An exploratory study of sex differences in orientation to clinical practice.

Few statistically significant sex differences were found in orientation to clinical practice of a randomly selected sample of 300 licensed clinical social workers. 28 male and 69 female licensed clinical social workers had very similar attitudes, philosophies, and behaviors toward clinical practice. These findings add to the limited research available.

The influence of the family preservation model on child sexual abuse intervention strategies: changes in child welfare worker tasks.

There is no easy solution for child sexual abuse. Various innovations have been tried. Most are based on the belief that punishment without treatment is counterproductive in cases of intrafamilial child sexual abuse because it further disrupts the family. Many counties have developed strategies that divert offenders into treatment rather than prison. Professionals in those counties apparently believe that treatment with the threat of prosecution or imprisonment is faster, cheaper, less traumatic for the child, and more effective in reducing recidivism. Ideally, it will also help preserve families. To make such strategies work, child sexual abuse intervention professionals have adapted their activities through all phases of contact with the victim, offender, and the family. They must be collaborators, consultants, liaisons, counselors, and advocates. Finally, there is little research on the effectiveness of the innovative intervention strategies. To discern if those strategies are more effective than traditional approaches in reducing child sexual abuse, in helping the family to cope with the problem, and in minimizing system-induced trauma to the child, continued research is necessary.

Intrafamilial child sexual abuse: intervention programs for first time offenders and their families.

Traditional legal and therapeutic interventions in child sexual abuse cases are often unsuccessful and can be especially counterproductive for intrafamilial assaults. Many communities responded with innovative programs. Three strategies that integrate treatment with legal procedures are described. They include a Pretrial Diversion program in which incarceration time is reduced if the offender attends a treatment program; a Post-Plea Diversion program that postpones the felony hearing pending the successful completion of an offender treatment program, and a Pre-Legal Diversion program in which there was no legal intervention if the accused successfully completed treatment. The programs are described and then compared across professional activity variables. It was found that: (a) Case processing was timely and equitable across the three programs; (b) victim medical examinations were uncommon; (c) counseling was the predominant type of service provided; and (d) services were not routinely provided to families. It appears that the most promising strategy for first offense, intrafamilial assaults, may be the Pre-Legal Diversion program because it provides the most protection to children through routine medical exams and juvenile court petitions, and it provides the most equitable distribution of services to the victims and offenders.