Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Evaluating Children’S Advocacy Centers’ Response To Child Sexual Abuse, Theodore P. Cross, Lisa M. Jones, Wendy A. Walsh, Monique Simone, David Kolko, Joyce Sczepanski, Tonya Lippert, Karen Davison, Arthur Crynes, Polly Sosnowski, Amy L. Shadoin, Suzanne Magnuson

Sociology

Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) play an increasingly significant role in the response to child sexual abuse and other child maltreatment in the United States. First developed in the 1980s, CACs were designed to reduce the stress on child abuse victims and families created by traditional child abuse investigation and prosecution procedures and to improve the effectiveness of the response. According to several experts (Fontana, 1984; Pence and Wilson, 1992; Whitcomb, 1992), child victims were subjected to multiple, redundant interviews about their abuse by different agencies, and were questioned by professionals who had no knowledge of children’s developmental limitations or experience …

Which Sexual Abuse Victims Receive A Forensic Medical Examination? : The Impact Of Children's Advocacy Centers, Wendy A. Walsh, Theodore P. Cross, Lisa M. Jones, Monique Simone, David Kolko

Sociology

Abstract

Objective

This study examines the impact of Children's Advocacy Centers (CAC) and other factors, such as the child's age, alleged penetration, and injury on the use of forensic medical examinations as part of the response to reported child sexual abuse.

Methods

This analysis is part of a quasi-experimental study, the Multi-Site Evaluation of Children's Advocacy Centers, which evaluated four CACs relative to within-state non-CAC comparison communities. Case abstractors collected data on forensic medical exams in 1,220 child sexual abuse cases through review of case records.

Results

Suspected sexual abuse victims at CACs were two times more likely to have …

Hop On The Bus, Gus: The Power Of Public Transit, Sonke Dornblut

The University Dialogue

As a society, we have designed a transportation system that appears to work quite well for most of us; all we have to do is hop into a car and we are going places! Unfortunately, that system doesn’t work for all of us. The barrier to participation is really quite high. One must be able to afford a car, to maintain a car, and to insure a car and one must be able to drive - otherwise the system doesn’t offer much. In order to receive at least some benefit, access by the non-driver must be facilitated. Access facilitation to …

Expert And Public Evaluations Of Technological Risks: Searching For Common Ground, James Flynn, Paul Slovic

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Drs. Flynn and Slovic compare and evaluate the ways in which the public and experts perceive technological risks.

Introduction: The Challenge Of Risk Communication In A Democratic Society, Richard C. Rich, Robert J. Griffin, Sharon M. Friedman

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The symposium editors review key issues concerning the relationship between risk communication and public participation.

The Role Of Trust In The North Blackforest: An Evaluation Of A Citizen Panel Project, Ragnar E. Löfstedt

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Löfstedt explores the effectiveness of a public participation project conducted in Germany, designed to involve citizens in the siting of municipal waste disposal plants.

Reassessing Public Meetings As Participation In Risk Management Decisions, Katherine A. Mccomas, Clifford W. Scherer

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Using a U.S. case study, Ms. McComas and Dr. Scherer discuss how reliance on public meetings as tools for risk communication in public policy decisions affects relationships between stakeholders and risk managers.

Implementing Structured Participation For Regional Level Waste Management Planning, Elke Schneider, Bettina Oppermann, Ortwin Renn

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors present a case study example of a well-structured public participation project that was incorporated into the formal decision-making process in Germany.

Public Participation In Hazard Management: The Use Of Citizen Panels In The U.S., Ortwin Renn, Thomas Webler, Branden B. Johnson

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

After discussing the need for citizen participation in Risk management and a method of facilitating such participation as developed in Germany, the authors discuss and analyze its subsequent modification and use in a sewage sludge management project in New Jersey.