Handbook for Child Protection Practice

Rating:
Summary: Handbook for child protection practice
Review: This handbook is edited by Howard Dubowitz, professor of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine with many years of experience in the field of child abuse and neglect, and Diane DePanfils, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, with more than 25 years of child welfare experience in social work. The book is devided into ten sections with a logical sequence from disclosure through the various pathways of the child protection system: Reporting and screening, Engagement, Interviewing, Initial assessment, Family assessment, Service planning, Intervention, Evaluation and closure, Legal and ethical issues and lastly Child protection practice with special issues for the practitioner. There is a total of 124 chapters, each one short and to the point with useful information for the professional. There is a total of 77, all American, contributors from a multiprofessional background. We liked the idea of a list of editors and contributors and their affiliations, but would have liked to have an e-mail address also, in these cyber space times. This is a handbook, not a textbook, and therefore the information in each chapter is short, but we found it usefull, informative and with good references, that will help the reader to look further if the need arises. Children with intellectual disability (ID) are at risk for exploitation both physical and sexual abuse, which is mentioned in the handbook and that is important, but we would like that the next edition change the terminology from “retarded children” to “children with” intellectual disability (which today is the intenational term) or developmental disability. This should also be reflected in the index. All in all we can recommend this handbook for professionals working in the field of child protection...