Challenging the abuse decision: a comparison of American and British perspectives on complaints and appeals

The conclusion by child protection services that a child has been abused and the decision to make a formal record of that conclusion involves a process called'registration' in both the United Kingdom and the United States. This is an administrative process rather than a judicial one and is instituted by public officials not lawyers, but it can have as significant an effect on the families involved as the findings of a court Yet, despite this significance, families have found it very difficult to challenge the decision to register a case of abuse, particularly in the UK. This papers offers a critique of registration processes in the UK and in the USA and suggests ways in which these processes might be improved to protect individual rights.     

The Implications of Immigration for the Training of Social Work Professionals in Spain

Correspondence to Sonia Hernández Plaza, Area de Psicologia Social, Departamento de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Universidad de Almería, Ctra. Sacramento s/n, Almería, 04120, Spain. Summary Important demographic changes have been taking place in Spainduring the last two decades as a result of immigration. Dueto an ever-increasing multicultural spread, social work professionalsare faced with the new challenge of providing quality servicesto diverse ethnic populations. After briefly describing themain characteristics of immigration in Spain, their implicationsfor the provision of social services and the need to providemulticultural training for social workers are analysed. Theconceptual framework proposed addresses some of the main variablesthat professionals working with these minorities should takeinto account, emphasizing: culture; language; family support;community resources; clients' explanatory model of the problems;provision of services for multiple problems; ethnic discrimination;and assessment instruments. Some key points for multiculturaltraining in this field are discussed, paying special attentionto the need to develop culturally sensitive and bias-free diagnostictools; accreditation and funding of professional programmes;and cross-cultural competence training. The main contents andobjectives of a multicultural training course for social workersare described.     

Do incident and perpetrator characteristics of elder mistreatment differ by gender of the victim? Results from the National Elder Mistreatment Study

Perpetrator and incident characteristics were studied in regard to incidents of emotional, physical, and sexual mistreatment of older adults (age 60+) in a national sample of older men and women. Random digit dialing across geographic strata was used to compile a nationally representative sample; computer assisted telephone interviewing was used to standardize collection of demographic, mistreatment, and perpetrator and incident characteristics data. The final sample size consisted of 5,777 older adults. Approximately one in ten adults reported at least one form of mistreatment, and the majority of incidents were not reported to authorities. Perpetrators of physical mistreatment against men had more "pathological" characteristics compared to perpetrators of physical mistreatment against women. Perpetrators of physical mistreatment (compared to emotional and sexual mistreatment) also evidenced increased likelihood of legal problems, psychological treatment, substance use during incident, living with the victim, and being related to the victim. Implications for future research and social policy are discussed.     

Traumatic Stress and Homelessness: A Review of the Literature for Practitioners

Clinical Social Work Journal - A growing body of evidence connects traumatic stress and homelessness, which illustrates the importance of trauma and-resiliency-informed care (TIC) to appropriately...     

A voice in the chorus: perspectives of young men of color on their disabilities, identities, and peer-mentors

With the rise of violence during the 1990s, the number of persons who acquired a spinal cord injury as a result of gunshot trauma increased dramatically in the United States. This qualitative study examined disability, race, and contribution of peer-mentors to the development of identity. Six men with a violence-related spinal cord injury participated in a focus group. They were injured for at least two years, making positive gains in their lives, and training to become peer-mentors at a rehabilitation hospital. In addition, 16 men with a newly-acquired spinal cord injury from gunshot trauma participated in an individual interview. These sixteen participants were all mentees (or recipients) of the peer-mentor program. Principles of grounded theory were used to code and analyze data. Data converged on three main themes: (1) disability viewed as a wake-up call or blessing, (2) disability viewed as a turning point, and (3) disability viewed as identity transforming.     

A Psychoanalytic Look at Recovered Memories, Therapists, Cult Leaders, and Undue Influence

There has been a dramatic increase in recovered memories of sexual abuse. A continuum of influence is presented, focusing on the high degrees of influence in cults, to understand how therapists can easily influence their patients to recover memories of sexual abuse. Historical evidence is given for a better appreciation of how this present atmosphere has developed. Finally, the role played by the psychoanalyst when dealing with recovered memories is examined. Case material is presented to highlight the differences between the traumatist's and the psychoanalyst's approach.     

Spectral analysis with replicated time series

A doubly stochastic process {x(b,t);b?B,t?Z} is considered, with (B,β,P_β) being a probability space so that for each b, {X(b,t);t ? Z} is a stationary process with an absolutely continuous spectral distribution. The population spectrum is defined as f(ω) = E_B[Q(b,ω)] with Q(b,ω) being the spectral density function of X(b,t). The aim of this paper is to estimate f(ω) by means of a random sample b₁,…,b_r from (B,β,P_β). For each b₁? B, the processes X(b₁,t) are observed at the same times t=1,…,N. Thus, r time series (x(b₁,t)} are available in order to estimate f(ω). A model for each individual periodogram, which involves f(ω), is formulated. It has been proven that a certain family of linear stationary processes follows the above model In this context, a kernel estimator is proposed in order to estimate f(ω). The bias, variance and asymptotic distribution of this estimator are investigated under certain conditions.     

Changing structures: Necessary but not sufficient

Moves are afoot across the UK to change the mechanisms for managing local inter‐agency child protection policy and practice. This is being achieved through the development of Safeguarding Boards in England and Wales and guidance on Child Protection Committees that took effect from August 2005 in Scotland. Following our review of one Scottish Child Protection Committee (the SCPC), we are concerned that these changes focus almost exclusively on structure and pay scant attention to process and relationships. The study we undertook was an in‐depth evaluation of the functioning of the SCPC and used a range of qualitative methods. The main findings were that the size of the committee, its coverage of three local authority areas, and its patterns of working meant that some aspects of its work were highly developed and effective, such as the guidelines and multi‐agency training, while others, such as links with practice and the management of information systems, were poor. Considering these findings in the light of systems theory suggests that improving the effectiveness of child protection committees, and similar bodies, may need to be based on greater attention being paid to issues of authority, trust and negotiation among their members. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Supporting families living with parental substance misuse: the M‐PACT (Moving Parents and Children Together) programme

The Moving Parents and Children Together (M‐PACT) programme is one of the growing number of interventions tailored to meet the multiple and complex needs of children and families affected by parental substance misuse. This paper pulls together the qualitative findings from 13 evaluated M‐PACT programmes in England. Sixty‐four families attended an M‐PACT programme, including 82 children and 75 adults. Qualitative data were collected from 37 children, 36 adults and over 30 group facilitators. Six themes are discussed: engaging with M‐PACT, shared experiences, understanding addiction, changes in communication, healthier and united families, and ending M‐PACT. The majority of families benefitted in a range of ways from the programme: meeting others who were experiencing similar problems, greater understanding about addiction and its impact on children and families improving communication within the family. In many families there was more openness and honesty, stronger relationships and more time as families, and a reduction in arguments and conflict. The key findings are discussed in terms of the potential for interventions of this kind to reduce family‐related harm from parental substance misuse.