Client evaluation of a consultation team on crimes against children

Objective: Cases of child abuse filed in court as crimes against children r epresent a small percentage of the total numbers of children maltreated. Ho wever, studying crimes of maltreatment against children is Important for in dividual victims and their families, and for theory and policy in order to assure that these cases are managed as well as possible. Forensic consultat ion teams can perform several functions related to child abuse crimes: prov ide multidisciplinary expertise in the evaluation of maltreatment cases, of fer a method for allocating resources between cases managed by the criminal justice and child protection systems, and provide important research and t eaching opportunities. This study reviews the role played by multidisciplin ary team consultations based on the perception of client professionals whos e agencies pay for an outside consulting forensic team. Method: Professionals referring to a forensic team for consultative assista nce were asked to evaluate the service during telephone interviews, respond ing to both structured and unstructured questions. Results: Responding professionals (N=18) stated that the tram increased the ir confidence that the approach being taken to a case was correct (94%), th at missing expertise was provided(100%), that progress was made in cases th at might otherwise not have been made (55%), and that ambiguity was reduced (in 83% of referred cases), Using the team sometimes caused delays. Some d elays were unacceptable administrative delays while others were considered necessary to assure completeness of the evaluation. Conclusion: The use of the team did not result in resolution of all of the cases referred, but referral to the team consistently provided closure for referring professionals. In one-third of the cases studied, if it had not b een for the START consultation the cases would not have proceeded to an app ropriate criminal or civil resolution. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.