Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs), have been growing in the U.S. and around the world as the gold standard response in child abuse intervention for the last 40 years. Central to a CAC is its multidisciplinary team, made up of different professional disciplines, work for different partner agencies, have differing laws that regulate their work, different mandates, and different professional cultures. Those differences can be a source of strength in applying the professional expertise of the group in a holistic way to kids and to the cases that come in. But they can also be a source of tension and conflict. So the key question becomes: What really contributes to team effectiveness? Is it getting along with one’s peers, hanging out and having happy hours? Is it having trust and mutual respect? Is it one’s own perception of team performance? While all those things help, it may surprise you to find that it’s something else entirely. Join us in our conversation with Elizabeth McGuier, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:50)
• Team functioning (5:43)
• Perceptions of caregivers vs. team performance (10:03)
• The key to team effectiveness (12:33)
• What are appropriate outcomes to assess? (21:01)
• Implications of the study (23:02)
• Youth Feedback Survey (28:40)
• A team-focused approach (31:03)
• Burnout and vicarious trauma
• For more information

Links:

Elizabeth A. McGuier, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh

“Team Functioning and Performance in Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Teams,” McGuier, E. A.; Rothenberger, S. D.; Campbell, K. A.; Keeshin, B.; Weingart, L. R.; & Kolko, D. J. (2022). Child Maltreatment, 0(0). DOI 10.1177/10775595221118933

NCA members receive research-to-practice briefs every Monday morning as a benefit of membership. “Team Functioning and Performance in Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Teams” was the subject of the message on September 12, 2022.

Care Process Model for Pediatric Traumatic Stress, developed through a collaboration of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and the Center for Safe and Healthy Families at Intermountain Healthcare’s Primary Children’s Hospital 

Outcome Measurement System (OMS) currently has four surveys that CACs can administer: Youth Feedback Survey, Caregiver Initial Visit Survey, Caregiver Follow-Up Survey, Multidisciplinary Team

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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If you haven’t already read Out of the Shadows, both the country report and the most recent edition, which is focused on U.S. state-by-state analysis, run—don’t walk—to get a copy. As child abuse professionals, you’ve probably wondered how the U.S. and, in fact, your state stack up on child sexual abuse prevention and intervention. The Out of the Shadows Index aims to answer that question by examining the legal framework, public policy, and also investments by states and countries. In today’s episode, we speak with Araceli Irurzun Pérez, research analyst at Economist Impact and a lead researcher on the Out of the Shadows report. As you will hear, the results are a bit surprising and turn upside down assumptions that we might have about the landscape within and across states.

Are these responses predictable by political affiliation? Nope. Or exclusively about financial resources? No, sir. And yet, one of the chief findings was that, while Children’s Advocacy Centers bear much of the burden for child sexual abuse prevention and intervention in the U.S.—and, indeed, in every state—they are woefully under-resourced.

Want a roadmap to improve child sexual abuse prevention and intervention in your state? Then please take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:51)
• Surprising findings (6:18)
• What’s lacking in most countries (10:25)
• What some countries do well (11:56)
• The U.S. pilot project (19:34)
• What we need to do next (29:49)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (33:46)
• For more information (37:11)

Links:

Araceli Irurzun Pérez, research manager at Economist Impact and a lead researcher on the Out of the Shadows Index

Out of the Shadows - US Pilot: Shining a Light on Prevention of and Response to Child Sexual Exploitation Abuse in the US (2022), Economist Impact, London, UK

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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Clergy have a uniquely intimate place in the lives of people of faith: present at baptisms, weddings, sick beds, and funerals. They’re with us when we’re at our worst and at our best, and life’s highs and lows. And while most clergy view this as a sacred trust with parishioners, others—as we have learned—sadly use that access and trust to abuse children.

