Child abuse & neglect
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Child abuse & neglect · Mar 2008
Assessment of factors resulting in abuse evaluations in young children with minor head trauma.
The primary objective was to determine which of the examined factors prompted physicians to initiate a further abuse evaluation in young children with minor head injury. The recording of important historical elements in the charts of these patients was also evaluated. ⋯ Historical factors associated with injuries in young children continue to be poorly documented. Increased pediatric training for emergency medicine physicians, clinical protocols for evaluation and documentation of injured children, and regular continuing medical education on child development and its implications on mechanisms of injury for clinicians practicing in acute care settings are needed changes that may bring about improvements.
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Child abuse & neglect · Mar 2008
The Canadian child welfare system response to exposure to domestic violence investigations.
While child welfare policy and legislation reflects that children who are exposed to domestic violence are in need of protection because they are at risk of emotional and physical harm, little is known about the profile of families and children identified to the child welfare system and the system's response. The objective of this study was to examine the child welfare system's response to child maltreatment investigations substantiated for exposure to domestic violence (EDV). ⋯ There is debate in the literature about how the child welfare sector should respond to cases involving exposure to domestic violence. Contrary to conventional wisdom, this study finds that children who are the subject of investigations involving substantiated exposure to domestic violence are less likely to be removed from their home than children experiencing other forms of maltreatment. Strategies need to be developed to counter misperceptions about the intrusiveness of child welfare, and discussions need to take place about when it is appropriate for child welfare to become involved when children are exposed to domestic violence.