NCJ Number
98556
Date Published
1985
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This paper traces the history of the 25-year-old CHILDHELP organization, describes its major projects including The Village and an outreach center in Los Angeles, and summarizes research findings based on CHILDHELP's programs.
Abstract
CHILDHELP has its roots in International Orphans, Inc., whose founders decided to redirect their efforts from Japanese-American orphans to the needs of assaulted children in southern California in the mid-1970's. A major component, The Village, which opened in 1978 on a 120-acre site outside a large urban center, is a residential treatment and research center for children aged 2 through 12. The paper highlights The Village's daily routines, its staffing, interdisciplinary approaches to therapy, and services for parents. CHILDHELP also operates an outreach center in east Los Angeles which administers a foster care network and includes an evaluation and treatment center primarily serving the Los Angeles Juvenile Court, a 24-hour toll-free hotline for professionals working with assaulted children, and a family education and crisis center. Additional activities described in the article are CHILDHELP's National Campaign for the Prevention of Child Abuse, its use of volunteers, and a national network on CHILDHELP-sponsored research. All research projects have agreed to participate in one universal project -- an exploratory investigation into the moral development of parents who have assaulted their children compared with parents who have not. A comprehensive profile of Village clients covers demographics, abuse histories, test scores, problem behaviors, length of stay, family problems, progress, and abusers' recidivism. It emphasizes that most children make statistically significant advances in intellectual, self-esteem, emotional, physical, and behavioral realism. In addition, most families cooperating with followup procedures are faring well. Nine figures are supplied.