Anna Segura-Montagut, Ph.D., joins us to discuss a research study that moves beyond news accounts, books, and movies to explore critical questions when working with survivors of clergy abuse. How is survivors’ belief in God affected by the abuse? And how does that impact resilience? How is their trust in institutions affected? How does that impact their access to the very social and community supports needed to heal from that abuse? And most importantly, how do we walk besides these survivors in their own healing journey even as we struggle with our own feelings about faith and faith communities?

Topics in this episode:

• Research decisions (1:37)
• Similarities and differences (5:03)
• Impact on belief (9:43)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (15:25)
• Entrapment (18:19)
• Implications for clergy and the church (20:26)
• Future research (23:51)
• What survivors need (25:44)
• Reason to hope (31:17)

Links:

Anna Segura-Montagut, Ph.D., clinical psychologist; assistant research scientist, Family Translational Research Group at NYU Dentistry Center for Oral Health Policy and Management

“An Exploratory Study on Mental Health, Social Problems and Spiritual Damage in Victims of Child Sexual Abuse by Catholic Clergy and Other Perpetrators,” N. Pereda, L. Contreras Taibo, A. Segura Montagut, F. Maffioletti, Journal of Child Sexual Abuse 31(2):1-19. DOI: 10.1080/10538712.2022.2080142, May 2022

Sherry Hamby, Ph.D., appeared on One in Ten on February 14, 2020. Her interview was later republished on August 6, 2020, as part of our “Best of the Best” series. “Greater Than the Sum—Multiple Adversities in Children’s Lives”

Victoria Banyard, Ph.D.

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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• Origin story (1:54)
• Research foundation (4:28)
• The hypotheses and findings (7:57)
• Caregiver support (14:08)
• Unexpected findings (22:41)
• Prosecutors’ view (27:07)
• Research and solutions (32:52)
• Advice to policy makers (34:43)
• For more information (38:22)

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Over the last several years, we’ve become more and more aware of the challenges and—let’s face it—the inadequacies of the child welfare system. Disproportionality is real—the way in which families of color can be caught up in the system at rates that truly boggle the mind. And how about worker shortages, which are also real and tax those still on the front line. More than ever, child protective services has become the system of last resort for families failed by every other system. But what are we going to do about it? 

How do we address racial inequities within the system? How do we add youth voices and those with lived experience in a meaningful way into program planning? And how do we learn from the data what works and eliminate practices that clearly don’t? We spoke with Christine James-Brown from the Child Welfare League of America about how we might reform and reimagine the child welfare system.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:51)
• The problem with child welfare (3:07)
• Where to start (12:16)
• Neglect (16:52)
• Rebuild the system (19:05)
• Interesting strategies (24:56)
• Build trust (31:25)
• Child welfare workers (35:24)
• For more information (39:20)

Links:

Christine James-Brown, president and CEO, Child Welfare League of America, Inc.

SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, by Robert D. Putnam

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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While we’re on vacation, here’s one of our favorite episodes: “Are We Solving the Wrong Problem in Child Welfare?” When you think of federal child welfare policy, maybe you expect a discussion of foster care and other post-abuse interventions. If so, this conversation with Jerry Milner, former head of the Children’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is going to blow your mind. Because after more than 40 years in child welfare, Milner's leadership of the Children’s Bureau turned a very, very different direction. He explored questions like: What would happen if we turned over our investment and focused on primary prevention instead? And are too many children separated from their parents unnecessarily through foster care? And, more importantly, what role do our own values of equity and belief in family support play not only in the lives of kids but in the life of our public policy? Milner is reimagining the child welfare system of the future. Take a listen to this interview, originally published on July 29, 2021.
 
Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:21)
• Why primary prevention? (4:04)
• Why it's hard to change (10:37)
• Systemic inequities (16:45)
• Different forms of neglect (21:49)
• The consumer voice (31:52)
• What’s next? (35:19)
• Our podcast website (39:24)

Links:

Jerry Milner, DSW, is practice director of Family Integrity and Justice Works at Public Knowledge, and the former head of the U.S. Children’s Bureau

Administration for Children, Youth, and Families

Children’s Advocacy Centers

“$20M diverted from police training facility to mental health facility in Prince George’s,” by Brad Bell, April 19, 2021, ABC7 News

CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates)

Family First Prevention Services Act

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at nationalchildrensalliance.org. And come visit our podcast website at oneintenpodcast.org. 

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While we're on vacation, here's one of our favorite episodes: "Faith, Trauma, and the Problem of Evil." Many survivors of child sexual abuse struggle with questions of faith: Why did this happen to me? How do I understand what happened to me in the context of my faith? How do I make meaning of these traumatic events going forward? 

While these might sound like strictly theological questions, child abuse professionals respond every day to questions of faith, trauma, and the problem of evil. How do we address with victims, survivors, and the frontline professionals working with them the deep need to make meaning of these traumatic events? We talk to Victor Veith, Director of Education and Research at Zero Abuse Project and a renowned writer and trainer, about the intersection of faith and child protection. How can we help children when they have spiritual questions? And how can we help child protection professionals wrestling with the trauma they bear witness to every day?

This was the second episode of One in Ten. It was originally published on May 13, 2019.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:35)
• Faith-related questions in child sexual abuse cases (3:11)
• Addressing spiritual questions (5:17)
• Ways to address faith—and barriers (9:34)
• Adopt a Social Worker (19:43)
• Corporal punishment (21:29)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (30:11)
• For more information (32:33)

Links:

Victor Vieth, Chief Program Officer, Education and Research, for Zero Abuse Project and a founder of the National Child Protection Training Center. He is a former prosecutor and has a master’s degree in theology

Child Maltreatment: An Introduction, Cindy Miller-Perrin and Robin Perrin

On This Rock: A Call to Center the Christian Response to Child Abuse on the Life and Words of Jesus, by Victor I. Vieth

HALOS

Care in Action Minnesota

CAST, child advocacy studies minor provides students with real-world experience in a classroom setting

Julie Valentine Center, Greenville, South Carolina

“Religion in child sexual abuse forensic interviews,” Amy C. Tishelman, Lisa A. Fontes, Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 63, 2017, pp. 120-130.

Office for Victims of Crime

No-hit zones

Academy on Violence and Abuse

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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We are complete nerds when it comes to research. This podcast was founded on it, and many listeners receive our weekly research-to-practice briefs. Over the last two decades, a growing evidence base has demonstrated the effectiveness of the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) model. And no one has contributed more to that evidence base than Ted Cross through his sustained research over 20 years. Because of research partnerships, we know more about forensic interviews than ever before. More than about evidence-based mental health treatment than ever before. More about forensic medical evaluation than ever before. And yes, more about the difference CACs make in their own local community than ever before. But there are still significant research gaps, and the CAC model is still evolving and adapting every single day. 

What do we still need to learn to improve our work? How is the CAC model evolving to meet current needs, and future needs, and ever-changing needs? And how can we partner with researchers to improve our practice? Take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:59)
• The flexibility of CACs for community response (9:26)
• Different potential partners (16:58)
• Unanswered questions (26:33)
• Advice and new partners for CACs (33:15)
• Polyvictimization (42:47)
• Vacation and future episodes (44:27)

Links:

Theodore P. Cross, Ph.D., research professor at Children and Family Research Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

“The Child Victim as Witness Research Report,” Whitcomb, D.; De Vos, E.; Cross, T.P.; et al, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (October 1994)

“Practice in U.S. Children’s Advocacy Centers: Results of a Survey of CAC Directors,” Cross, Theodore P.; Whitcomb, Debra; Maren, Emi. Children and Family Research Center, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (March 2022)

“Do Children’s Advocacy Centers improve families’ experiences of child sexual abuse investigations?” Jones, L.M.; Cross, T.P.; Walsh, W.A.; Simone, M. Child Abuse & Neglect (2007)

Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County

Wynona’s House

“Faith, Trauma, and the Problem of Evil,” with Victor Vieth (May 13, 2019)

New Jersey Children’s Alliance

For more about polyvictimization: “Greater Than the Sum—Multiple Adversities in Children’s Lives,” with Dr. Sherry Hamby (originally broadcast February 14, 2020, as “Mending the Tears of Violence”)

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at

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Over the past five years, sexual abuse scandals in sports have continuously been in the news. Whether swimming, tae kwon do, or most famously gymnastics, the variety of sports that have had such scandals point to a very uncomfortable truth that sports has inherent child protection issues, and that these unique vulnerabilities require unique prevention strategies to keep youth athletes safe. Courtney Kiehl, former elite gymnast, abuse survivor, and now an attorney and advocate for child victims and adult survivors of child sexual abuse, joined us to discuss what makes youth athletes so vulnerable, and how we can help.

What coaching strategies create toxic cultures, which discourage kids from speaking up about concerns? How does the lack of accountability at the club level allow offenders to move location and keep right on coaching? How does the weight of adult expectations—coaches, parents, and, yes, us, the viewers—make it so very difficult for kids to disclose even the most harrowing abuse? And where is there reason for hope and action to create a future for elite sport, and indeed all sport, that is healthy and safe?  Take a listen.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:46)
• What good coaching looks like (6:53)
• What makes athletes vulnerable (12:52)
• Who regulates sports (19:20)
• The bystander problem (28:17)
• What all athletes need (32:34)
• Parenting advice and the weight of expectations (33:52)

Links:

Courtney Kiehl, Esq., is an attorney at Paul Mones PC in California, a legal firm that specializes in representing victims of child sexual abuse. Prior to joining the firm, she founded A.C.H.E. (Abused Children Heard Everywhere) as a response to her own experience with sexual abuse by her gymnastics coach. She served as a fellow for CHILD USA’s Game Over: Commission to Protect Youth Athletes.

Game Over Commission; in January 2022, the commission released a case study on the abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar

U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC)

National governing bodies

U.S. Center for SafeSport

Related episodes: “The True Cost of Olympic Gold,” about the Game Over Commission’s report; an interview with Prof. Marci A. Hamilton, founder and CEO of CHILD USA and (February 25, 2022)

“Radically Vulnerable: Achieving Justice for Survivors” with Prof. Hamilton (September 30, 2019)

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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In child maltreatment cases, while our attention is focused on the child and family in front of us, do we give any thought to the child protection system itself? What do we understand about how family separation was baked into the model for Black and Indigenous children right from the very beginning? And how does that play out today? Dr. Jessica Pryce, director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare, joins us to discuss how it would change our work with families to center equity. To center community and the child’s attachment to their corner of the world. Might we radically change the experience for children when they can’t live at home by asking, “Who already loves this child?” Dr. Pryce offers practical information that child abuse professionals can use right now.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:43)
• Foundations of the child welfare system (3:23)
• What we can do (7:58)
• Start building a community (15:17)
• Successful supervisory strategies (17:43)
• Family separation (24:23)
• Advice for policy makers (34:02)
• Advice for child abuse professionals (42:26)
• For more information (46:14)

Links:

Jessica Pryce, Ph.D., MSW, is director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare at Florida State University

Dr. Pryce was the opening keynote speaker at NCA’s Leadership Conference in June 2022

“To Transform Child Welfare, Take Race Out of the Equation,” TED Talk by Dr. Pryce

Social Security Act of 1935 created Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) and Aid to Families of Dependent Children (AFDC)

Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program

Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)

Family First Prevention and Services Act

Abbreviations used:

CACs: Children’s Advocacy Centers

CASA: court appointed special advocate

CPS: child protective services

DEI: diversity, equity, and inclusion

TPR: termination of parental rights

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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