Who is advocating for children under six? Uncovering unmet needs in child advocacy centers

Karin L. Vanderzee, Joy R. Pemberton, Nicola Conners-Burrow and Teresa L. Kramer

Children and Youth Services Review, 2016, vol. 61, issue C, 303-310

Abstract: Evidence suggests that children under the age of 6years are affected by trauma, yet there are few studies available to determine how well their needs are addressed in the mental health system. Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) offer a promising avenue for expanding the system of care for very young children exposed to sexual and/or physical abuse. This study used a mixed-methods approach to examine the type and extent of CAC services for very young children in one state. Quantitative results revealed that the youngest children were less likely to be referred for counseling and less likely to already be engaged in counseling when an investigation is initiated. Qualitative results from interviews with CAC advocates suggest that advocates have variable perceptions regarding the effects of trauma on young children, and they do not consistently receive training in the mental health needs of traumatized children under 6. Our results confirm the need for an expanded system of service delivery for the youngest and most vulnerable child maltreatment victims.

Keywords: Child abuse; Trauma; Infant; Toddler; Preschooler; Child advocacy centers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740916300032
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:61:y:2016:i:c:p:303-310

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.01.003

Access Statistics for this article

Children and Youth Services Review is currently edited by Duncan Lindsey

More articles in Children and Youth Services Review from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().