NCJ Number
169458
Date Published
1998
Length
1151 pages
Annotation
This textbook is designed to help students and professionals in human services fields to become competent clinical assessment and forensic interviewers of children and families facing health- related issues, stressors, and child maltreatment.
Abstract
Section I provides the background information needed to conduct the initial clinical assessment and post-assessment interviews with children, parents, families, and teachers, as well as to write the interview report. Section II focuses on issues pertinent to interviewing Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and refugees or immigrants. Section III addresses children with psychological disorders and those who face life stressors, followed by a section that concerns children with a medical illness and families in which there is a medically ill member. The concluding section covers issues related to interviewing in cases of alleged or confirmed child maltreatment. Maltreatment encompasses physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Two chapters present background information on interviewing children who have been maltreated or who are alleged to have been maltreated. Another chapter focuses on techniques for interviewing children, their families, and the alleged offender. One chapter discusses the evaluation of the interview findings and the formulation of interventions. Those who study this section will be better able to recognize signs of child maltreatment, establish rapport with interviewees, deal effectively with other professionals and agencies working in the field of maltreatment, and have realistic expectations about possible interventions and their effectiveness. Appended supplementary information, extensive references, and name and subject indexes