Statistical Treatment Applied

Examples of intervention in child maltreatment include the investigation of child

abuse reports by state child protection agencies, clinical treatment of physical and

psychological injuries, family counseling, self-help services, the provision of goods

and services such as homemaker or respite care, legal action against the

perpetrator, and removal of the child or the offender from the home. This chapter

reviews interventions that occur after suspected child maltreatment has been

reported to child protection agencies. These treatment interventions are viewed by

some as a form of tertiary prevention, for they are often designed not only to

remedy whatever harm may have occurred, but also to prevent future occurrence

es of child maltreatment and to minimize the negative consequences of child

maltreatment experiences for children and their families.

Some observers believe that the concept of treatment, in the field of child

maltreatment studies, should be restricted to interventions that are therapeutic in

nature, thus distinguishing such programs from social and legal efforts to

investigate or prosecute reports of child abuse and neglect. However, the panel

believes that therapeutic programs should be viewed within a broader social

context that includes interventions by social and legal agencies. Access to

therapeutic care is often determined by social service or law enforcement

personnel, and the availability of medical or psychological services is significantly

uneven in different social sectors. As a result, only a small percentage of victims

have access to the services that they need (McCurdy and Daro, 1993). Thus, in the panel's
view,