NCJ Number
188938
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2001 Pages: 65-80
Date Published
January 2001
Length
16 pages
Annotation
An analysis of interactions among members of 15 multidisciplinary child protection teams in New Jersey sought to determine how multidisciplinary team members in child protection worked together within the team as they met to provide assessments and services to children and families.
Abstract
Information came from observations of one meeting of each team. The study used a structured observation method called Bales’ Interaction Process Analysis to record and analyze the interaction among team members. Results revealed a wide variation in participation among team members. Some members contributed nothing to the meeting; others contributed a great deal. Participation by members was more equal in some teams than in others. Staff from the prosecutor’s offices took part in every meeting; either the agency as a whole or individual agency members dominated many of the meetings. Some professional groups and agencies contributed little to any meeting, while others contributed a great deal to many meetings. The analysis concluded that although professionals on multidisciplinary teams are expected to contribute to investigations of child maltreatment cases and to the planning for further work with cases, a considerable degree of inequality exists in levels of participation in multidisciplinary meetings. Figures, tables, and 34 references (Author abstract modified)