Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Child Abuse and Neglect

This book presents and illustrates the perspectives and roles of six disciplines on a multidisciplinary child-protection team. It is intended to be used as part of the academic preparation for professionals from the respective disciplines who are interested in working in the field of child abuse and neglect. It includes educational, legal, nursing, medical, psychological, and social work perspectives and principles, and practice for team development.

Chapter 1 discusses the history of multidisciplinary teams in child welfare services. Chapter 2 focuses on the organization and structure of child abuse and neglect services and the functions of the social worker within this service system. Chapter 3 presents the medical aspects of the multidisciplinary team approach in diagnosing, discussing, evaluating, and analyzing cases. Chapter 4 delineates the role of professional psychology in the prevention, assessment, and treatment of child abuse and neglect cases. Chapter 5 begins with an explanation of the importance of the law, which provides remedy by punishing the abuser or placing the child in a safe and nurturing home. Chapter 6 provides knowledge and understanding of the legal status of educators as related to child abuse and neglect. In Chapter 7, the use of the nursing process in practice with abusive and neglectful families is outlined. Particular attention is paid to the identification of assessment warning signs that can indicate potential or actual abuse. Chapter 8 outlines strategies for team development, emphasizing team process, which includes communication, decision making, and conflict management. Emphasis is placed on clarifying roles, structure, and format of various types of teams.

FAYE F. UNTALAN is Associate Professor in the Schools of Public Health and Social Work at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is the co-editor of Minority Mental Health (1982) and the editor of Proceedings of the First Pacific Islands' Conference on Child Protection (1990).

CRYSTAL S. MILLS is Director of Social Services at Children's Aid Society in Detroit, Michigan, and is Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Work at the Eastern Michigan University.