What Happened Next

Abstract

Child Protective Services (CPS) identifies over 700,000 victims of child maltreatment in the U.S. annually. Research shows that risk factors for these children may persist despite CPS intervention. Mothers have unique and often untapped perspectives on the experiences and consequences of CPS intervention that may inform future practice. We explored these perspectives through interviews with 24 mothers after a first-time CPS finding of maltreatment not resulting in out-of-home placement. Male partners were primary perpetrators in 21 cases, with mothers or sitters identified as perpetrators in remaining cases. Data were analyzed using grounded theory. Mothers described risk factors or Roots of maltreatment prior to CPS involvement and reported variable experiences with Recognition of and Response to maltreatment. Divergent Outcomes emerged: I Feel Stronger and We’re No Better. These findings provide an understanding of household experiences around child maltreatment that may support practice and policy changes to improve outcomes for vulnerable children.

HIV/AIDS and older adults in Cameroon: Emerging issues and implications for caregiving and policy-making

“…The trustworthiness of the findings in this study was established as a result of the integrity of the data, which was achieved by obtaining a balance between reflecting objectively on the part of the researchers and the subjective responses of the participants in order to provide a clear communication of the findings in the manner recommended by several authors (Arczynski & Morrow, 2016 ; Arczynski, Morrow, & Englar-Carlson, 2016 ; Campbell, Olson, Keenan, & Morrow, 2017 ; Hoover & Morrow, 2016 ; Levitt, Motulsky, Wertz, Ponterotto, & Morrow, 2016 ). The dependability of the data determines the integrity of the data.…”

Plunging Into a Dark Sea of Emotions: Professionals’ Emotional Experiences Addressing Child Abuse in Interviews With Children

“…Shonkoff (2016) contends that enough evidence exists to infer that it is more cost effective and efficient to identify and intervene in abuse early in life because this intervention leads to a diminished need to modify negative health behaviors or provide health care in adulthood. Nevertheless, few children exposed to violence or neglect who manifest symptoms that warrant clinical attention receive effective treatments (Campbell, Olson, Keenan, & Morrow, 2017; La Greca et al, 2009; Steinberg et al, 2014). It is necessary to assess children’s adversity properly and systematically to be able to protect them from exposure to stressors such as child abuse and/or offer them treatment to reduce the harmful effects of such stressors.…”

Children’s and caregivers’ perspectives about mandatory reporting of child maltreatment: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

“…Positive feelings resulted when the non-offending caregiver (the mother) recognised child maltreatment in advance of the referral and felt relief in receiving support to provide safety to her children. Similar to mandated reporters,22 caregivers in this study57 had an easier time recognising maltreatment when they saw physical indicators of violence (eg, belt mark on child).…”

“…Most articles contributing to this construct discussed caregivers’ negative feelings associated with being reported: feeling angry, misunderstood, betrayed, confused and in the dark. One article57 discussed both negative and positive feelings associated with knowledge of being reported. Positive feelings resulted when the non-offending caregiver (the mother) recognised child maltreatment in advance of the referral and felt relief in receiving support to provide safety to her children.…”