Responding to child abuse
A review of models and practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14698359 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lorraine Read (a Southern Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service , PO Box 248, Oaklands Park , SA , 5046, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 43-50 |
| Publication date | 1999-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Social Work (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0312-407X • E-ISSN: 1447-0748 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03124079908414135 |
| OpenAlex | W2003817922 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 11 |
Social workers are among the many mental health professionals who are at the cutting edge of child protection cases. Often other professionals such as judges or lawyers are involved in the decision about ‘the welfare’ or ‘the best interests of the child’ in these cases. This article examines the theoretical underpinnings of the statutory response to child abuse in Australia. The psychological sciences have been used to provide content to the notion of ‘the best interests of the child’ mainly focusing on the ‘cause and effect’ of child abuse. However there is no consensus for what causes child abuse, particularly in the less severe cases of child abuse. Competing theories generate different advice about what constitutes ‘the best interests of the child’. This has resulted in oscillation from maximum statutory intervention to a policy of nonintervention in Australia. It has also led to a preoccupation with practice rather than identifying objective criteria for ‘the best interests of the child’. An analysis of the current status of the notion of ‘the best interests of the child’ as it is used and appears in the child protection literature, shows that to choose between them is arbitrary and subjective
Best interests · Best practice · Child abuse · Child protection · Criminology · Medical emergency · Mental health · Poison control · Political science · Psychiatry · Statutory law · Suicide prevention · Welfare · Child Abuse and Trauma · Child Welfare and Adoption · Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Social Work
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2024 (21) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |