THE IMPACT ON FAMILIES OF REPORTED CHILD-ABUSE OR NEGLECT

In order to evaluate the impact upon children and families of reported child abuse and neglect and the subsequent interventions, the casenot es of a random sample of substantiated cases (N = 151) dealt with by t he South Australian child protection agency were searched. The goal wa s to identify information concerning service delivery and changes for family members in the ensuing six months. Results relevant to both of these are presented and evaluated. An important corollary finding of t his work was the absence of detailed information about outcome in the casenotes. We argue that this absence of feedback to child protection workers and policy-makers is likely to have detrimental effects on bot h worker morale and the quality of the services provided.