Quantum Units Education

General Description of the Problem

1. Child abuse and neglect usually occur in private places, and the victims may try to hide evidence of the abuse or deny that it took place, so collecting sufficient evidence of a crime and identifying effective responses to the problem is very difficult.

Prevalence

2. Neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment, comprising approximately ____ percent of all substantiated findings, while approximately ____ of the substantiated cases involved physical abuse.

Police Role

3. The role of police officers in child abuse and neglect may include protecting child protective service workers from unstable or violent people.

Harms Caused by Child Abuse and Neglect in the Home

4. The presence of child abuse and neglect in a community reflects attitudes about child rearing, _____________, and acceptance of violence as a solution to problems.    

Victims

5. Which of the following accurately describes victims of child maltreatment? 

Repeat Victimization

6. A 2005 study found that approximately 11 percent of victims experienced another incident of abuse or neglect within six months of a substantiated finding of maltreatment, and the highest risk of subsequent abuse was within 10 to 30 days after the initial report.

Perpetrators

7. Perpetrators of child physical abuse are slightly more likely to be male than female.

8. Child neglect perpetrators tend to be:

Understanding Your Local Problem

9. When encountering child maltreatment cases, health care providers who are injury experts may be able to offer an opinion on whether injuries are consistent with parents' explanations for them.

Asking the Right Questions

10. Child neglect cases may involve neglecting basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter, or other needs such as supervision, education and medical treatment.

Locations/Times

11. Which of the following is NOT one of the likely questions that should be asked about locations/times of child abuse?

Measuring Your Effectiveness

12. Measuring the effectiveness of responses to child abuse and neglect in the home allows agencies to determine what efforts have succeeded and how responses that aren't working may be modified.

13. One indication of effective response to child maltreatment is an increased number of caregivers who proactively seek ___________________ and other services to alleviate family stress.

General Considerations for an Effective Response Strategy

14. Responses that address communities' economic well-being will likely have global-level impacts that may reduce the incidence of maltreatment.

15. Research indicates that when children learn basic concepts of safety, this increased knowledge will result in safer behavior among potential victims.

16. In Wisconsin, the LaCrosse Police Department noted that children in families where domestic violence occurred were _____ times more likely to experience child abuse.

17. Common errors in interviewing possible child abuse victims include reinforcing certain answers, relaying what others believe about the allegation, and: 

18. Several studies have found that training programs to enhance interviewers' skills increase knowledge and have a significant effect on practice.

Specific Responses to Child Abuse and Neglect in the Home

19. Multidisciplinary teams are most effective in responding to child maltreatment allegations, and they should work to develop strategies for promoting teamwork, preventing burnout, and resolving conflict.

20. Research has shown that multidisciplinary team intervention for child abuse and neglect leads to:

Situations in Which Police Presence at Initial Contact is Strongly Recommended

21. Each of the following is an example of when police presence at initial child maltreatment investigation is strongly recommended EXCEPT:

Creating Child Advocacy Centers

22. Child advocacy centers (CACs) are community based programs that follow a uniform model to interview child abuse victims.

Implementing Home Visitation Programs

23. Home visitation programs are an essential component of a coordinated response to child abuse and neglect and they usually involve direct involvement by police agencies.

Offering Confidential Helpline Assistance

24. Having access to a free confidential telephone helpline may help some parents cope when they are feeling vulnerable and at risk of abusing a child.

Removing Children From the Home

25. When police and child protective service workers remove a child from his or her home, they should not try to rationalize or give extensive explanations, as this may raise the child's anxiety.

Arresting and Prosecuting Child Abusers

26. The most consequential response to child abuse and neglect is:

Responses with Limited Effectiveness

27. Some states have granted police agencies the sole responsibility for investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect, believing that a single agency investigation will be more efficient, but research with this model did not find this to be true.

28. Research has shown that recidivism rates among sex offenders are relatively high compared with those of other violent offenders.

Appendix: Summary of Responses to Child Abuse and Neglect in the Home

29. Reducing community risk factors for child abuse and neglect reduces individual risk factors and enhances:

30. Home visitation programs are designed to target high-risk families to reduce risks associated with child maltreatment, and these programs work best when they are intensive and long-term.