NCJ Number
128854
Journal
Education and Urban Society Volume: 22 Issue: 3 Dated: special issue (May 1990) Pages: 258-269
Date Published
1990
Length
12 pages
Annotation
In most communities, child protective services (CPS) have the foremost legal responsibility to investigate reports of child abuse or neglect and to coordinate services for these children and their families, thus schools and educators have excellent opportunities to identify abused children, provide effective prevention programs, and assist in the recovery process by supplementing other intervention and treatment efforts.
Abstract
The potential results of child abuse and neglect, including physical and neurological damage, emotional and psychological maladjustment, and related developmental and educational disadvantages are generally well recognized. However, recognizing the signs and symptoms of child abuse is often more difficult, and legal ambiguities complicate matters further. Low rates of child abuse reports by schools could be raised through regular school-CPS liaison. Four CPS functions that may also relate to schools include intake and investigation, supervision and treatment of children and families, child placement and foster care services, and adoption services. Schools can participate in all these processes through their own counseling and psychological services, by providing a secure environment in which a child can disclose his worries or fears, and by participating in well-coordinated child protection teams with professionals from other fields. 19 references