NCJ Number
146986
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 2 Issue: 4 Dated: (1993) Pages: 1-17
Date Published
1993
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the Medical/Social Evaluation Model, a model of interdisciplinary cooperation that blends therapeutic and investigative aspects of dealing with child sexual abuse.
Abstract
Pediatricians and social workers in San Antonio, Texas use this model in a program called Child and Adolescent Sexual Abuse Intervention Services. In this model, a forensic interview and examination are done by the physician in collaboration with the social worker who has been counseling and preparing the child. The significant advantages of this model include a more comprehensive and informative medical investigation as well as the possibility of uncovering psychological and physical concerns of the child. This merger of therapeutic and investigative efforts has resulted in a less traumatic and more effective processing and closure of the abuse experience for the child. The most significant disadvantage is limited physician time, because an assessment requires 1-3 hours. Other possible disadvantages such as more than one interview of the child and the effect on the perceived credibility of the child are detrimental only if inexperienced persons are involved. The San Antonio experience suggests that such a model or variations of it should be considered in communities establishing a multidisciplinary approach to child abuse. Charts and 6 references