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© N. Faulkner 1996-2006
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Law Page Five: Guidelines and publications
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This information may be extracted, edited, and/or paraphrased from government publications.
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Contents
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New Training Curriculum for Judges
on Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse
When Custody is in Dispute
Source: ABA on Child Law
For the past several years, the National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts (a project of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund in cooperation with the National Association of Women Judges) has been teamed with the American Bar Association's ABA Center on Children and the Law to produce a curriculum for judges in dealing with one of the most difficult types of cases related to children and families. That two-volume curriculum, entitled Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute, has just been published.
There is no more vexing question for judges today than how to evaluate allegations of child sexual abuse in custody and visitation disputes. This curriculum provides judges with a resource to help them handle these cases in an informed and fair manner. The curriculum was developed by leading experts in law and social science through a grant from the State Justice Institute. Its purpose is:
To promote the fair administration of justice by improving the courts' ability to assess child sexual abuse allegations in the context of custody and visitation disputes; and To help judges make custody and visitation decisions that reflect the best interests of the child.
The most current information about child sexual abuse allegations in the custody/visitation context is included in four substantive units:
Unit I: A Context for Understanding Child Sexual Abuse Allegations When Custody is in Dispute -- analyzes studies on the incidence, prevalence and validity of child sexual abuse allegations in custody/visitation cases; explains the importance of using accurate terminology to distinguish fabricated allegations from those that are made in good faith or are unfounded for lack of determinative evidence; and, explains why child sexual abuse may begin or first be disclosed at divorce, why adults and children may fabricate, and circumstances that give rise to good faith but mistaken allegations.
Unit II: Evaluating the Evaluators: Assessing Experts' Qualifications and Evaluations of Child Sexual Abuse: Psychological and Medical Criteria -- explores what the mental health and medical communities consider "best practice" in evaluating child sexual abuse allegations.
Unit III: Children's Statements and Testimony: Obtaining Information from the Child, Assessing Statements and Reducing Trauma -- explains research on children's memories and suggestibility, appropriate interviewing techniques, and techniques to help children provide accurate, reliable testimony.
Unit IV: Custody and Visitation Decisions in the Best Interests of the Child -- emphasizes custody and visitation decision making that is in the best interests of the child. This exploration includes: child development issues; ensuring supervised visitation that protects children from psychological and physical harm; how to reestablish the relationship between the accused parent and child when an allegation unfounded; and what to do when an allegation is fabricated.
In addition to these four units, the curriculum includes a Primer providing a short comprehensive overview of current knowledge of child sexual abuse in all contexts; a Facilitator's Manual explaining in detail how to present the curriculum; and Readings covering subjects in the curriculum in greater depth.
The curriculum has received positive feedback from two pilot test states where it was the basis for a training program. One Alabama judge stated that Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute was a "[r]eally good program - one of the strongest I've been to." Another stated he was copying the resource materials for the judges in his area. A third judge stated the program had already impacted his handling of a case in that he resisted an inclination to be punitive toward the parent making the allegation. A Colorado judge wrote, "It is my belief that the seminar was a success and that when offered to other judges that it will cause them to approach the issue in a deliberative and reasoned manner. I can assure you that my thought process has changed as a result of being involved with the faculty."
The information in this curriculum may easily be adapted to meet the needs of professionals other than judges who are involved in these difficult cases.
The two-volume curriculum may be purchased for $60, which includes postage within the United States. If you are outside the United States, postage will depend on your location and postal preference (i.e., surface or air). To order, contact the National Judicial Education Program, 99 Hudson Street, Suite 1201, New York, NY 10013 or call 212/925-6635, or link to the ABA Center on Children and the Law.
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A Guide for Child Protective Services
Agency Administrators and Policymakers
Source: ABA on Child Law
A new book by the American Bar Association, "On-Time Services to Preserve Families: A Guide for Child Protective Services Agency Administrators and Policymakers," discusses the importance of timely services to the families of abused and neglected children. The book, written for state child protection agency administrators, is a practical guide to systematically organizing state programs for families of maltreated children.
"In most of the United States, the delivery of rehabilitative services in child abuse and neglect cases is slow, chaotic and unpredictable," says Mark Hardin, director of Child Welfare for the ABA Center on Children and the Law.
"When services are stalled, children are needlessly placed with strangers or family breakup is prolonged."
"In addition, when services are delayed, decisions for the child such as adoption are delayed. The child is denied a safe and permanent family during formative years and; at the same time, parents are kept in an agony of suspense."
"On-Time Services to Preserve Families: A Guide for Child Protection Agency Administrators and Policymakers" is available for $20, plus $3.95 for shipping and handling (plus sales tax for residents of the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, and Indiana) by calling the ABA Service Center at 312/988-5522. The product code is 549-0270. For more information on the book or the ABA Center on Children and the Law, contact Mark Hardin at 202/662-1750, or link to the ABA Center on Children and the Law.
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Child Sexual Abuse Investigations
A Joint Investigative Approach
Combining the Expertise of Mental Health
and Law Enforcement Professionals
Source: NCJRS
A training manual was written on child sexual abuse investigations. The manual was used in training law enforcement officers to study the effectiveness of the training and the manual. A scholarly essay was written to report the results of the training. The theoretical framework of the training was combining the expertise of law enforcement and mental health professionals in a joint interview process. Ten law enforcement officers were trained in the investigation process and tested for recall, recognition, and application. Evaluation of the training was done based on the officers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the training. The results of the evaluation showed that content on dynamics of child sexual abuse could be taught and retained using an eight hour training period. The applicability of the training to investigative interviews could not be taught in the eight hour period. Implications for future training include longer and more intensive training periods which involve practice time, observation, and working as a secondary officer with a trained investigator before the trainee becomes a primary officer for the investigation. Key issues for training include child sexual abuse dynamics, children and suggestibility, the sexual abuse disclosure process, child development issues, the use of non-leading questions, the use of interview aids, fact vs. fantasy, rapport building with children, discussion of private parts, and setting the stage for a spontaneous disclosure. The training was rated by the officers. The format, presentation, manual, and investigative protocol were viewed as most positive. The negative focused on a need for more time in training. The officers rated the training in an overall rating score of 90.7%.
Free publication.
Go to the NCJRS for more information.
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Child Sexual Exploitation:
Improving Investigations and Protecting Victims.
A Blueprint for Action
Source: Massachusetts Child Exploitation Network
January, 1995
The guidelines were written for a broad audience of federal, state, and local criminal
justice personnel, including victim assistance providers, both public and private. They focus
on issues that apply to all child sexual exploitation cases: role clarification, notification of
relevant agencies, and referrals for victims. The guidelines do not include recommendations
for specific professional practices, such as victim interviews, investigative techniques,
evidentiary concerns, or intelligence gathering. However, the last section of this document
contains a list of resources for training and technical assistance specific to these topics.
Because there is so much variation in law, political structure, local practice, and
resources, no single "protocol" could be developed for national implementation. Rather, this
document is offered as a "blueprint" to criminal justice officials throughout the country who
are concerned about protecting children and youth from sexual exploitation.
It may be possible, for example, for an agency to "graft" portions of these guidelines onto an
existing protocol for child sexual abuse investigations. Elsewhere, however, agencies may
need to create new protocols to accommodate the full range of child sexual abuse and
exploitation cases.
Regardless of where a community is in the continuum of expertise and "readiness" to
respond to child sexual exploitation, this document should provide some guidance for a
multijurisdictional, interdisciplinary approach to investigation, prosecution, and victim
services.
Link Here for more information.
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