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This article proposes 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 treatments as well. The prosecution of child sexual abuse cases continues to be an area in which there is a strain between the judicial system and the social work profession. The former is predominantly interested in the conviction of the accused and the later is primarily interested in the protection of the child's emotional well-being. Social workers have played an important part in the legal process and are attuned to developmental needs of children and their concerns. Social workers are recognized as experts in the area of child sexual abuse because they work with abused children more regularly than other professional groups. Increasingly, social workers are being called on by the legal system to provide information about the nature of sexual abuse and its impact on children. Social workers have become more involved in efforts to educate the child about and facilitate their ability to participate in the courtroom processes. There is a need to re-conceptualize the traditional role played by the clinical social worker.

Abstract: Objective: 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. Method: This study focused on a county selected from a 41-county telephone survey conducted for the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3). For this analysis prospective samples were drawn from law enforcement (n =225) and the county child protection (CPS) agency (n =225) and followed through in-depth case tracking across all agencies and through both the dependency and criminal court systems. Results: The percentage of CPS cases opened in dependency court was similar to prior studies (29%), but the acceptance and prosecution rates were much higher—92% of the cases referred from CPS, including many cases of physical abuse. Compared to referrals from CPS to law enforcement (93%), few cases were referred from law enforcement to CPS (17%). Anecdotally, case referral patterns appeared to be influenced by communication patterns and mutual positive regard, regardless of the collaborative protocols in place. One of the most instructive findings was the degree of difficulty in tracking cases across organizations and the types of obstacles that impeded success. Disorganization was not an issue, rather internal structures set up to facilitate intra-organizational processing were the same structures that actually impeded cross-organizational case finding. Conclusions: It is not sufficient to rely on the existence of multi-disciplinary teams or Child Advocacy Centers to ensure collaboration. More attention to daily tasks and activities as well as the nature and quality of communication is warranted. On the technical side, use of common case identifiers on cases that are cross-referred is strongly recommended. Future studies should broaden the scope of inquiry to include the consequences of all case trajectories, rather than solely focusing on the justice system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]