Studies of the Impact of Criminal Justice and Child Welfare Systems Involvement on Child Survivors of Abuse

Project Title:	Studies of the Impact of Criminal Justice and Child Welfare Systems Involvement on Child Survivors of Abuse
Grant/Contract Number:	90CA1576
Type of Project:	Research
Funding Agency:	Office on Child Abuse and Neglect
Agency Contact Person:	Sally M. Flanzer, Ph.D. (202) 205-8914
Principal Investigator:	Theodore Cross, Pelonomi Khumoetsile-Taylor, Diane Martell, John Ruscio, Robin Spath
Mailing Address:	Brandeis University P.O. Box 9110 Waltham, MA 02254
Total Project Duration:	09/30/96 to 02/28/98
FY 98 Total Costs:	$75,000
Total Project Budget:	$75,000
Child Maltreatment Focus:	Primary
Type of Abuse:	Varied
Sample Size:	Not specified
Age of Subjects:	Not specified
Child Abuse and Neglect Focus of This Project:	Not specified
Summary

This project consists of four studies of how abused children are affected by the actions of the criminal justice and child protection services systems, foster and adoptive care system, and child welfare system. The studies are conducted by one faculty member and four doctoral students. The first study examines the understanding and evaluation of the court processes by child abuse survivors and their families and will survey children and caretakers at the Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Child Abuse Unit. The second study employs quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine cultural competency in recruiting African American adoptive and foster families for abused and neglected children. The third study is a followup and new analysis of research by Cross, Martell, and McDonald (1995), who found that the decision to prosecute a child sexual abuse case was the strongest predictor of placement of abused children. The last study seeks to replicate conceptually and extend empirically recent investigations of decision making in child sexual abuse cases. Decisions made by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office Child Abuse Unit will be examined.