THESIS:
The crime of child abuse has such a substantial impact on the child, the family and society that it is necessary to involve a multidisciplinary team of professionals to conduct an effective investigation of alleged child abuse.
BACKGROUND:
Child abuse is unfortunately a common crime in America that can be emotional, mental, physical or sexual in nature. The effect on the child, the family and the community is substantial. No single profession can adequately respond to the multifaceted issue of child abuse. A multidisciplinary team could better address the investigation of child abuse and would include law enforcement, victim advocacy, child protective services, medical and mental health professionals and prosecutors. Thus, the involvement of a team of professional that represent a variety of disciplines can ensure an effective coordinated response to abuse allegations.
OBJECTIVE:
A multidisciplinary team would provide different perspectives.
Law enforcement personnel would ensure a proper investigation occurs and the law is adhered to in the investigation.
Child Protective services would ensure that the abused child receives proper custodial placement as well as ensure the child receives needed services.
Victim Advocacy would ensure the child voice is heard during the investigatory and legal process.
Medical and Mental health would provide needed care for the abused child.
A team of various agencies can result in more positive outcomes .
A study conducted to determine the effect of the involvement of a multidisciplinary team in the initial investigation of child abuse showed that a team of investigators including law enforcement, social services and medical personal prevented the unnecessary placement of children in out of home custody .
A multidisciplinary team can facilitate efficient gathering of information.
A multidisciplinary team can achieve a better faster result for the abused child .
A multidisciplinary team can minimize the child’s trauma .
A multidisciplinary team can assure the safety of the child.
A multidisciplinary team has the ability to coordinate the services needed for the child and child’s family
COUNTER-ARGUMENTS:
With the involvement of various professionals, collaborative practices may be undermined .
Multidisciplinary team members may not respect one another’s knowledge contribution.
Collective performance may not be present thus preventing effective care of the victim .
RESPONSE TO COUNTER-ARGUMENTS:
Creating a system of collaboration for the multidisciplinary team would prevent the undermining of coordinated practices.
So long as the professionals involved on the multidisciplinary team have the child’s welfare in mind, respecting another’s knowledge based may not impact the investigation or results of the investigation.
The multidisciplinary team should be provided with appropriate training on how the team can perform together to better serve the victim.
IMPLICATIONS:
Implementation of a multidisciplinary team for the investigation of child abuse can not only better serve the needs of the victim but also has the potential to assist in the prevention and intervention of further child abuse.
TENTATIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Collett, A. (2010). The Multi-agency Team: Does it really work? Center for Education Policy in Practice.
Flam, A. (2009). I need your eyes to see myself: Muti-agency team consultation as reflecting turn taking. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 28(4), 72-88.
(2000). Forming a Multidisciplinary Team to Investigate Child Abuse. U.S. Department of Justice.
Frost, N., & Robinson, M. (2007). Joining up children's services: Safeguarding children in multidisciplinary teams. Child Abuse Review, 16(3), 184-199.
Kelly, L., Smith, N., & Gibson, S. (2009). From intervention to multidisciplinary practice. Forensic social work: Psychosocial and legal issues in diverse practice settings, 51-60.
Lalyants, M. (2011). Multidisciplinary clinical consultation in child protection: Contextual influences and stakeholder perceptions of best practices. Dissertation Abstracts International, 3040.
Sedlak, A., Schultz, D., Wells, S., Lyons, p., Doucek, H., & Gragg, F. (2006). Child protection and justice systems processing of serious child abuse and neglect cases. Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(6), 657-677.
Wallace, G., Makoroff, K., Malott, H., & Sharpiro, R. (2007). Hospital based multidisciplinary teams can prevent unnecessary child abuse reprots and out of home placements. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(6), 623-629.
