A Multidisciplinary Resource
A multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach that coordinates the activities of law enforcement, child welfare, medical, mental health, and legal agencies is widely recognized as the most effective approach to cases involving child maltreatment. The needs of a child who has been victimized are best served when police officers, detectives, social workers, physicians, therapists, and prosecutors understand what each is mandated to accomplish and how their procedures and protocols interrelate. Communication is the cornerstone of the MDT approach.
The Portable Guides to Investigating Child Abuse series evolved from an effort to facilitate communication between law enforcement and the other professions represented on an MDT. OJJDP initially identified a need for better communication between the law enforcement and medical communities. Officers and detectives working on suspected cases of child abuse require a basic understanding of medical procedures and diagnoses and the implications of these for the cases they investigate. Physicians and other medical personnel need to understand the requirements of an investigation and the best way to convey complex medical information to investigators.
OJJDP convened a focus group of nationally recognized leaders in the field of child abuse investigation to discuss the best format for addressing this need. The participants, who included police officers, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), prosecutors, and physicians, agreed unanimously that there was a significant need for such guidance within the law enforcement community. Their discussion also revealed that the need for information extended beyond the medical aspects of child abuse cases, and they identified the topics currently represented in the Portable Guide series.
The authorship of these guides reflects the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to investigating child abuse. In addition to representatives of various strata of the law enforcement community, from the local level to the FBI, the authors of the guides include several physicians (pediatricians, radiologists, surgeons), a psychologist, a professor of social work, a medical photographer, and an attorney. The following synopses illustrate the multidisciplinary scope of the series.
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| Overview of the Portable Guides to Investigating Child Abuse: Update 2000 | |