Child Abuse and Culture Working with Diverse Families

by Fontes, Lisa Aronson; Conte, Jon R.

• ISBN13: 9781593851309
• ISBN10: 1593851308
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-01-06
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

This expertly written book provides an accessible framework for culturally competent practice with children and families in child maltreatment cases. Numerous workable strategies and concrete examples are presented to help readers address cultural concerns at each stage of the assessment and intervention process. Professionals and students learn new ways of thinking about their own cultural viewpoints as they gain critical skills for maximizing the accuracy of assessments for physical and sexual abuse; overcoming language barriers in parent and child interviews; respecting families' values and beliefs while ensuring children's safety; creating a welcoming agency environment; and more.

Author Biography

Lisa Aronson Fontes, PhD, is a psychologist who has dedicated over 15 years to making the social service and mental health systems more responsive to culturally diverse people affected by family violence. She currently directs the School Counseling Graduate Program at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where she is a professor in the Psychology Department. An internationally recognized lecturer and trainer, Dr. Fontes is the editor of <I>Sexual Abuse in Nine North American Cultures: Treatment and Prevention<I*> and has written numerous journal articles and chapters on cultural issues in child maltreatment and violence against women, cross-cultural research, and ethical issues in research. She has worked as a family, individual, and group therapist in a variety of settings, including managed care, emergency services, and protective outreach services, and has conducted research in Santiago, Chile, and with Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and European Americans in the United States. Dr. Fontes is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. She is a popular conference speaker and workshop facilitator for diverse groups of professionals and parents.

Table of Contents

Multicultural Orientation to Child Maltreatment Work	1	(29)
Orienting Concepts	2	(1)
Ecosystemic Framework	2	(6)
Treating Clients Fairly	8	(9)
Poverty	17	(3)
Child Maltreatment	20	(1)
Working with Families	20	(6)
Research and Clinical Literature on Culture and Child Maltreatment	26	(2)
Concluding Thoughts: Remembering the Difficulty of the Material and the Sacredness of Our Work	28	(2)
Working with Immigrant Families Affected by Child Maltreatment	30	(28)
Social Stressors for Immigrant Families	30	(5)
Family Life, Child Behavior, and Discipline	35	(2)
Immigrants and the Child Welfare System	37	(8)
Domestic Violence	45	(2)
Basic U.S. Immigration Definitions	47	(1)
Suggestions for Improving Cultural Competence with Immigrants	48	(8)
Concluding Thoughts	56	(2)
Assessing Diverse Families for Child Maltreatment	58	(25)
What Constitutes a Suspicion, and What's Culture Got to Do with It?	60	(3)
Is It Maltreatment? Is the Child at Risk?	63	(16)
Once Again: How Culture Matters	79	(1)
Assessment Instruments and Structured Decision Making	80	(2)
Concluding Thoughts	82	(1)
Interviewing Diverse Children and Families about Maltreatment	83	(25)
Before the Interview or First Session	84	(6)
Building Rapport and Establishing Trust	90	(2)
During the Interview	92	(14)
Closure and Preparation for the Next Steps	106	(1)
Concluding Thoughts	107	(1)
Physical Discipline and Abuse	108	(27)
Research on Group Differences	110	(2)
Corporal Punishment and Physical Abuse	112	(4)
Culture in Discipline and Abuse	116	(2)
Child-Raising Norms	118	(3)
Intervening with Families Who Use Harsh Corporal Punishment	121	(8)
Supporting Nonviolent Parenting	129	(2)
Prevention Programming	131	(2)
Concluding Thoughts	133	(2)
Child Sexual Abuse	135	(24)
Shame in Child Sexual Abuse	136	(3)
Cultural Aspects of Shame in Child Sexual Abuse	139	(17)
Counteracting Shame	156	(2)
Concluding Thoughts	158	(1)
Working with Interpreters in Child Maltreatment	159	(17)
When to Use an Interpreter	161	(1)
Finding an Interpreter	161	(2)
Informal Interpreters	163	(2)
Preparing Interpreters	165	(3)
Cultural Asides and Other Reasons to Pause an Interview	168	(1)
The Interpreter's Role	169	(1)
The Interpreted Conversation	170	(3)
The Emotional Cost of Interpreting in Child Abuse Situations	173	(1)
Concluding Thoughts	174	(2)
Child Maltreatment Prevention and Parent Education	176	(24)
Child Maltreatment Prevention	177	(10)
The Parents' Best Interests	187	(1)
Addressing Physical Abuse: Parent Groups and Classes	188	(10)
Concluding Thoughts	198	(2)
Improving the Cultural Competency of Your Child Maltreatment Agency or Organization	200	(15)
Why Should Agencies Change?	201	(11)
Concluding Thoughts	212	(3)
A Final Wish	215	(2)
References	217	(14)
Index	231