measure the costs of early intervention against the much greater costs of later crime, incarceration, and child abuse.

The monograph can be found on the CWLA website at www.cwla.org/programs/juvenilejustice/ucmjd.htm.

Related Items

More information about the relationship between child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency can be found in previous issues of Children's Bureau Express:

• "Disproportionality in Juvenile Justice System May Have Roots in Child Welfare" (December 2002/January 2003)
• "New Report Examines the Link Between Childhood Maltreatment and Juvenile Delinquency" (November/December 2001)

A cooperative effort among the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Black Child Development Institute, and other organizations serving the African American community to provide resources for parents to use with children in times of crisis has resulted in An Activity Book for African American Families: Helping Children Cope with Crisis. The activity book includes guidance for parents, as well as a series of activities to help parents communicate with their children and promote a sense of safety in children and strength within the family. Some of the topics include:

• Helping your child feel safe
• Giving your child information that is age appropriate
• Making a plan with your child for emergencies
• Identifying signs of stress in your child

Each chapter of the book focuses on an activity such as a poem, art project, song, or craft. Also included is a quotation or proverb, a list of supplies, background on the activity, instruction, notes to parents, and additional information. Activities are designed for children ages 5 to 12 years old.

The activity book can be ordered or downloaded from the NICHD website at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/cope_with_crisis_book/Pages/index.aspx.

Abuse research often does not differentiate child abuse from adolescent abuse; therefore, the developmental impact of abuse at different ages is not always considered. The Prevention Researcher, which serves as an intermediary between researchers and service professionals in the field of abuse and neglect, specifically addresses the topic of adolescent maltreatment in its February 2004 issue. Noting that 25 percent of abuse cases in 2001 involved youths 12 to 17 years old, the six articles in this issue focus on research involving the effects of abuse and neglect that takes place during adolescence, rather than during childhood. The articles are:

• "Adolescent Maltreatment: An Overview of the Research" (C. Kimball & J. Golding)
• "Adolescent Maltreatment and Its Impact: Timing Matters" (C.A. Smith, T.P. Thornberry, & T.O. Ireland)
• "Maltreatment and Victimization in Homeless Adolescents: Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire" (A.M. Cauce, K.A. Tyler, & L.B. Whitbeck)
• "The Female Detention Project: The Typical Girl in Detention in Philadelphia" (S. Simkins & S. Katz)
• "Teachers' Awareness of Maltreatment" (N.D. Reyome & W. Gaeddert)
• "Assisting the Abused Adolescent: An Interview With Dr. Deanna Pledge"

To view the articles, visit http://www.tpronline.org/issue.cfm/Adolescent_Maltreatment.

Applications are due July 1, 2004 for this year’s William T. Grant Scholars program. Post-doctoral scholars from academic institutions or tax-exempt organizations in the United States and abroad are eligible to apply. Each year, the foundation chooses four to six applicants who demonstrate creative and intellectually rigorous research plans that focus on one of these areas:

• Youth development
• Programs, policies, and institutions that affect young people
• Adults’ attitudes and perceptions of young people.

Research should focus on youth ages 8 to 25. Each grantee is awarded $300,000 over 5 years. Awards will be announced in March 2005.

The program, now in its 24th year, has funded more than 110 Scholars since its inception. Find more information on the William T. Grant Foundation website, at www.wtgrantfoundation.org/info-url_nocat3042/ info-url_nocat_list.htm?attrib_id=4398 (Editor's note: Link no longer active).

A guide to this year's Federal funding opportunities for faith-based and community organizations across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is now available. This notebook was developed by the HHS Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in partnership with the Administration on Children and Families, the Health Resources Services Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Included in the notebook is grant information on the following areas:

• At-Risk Children and Youth
• Economic Development
• Health
• Substance Abuse
• Significant Block and Formula Grants

Also included is information on the Compassion Capital Fund, how to be a grant reviewer, how to make a Freedom of Information request, and web resources for organizations interested in Federal funding. The 2004 Grant Opportunities Notebook is available for download from the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives at www.hhs.gov/fbci/docs/FBCI2004GrantsNotebook.pdf. (Editor's note: This link is no longer active, but visit http://www.hhs.gov/partnerships/grants/index.html for grant information from the HHS Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.)

