The APSAC Advisor is a peer reviewed quarterly news journal for professionals in the field of child abuse and neglect.
The APSAC Advisor provides succinct, data-based, practice-oriented articles that keep interdisciplinary professionals
informed of the latest developments in policy and practice the field of child maltreatment. It is designed to highlight
best practices in the field and publish original articles and current information about child maltreatment for professionals
from a variety of backgrounds including medicine, law, law enforcement, social work, child protective services, psychology,
public health and prevention in the U.S.
If you wish to learn more about submitting an article to the Advisor, please click here.
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2024 Number 3
Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners have increasingly come to recognize the role of poverty in child maltreatment, and child neglect in particular. Over the last several decades a number of studies have shown links between individual-level poverty and child maltreatment (e.g., Berger, 2004). More recently, researchers have leveraged changes in social welfare policies and macro-economic events, such as the Great Recession, the Earned Income Tax Credit, and Medicaid expansion, among others, to examine the effect of poverty on child maltreatment and child welfare system involvement. In general, this work indicates that more robust social welfare supports reduce child maltreatment, particularly child neglect. However, little research has examined the role of maternal employment patterns in the risk for child maltreatment, even though caregivers need both time and money to provide safe and consistent care for children (SCC). This study examines the relationship between maternal employment patterns (e.g., hours worked per week, weeks worked per year, type/job duration, and shift work) and four indicators of the risk for child maltreatment: exposure neglect, physical neglect, physical aggression, and psychological aggression. Using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (Reichman et al., 2001), we found that both too much and not enough paid employment are linked to a higher risk of child maltreatment, particularly neglect. The findings suggest that making eligibility for social welfare programs dependent on employment could be harmful to families as they try to balance the need for both time and money, the two factors essential for preventing child maltreatment. They also indicate that more paid work may not be sufficient to prevent maltreatment. To develop effective policies to support families, policymakers must realistically consider the impact of required employment on children and child maltreatment rates. In working directly with families, practitioners should consider how to support families by balancing the need for income with the time demands of employment, the needs of children, and the health of parents.
Understanding the Needs of Infants and Toddlers in Child Welfare
Children from birth to age three accounted for one- quarter of all substantiated cases of maltreatment. The youngest victims, those under twelve months, were the least likely to be reunified with their parents, had the longest stays in foster care, and re-entered foster care at higher rates. In addition, infants and toddlers fared worse than children aged four to seventeen years, suffering from high rates of developmental delays and not receiving the necessary intervention services. Despite a call for action to address the needs of infants and toddlers in the child welfare system, they continue to be overrepresented in allegations of abuse and neglect, substantiated cases of maltreatment, and entry into foster care. Given the ongoing unique needs for infants and toddlers involved with child protective services, the rising proportion of this age group with substantiated reports, and the importance of this developmental period, practitioners involved with maltreatment prevention and promotion of child and family well- being are in an important position to provide the necessary support for infants, toddlers, and families in need. Therefore, the goals of this article are twofold: first, to provide the necessary background information to understand the developmental impact of maltreatment on infants and toddlers; and second, to provide information on available resources and practice recommendations that practitioners can use to support infants, toddlers, and their families.
Corporal Punishment of Children in Homes and Schools: An Action Plan
Corporal punishment (CP) is associated with a multitude of short- and long-termconse quences for children that negatively impact mental and physical health. However, many American adults continue to endorse the use of CP in both the home and school setting. Seventeen states continue to allow CP in public schools and the majority of states allow its use in the private school setting. Child advocacy professionals from a variety of disciplines must ensure that parents and American society in general are fully knowledgeable about CP use, understand its potential for negative outcomes for children, and are aware of healthy and effective alternatives to CP. This article will explore CP by defining different types, discussing consequences, describing challenges to eradication in the United States, and suggesting interventions by APSAC professionals to effect change to see the end of CP use in America.
For clinicians and families alike, addressing severe family conflict in the context of adolescent mental health treatment can be a daunting task. Most empirically supported clinical interventions aimed at reducing parent- child conflict with younger children are not suited to adolescent applications. For example, adolescents’ increased autonomy-seeking and individuation leads naturally to reduced parental behavioral leverage over adolescents relative to childhood, making traditional control-oriented parenting interventions less practical. Simultaneously, some parents’ increased anxiety about even normal adolescent risk-taking can further fuel co-escalating conflict when exacerbated by other adolescent mental health difficulties, creating a vicious cycle of coercive communication, cognitive inflexibility, and escalating conflict in parents, adolescents and even other family members. These issues can leave even seasoned clinicians feeling uncertain how to understand and mitigate family conflict that, when chronically harmful enough, can play a role in exacerbating many of the problems that are causing the conflict in the first place. To this end, this report outlines a trans-theoretical, trans-diagnostic protocol, called the Family Time-Out (FTO), aimed at minimizing chronically harmful patterns of parent-adolescent conflict. It can be used as either a stand- alone treatment, or as an adjunctive protocol incorporated into existing mental health treatment plans addressing other adolescent mental health problems.
Goals, Objectives, and Implementation Structure of a Family Time-Out Intervention
The Family Time-Out (FTO) is a trans-theoretical and trans-diagnostic therapeutic protocol designed to treat intense and chronic conflict in families for whom parent-adolescent conflict plays a salient role. This article outlines the goals, objectives, and stepwise implementation process of the FTO protocol, including the initial FTO family session, follow-up session structure, and troubleshooting of common clinical issues that arise during implementation. A companion article in this issue (Fasulo & Waugh, 2024) presents the FTO protocol’s broader clinical justification, conceptual and developmental foundation, recommended intervention style and clinical assumptions, and strategies for optimizing and managing family commitment to change.
APSAC Advisor 37(3) - Full Issue