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This study evaluates the impact of a college-based dormitory program on transitioning youth with intellectual disabilities. A qualitative study, with interviews at pre and post, was conducted to evaluate the program's impact. Data were collected with semistructured interviews from young adults with intellectual disabilities who participated in a college-based residential program and their parents or guardians. Three general themes emerged from the data: Participants reported experiences that were (a) typical of normative life transitions, (b) typical of growing pains associated with significant life transitions and learning new skills, and (c) one step forward. Results indicate that the experience of living away from home for the first time was in some ways comparable to that of a typical college student. Improvement in life skills, including increased awareness of personal goals, enhanced vocational goals, increased maturity or assertiveness, was reported. Respondents were generally satisfied with the program.

Objectives: Characteristics of the child victim, perpetrator, and maltreatment incident were used to examine predictors of court involvement in cases of serious child maltreatment. Method: Cases were drawn from those reported to: child protective services (n = 225), "sheriff's office" ( n = 225), "prosecutor's office" ( n = 60), "and dependency court" ( n = 65). Logistic regression was used to calculate predicted probabilities of criminal court involvement and dependency court involvement Results: Cases involving female victims were more likely to be filed in criminal court, and sexual abuse had the highest likelihood of prosecution. Cases involving male perpetrators, older perpetrators, and multiple victims were more likely to be filed for prosecution. Physical neglect was the most common type of maltreatment to result in dependency court filings. Perpetrator gender had opposite effects in the two systems. Conclusion: Tracking cases even in the same jurisdiction is confounded by the lack of common identifiers across the agencies involved. (Contains 5 tables.)

In an effort to assist the sexually abused child throughout the court process, the authors propose the concept of a child-centered social worker committed to minimizing the potential for system-induced trauma by assisting the sexually abused child through the judicial process and providing clinical treatment as well. (Contains 68 references.) (GCP)

Describes implementation of a computerized version of the Child Welfare League of America's Child Well-Being Scales by a family services agency in southern Ontario. Reviews results obtained from 172 families to illustrate the potential for using computerized risk assessment as an aid in clinical, supervisory, and management decision-making processes at the agency; asserts that the scales have been useful. (EV)

Interviewed child victim advocates (N=26) to evaluate the effectiveness of a child victim witness program that helps children during the criminal prosecution of their abusers. Results show that the program faced systemic challenges, but respondents were positive about its usefulness in preparing children to testify and in helping children relax. (RJM)

Discusses the benefits and shortcomings of three systems for assessing risk factors affecting children: the Illinois CANTS 17B; the Washington Assessment of Risk Matrix; the Child at Risk Field System. Although these systems are used in 23 states, the lack of staff knowledgeable about human development and the uncertain reliability and validity of the instruments has limited their usefulness. (MDM)

Evaluated the Child At Risk Field System (CARF) by comparing 207 cases of child maltreatment before and after implementation. Although the system had been imperfectly implemented, data indicated that CARF may have provided workers with a useful tool for structured decision making. It was particularly helpful to inexperienced workers. (RJM)

This article examines issues that child protective agencies might consider when evaluating the impact of risk assessment implementation on service delivery. The paper recommends using qualitative and quantitative measures in a process and an outcome evaluation to determine the degree of model implementation and the impact of implementation on case work. (Author/JDD)

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.11.010 Byline: Andrea J. Sedlak (a), Dana Schultz (d), Susan J. Wells (b), Peter Lyons (e), Howard J. Doueck (c), Frances Gragg (a) Keywords: Child protection; Justice systems; Child abuse and neglect Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the trajectory of cases through four systems: child protection, law enforcement, the dependency courts, and the criminal courts. Author Affiliation: (a) Westat, Rockville, MD, USA (b) School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, College of Human Ecology, St. Paul, MN, USA (c) School of Social Work, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA (d) RAND Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (e) School of Social Work, Georgia State University, University Plaza, Atlanta, GA, USA Article History: Received 3 January 2004; Revised 11 November 2005; Accepted 26 November 2005 Article Note: (footnote) [star] This project was funded under Grant Number 92-IJ-CX-K041 from the National Institute of Justice and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the US Department of Justice to the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Susan J. Wells, Principal Investigator. It was conducted in cooperation with the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services.

Predictors of court involvement in cases of serious child maltreatment are examined by using characteristics of the child victim, perpetrator and maltreatment incidents. Physical neglect was the most common type of maltreatment to result in dependency court filings.

Describes how intervention for families with abused or neglected adolescents usually focuses on the troubled youth with the abuse or neglect either overlooked or ignored. Argues that a developmental perspective is essential to the understanding and assessment of the family dynamics of adolescent mistreatment, and presents case examples. Offers recommendations for interventionists working with troubled youth and families. (Author/KS)

This article explores the efficacy of placing individuals with developmental disabilities into college campus dormitories in the interest of facilitating transition into adulthood. Developmental challenges for participants and families are addressed, in addition to concerns for normalization, self-determination, and the broader concepts of social inclusion and community integration. An interactive model that incorporates the perspectives of participants, parents, local agency providers, and the hosting college is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gay and lesbian people experience many life circumstances differently as compared with those of their heterosexual counterparts. This premise extends to the seeking, accessing, and utilization of human services by members of the gay and lesbian community. A review of the empirical literature indicates that gay and lesbian consumers of mental and physical health services oftentimes encounter obstacles when seeking care, whether for themselves or their families, within human service organizations. Types of services represented include psychotherapy/counseling, addiction treatment, pediatric care, and gynecologic care. The authors conclude with social work implications, including recommendations for practice and policy, and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the development of a child victim advocate program, designed to lessen the trauma experiences of children who participate in the criminal prosecution of their abusers, by communities in the United States and Canada. Details on the program; Caretaker's perceptions of system induced trauma; Professionals' perceptions of children's comfort and performance.

Pre/post designs that rely on self-report measures are potentially contaminated by response shift bias, a change in respondents' understanding of the phenomena being measured between the pre- and posttests. Retrospective pretests, or then tests, have been shown to be useful in identifying response shifts. Pre/post/then designs are highly utilitarian designs that have the potential of providing more accurate assessments of respondent change. This article reviews the literature on response shift bias and the utility of retrospective pretests in detecting such bias. Three studies that used the pre/post/then design to evaluate self-reported changes in caseworker abilities (knowledge or skill) relative to practice evaluation, basic interviewing skills, and/or assessment are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports the findings from an evaluation to assess the level of satisfaction among mandated reporters with an upstate western New York county child protection system. Procedures, sample and survey used in the study; Overall reporter satisfaction; Correlateion of satisfaction during initial contacts; Suggestions for child protection agencies that seek to improve their relationship with mandated reporters.

No abstract available for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The development of structured risk assessment models for use by child protective services workers is a relatively recent phenomenon. This paper explores some of the legal issues inherent in the implementation of such models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including child protection system, inclusion of children who witness family violence and social service workers.

Field instructors tend to be inadequately trained in the use of single-systems designs to evaluate practice. This paper presents the results from a survey of 22 field instructors affiliated with a B.S.W. program. The instructors were divided into 3 groups for comparison: instructors who participated in three hours of specialized training designed to increase their knowledge of single-systems technology, nonparticipant instructors who reported a prior background in single-systems design, and nonparticipant instructors with no such prior background. Results indicated that participants felt more knowledgeable about single-systems designs, had greater comfort initiating discussions with students about such designs, and were more likely to assist students with single-systems design projects than the nonparticipant with no prior background group. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]