NCJ Number
178636
Date Published
1995
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This overview provides information on the nature and extent of child victimization as well as the roles that the child welfare agency and the juvenile court play in the handling of cases of abuse and neglect.
Abstract
An overview of characteristics and recent trends in child victimization and maltreatment notes that in 1992 there were an estimated 2.2 million violent victimizations of juveniles under age 18. Child victims below age 6 were the most likely to be victimized by a family member (50 percent) and least likely to be victimized by strangers (9 percent). For children under age 12, injury was more likely to result when they were victimized by family members (42 percent) than by strangers (35 percent) or acquaintances (38 percent). A review of a child welfare agency's role in addressing child abuse and neglect focuses on making a report of alleged child abuse and neglect, the intake and investigation stages, the stage of ongoing supervision, and case closure or termination of parental rights. A discussion of the crisis facing the child welfare system indicates that child welfare agencies across the country are struggling to meet their mandates; caseworkers are generally inexperienced, and turnover is high due to job stress and low pay. For a number of reasons, child welfare agencies are not able to provide quality services in a timely manner. The juvenile court's role in addressing child abuse and neglect is also briefly considered before this paper concludes with descriptions of model legislation and court protocols to improve outcomes for abused and neglected children. Topics covered in the latter discussion are unified family courts, judicial resource guidelines, and a protocol for drug- related dependency cases. 5 figures and 16 footnotes