Service Delivery Systems For Prevention Of Child Sexual Abuse Essay
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Service Delivery Systems for Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse
Background
Protecting children from abuse, physically and mentally is a major responsibility for all caregivers of children. This includes parents, teachers and childcare workers. According to research conducted by Spungen, Jensen, Finkelstein and Satinsky, it was estimated that one out of five females and one out of six males would be the victim of sexual abuse before the age of 18. In 1985 it was estimated that over 113,000 children between the ages of six through 18 were sexually assaulted in that year alone (Spungen, et al 1989, p127). Due to the increasing incidence of child sexual abuse, a need arose for prevention and training programs for families and caregivers of children. To fulfill this need, child sexual abuse prevention education programs were established.
Research conducted in 1987, indicated that over nine million preschoolers and millions of school aged children were cared for by some type of daycare program. Consequently, daycare providers were in a unique position to provide this prevention program (Spungen, et al 1989, p127.)
Program Description
The first such program was established in Philadelphia at the Federation Day Care Services. The goal of the program was to enhance the knowledge of staff, parents and children and to help children develop skills to protect themselves from sexual abuse. The goal for parents and staff was to help them become sensitive about child safety issues and be prepared to cope with the feelings that the children expressed. This program was developed and coordinated by an interagency committee comprised of administrators, educational supervisors and masters prepared social workers who had expertise and training the area of child sexual abuse (Spungen, et al 1989, p127).
In developing this program they used the eight basic steps for problem management (Halley, Kopp, Austin 1998, p 183).
These steps are as follows:
1. Perceiving a need and then defining the problem that must be addressed
2. Stating a purpose to be achieved by addressing the problem.
3. Collecting data related to the situation.
4. Using the data to generate alternative responses, opportunities, or solutions to the problems.
5. Assessing the costs of pursing different solutions and weighing the choices.
6. Selecting one or more solutions.
7. Implementing the solution.
8. Evaluating the results and beginning again, drawing on what is learned.
Service Delivery Systems
To effectively implement this prevention program, each audience was identified to develop a different service delivery system. Staff training and parent workshops were conducted by social workers. Classroom teachers implemented programming for children. The linking policy that was used in these deliveries was that of direct practice with the consumer. According to Halley, Kopp, and Austin "Human service practitioners make, advance, retard and shape policy all the time during their interactions with consumers and with each other the work of delivering human services is linked to all aspects of social policy" (Halley, Kopp and Austin, 1998 p100 & 101).
Staff Training
The goals for staff were to increase awareness of child sexual abuse, increase their comfort level and improve their ability to teach prevention curriculum. In addition to providing a safe environment for children to express themselves and also be able to identify and react appropriately to disclosures of abuse (Spungen, et al 1989, p128).
In the first year, two staff training sessions were held at each branch of the Federation Day Care Services. The first session focused on the identification and assessment of child sexual abuse, the second was on disclosures and reporting procedures. There was minimal discussion of the curriculum yet the staff was expected to follow it strictly. Due to the rigidity of the program, staff was resistant to the workshops and felt the training was unnecessary. The committee paid too little attention to the staff's feeling and attitudes regarding this issue. They also did not focus enough attention on teachers' feedback on the curriculum. As a result, there was low staff enthusiasm and increased staff resistance to the training. By the end of the first year the committee became aware of the staff's resistance to the training approach and felt the need to address their concerns. To respond to these concerns and to meet the staff's needs, the committee used the feedback from teachers and actively involved them in the development of the next year's program (Spungen, et al 1989, p128).
In the second year of training three staff sessions were held at each branch to meet the needs of new and previously untrained staff. To decrease staff resistance, theory was included in the training to explain the rationale for the program, while focusing on sensitizing staff to their feelings and reactions to child sexual victimization. The initial session focused on the nature and scope of the problem and its relationship to day care. Participants met in small groups and a discussion followed that focused on myths and facts, behavioral and emotional characteristics of abusive families and victims and stages of normal sexual development. The next two training sessions addressed attitudes toward the topic through small group exercises to help promote comfort with sexual language and included role-playing vignettes which focused on disclosure situations. Discussions followed that focused on the curriculum and a teacher's role in preventing child sexual abuse. To supplement the training, written materials and audio visual aids were used. The training then focused on supporting staff in becoming more comfortable with their role in helping children stay safe. Although the training curriculum focused on prevention education, training for staff primarily dealt with teaching them how to respond appropriately to children's reactions and concerns, including procedures for reporting suspected abuse. (Spungen, et al 1989, p128).
At the end of the second year, feedback from the teacher evaluations was positive. According to Spungen, et al, it was difficult to assess the conclusive reasons for this. The satisfaction of the program appeared to be related to the staff's increased comfort with the topic and the program as well as a more effective training and curriculum (Spungen, et al 1989, p129).
Parent Workshops
The goals for parents included an increased awareness and knowledge about child sexual abuse; inform them and share the content about the child personal safety program and to provide parents with the skills and resources to help keep their children safe (Spungen, et al 1989, p128).
Parental support of the child personal safety program was a high priority. In the first year of the program two parent workshops were offered at each branch of the Federation Day Care Services. The program focused on the dynamics of child sexual abuse and the risk factors for young children, these workshops were provided to parents at no cost. The turnout for these workshops was very low, one possible reason was that parents were disturbed by the information presented and felt unable to protect their children (Spungen, et al 1989, p129).
After the first year, more outreach and public relations efforts were used to reach the parents. The outreach included a brochure, individual letters to all parents inviting them to the workshop posters in each branch of the day care and reminder notices sent to families' two days before the program. Evening sessions were conducted at each branch and childcare and dinner were provided at no cost. (Spungen, et...
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