Upcoming national conferences on adoption and child welfare through July 2004 include:

May

• Finding Better Ways 2004 "Responding to the Changing Faces of Residential Services" (Child Welfare League of America; May 3 through 5, Atlanta, GA)
• 34th Annual Education Conference (National Foster Parent Association; May 10 through 15, Orlando, FL)
• Family Support America's 10th Biennial National Conference (May 12 through 15, Chicago, IL)
• Teleconference: Implementing a Program-Wide Anger Management Intervention (Walker Trieschman Center-CWLA; March 25)
• "Spreading the Magic of Prevention" (Prevent Child Abuse America; May 16 through 19, Disney World Resort, FL)

June

• National Foster Care Conference "Footsteps to the Future" (Daniel Memorial Institute; June 3 through 5, Jacksonville, FL)
• National CASA Conference (National CASA Association; June 5 through 8, Washington, DC)
• 2004 Conference on Family Group Decision Making "From Margin to Mainstream" (American Humane; June 6 through 9, Harrisburg, PA)
• 7th National Summit on Fatherhood (National Fatherhood Initiative; June 7 through June 9, Atlanta, GA)
• APSAC Forensic Interview Clinic (American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children; June 14 through 18, Norfolk, VA)
• Training Institutes 2004: Developing Local Systems of Care for Children and Adolescents with Emotional Disturbances and Their Families (National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health; June 23 through 27, San Francisco, CA)

July

• Victimization of Children & Youth: An International Research Conference (Family Research Laboratory; July 11 through 14, Portsmouth, NH)
• National IV-E Training Conference "Weaving Resources for Better Child Welfare Outcomes" (University of Oklahoma/School of Social Work; July 12 through 14, Santa Fe, NM)
• Putting the Pieces Together: 1st National Conference on Substance Abuse, Child Welfare and the Dependency Court (National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare; July 14 through 15, Baltimore, MD)
• Foster Family-Based Treatment Association's 18th Annual Conference on Treatment Foster Care (July 18 through 21, Nashville, TN)
• 67th National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Annual Conference (July 18 through 21, Portland, OR)
• 30th Anniversary NACAC Conference "30 Years of Celebrating Families" (North American Council on Adoptable Children; July 29 through 31, Minneapolis, MN)

Further details about national and regional adoption and child welfare conferences can be found in the Conference Calendar on Child Welfare Information Gateway: www.childwelfare.gov/calendar

New resources have recently become available to help child welfare professionals offer guidance to pediatricians and judges who interact with foster and adoptive families.

Educating Pediatricians About Adoption

A recent article in Pediatrics discusses how adoptions and adoptive families have changed over the years and offers guidance to pediatricians in the following areas:

• Medical issues, including issues specific to children adopted from another country and to those with special needs
• Developmental understanding of adoption
• Losses in adoption, both for the child and the families involved
• Communicating about adoption with children
• Racial, ethnic, and cultural differences between an adoptive family and child
• Kinship adoption
• Searching for family and cultural ties
• Modeling positive adoption language

For each topic, the article discusses how the child's pediatrician can facilitate communication within the adoptive family or, when necessary, with other professionals.

"Families and Adoption: The Pediatrician's Role in Supporting Communication" appeared in the December 2003 issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and can be accessed at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/6/1437.full.

Resources for Family Court Judges

Information was recently distributed to 3,000 family court judges to guide them in preventing the loss of health coverage for children and youth who are discharged from foster care. The information packet was put together by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and was distributed by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Included in the packet were:

• A laminated checklist that judges can use to evaluate risk points and strategies to promote health coverage for children returning home after foster care.
• "Children Discharged from Foster Care: Strategies to Prevent the Loss of Health Coverage at a Critical Transition," an executive summary of the Kaiser Commission's research report that includes relevant statistics on the difficulty of maintaining health insurance for many of these children and youth.

The full text of the research report can be accessed at www.kff.org/medicaid/4095-index.cfm. More information can be obtained from the author, Pat Redmond, at Redmond@cbpp.org. To obtain additional copies of the complete packet, contact Rakesh Singh at RSINGH@kff.org.

Related Item

Judges have an additional new resource in the Judges' Page, a web page for those who hear child welfare cases. Sponsored by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (CASA) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), the main feature of the Judges' Page is an online newsletter that carries brief articles about recent cases, commentaries, and resources pertinent to child welfare cases. The Judges' Page can be found at www.nationalcasa.org/JudgesPage/index.htm.

A series of free technical assistance teleconferences is being offered on behalf of the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Grants for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Prevent Child Abuse America, Circle of Parents, and Healthy Families America. Home visiting programs, self-help parent support programs, child abuse prevention organizations, and CBCAP leads and programs are invited to attend.

Upcoming topics include:

• April--Cultural considerations in working with Hispanic agencies and families
• May--Reaching and serving families in the armed forces
• June--Developing groups for parents who are incarcerated
• July--How to make groups accessible to fathers and encourage men to consider parent leadership roles

For more information or to register, contact Sue Campbell at (312) 663-3520, Ext. 171, or scampbell@preventchildabuse.org.