Child-Maltreatment-Research-L (CMRL) List Serve

Message ID: 11210

Date: 2023-04-18

Author:Kurt Heisler

Subject:Re: Call For Proposals - 2024 San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment

This is an important discussion. It's worth revisiting CAPTA's definition of abuse and neglect: > "the term ‘child abuse and neglect’ means, at a minimum, any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation (including sexual abuse as determined under section 111), or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm;" If people are arguing that the Child Maltreatment report includes many founded cases of neglect that do not constitute neglect as envisioned by CAPTA, then the problem isn't wording - it's the substantiation of allegations that should not have been substantiated. If some of the suggested word changes like "Children reported" and "Parents reported" take root in NCANDS and the Child Maltreatment report, I would be concerned it would take us farther away from - and not closer to - a more restricted and judicious use of CPS reporting and investigation practices. Perhaps we need to narrow our definitions and wording, and reduce the number of people who get unjustly labeled with them. Changing the wording to be more broad could have the opposite effect. Kurt Heisler, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S. Kurt Heisler Consulting, LLC heislerkurt@gmail.com On Mon, Apr 17, 2023 at 1:45 PM Greene, Brandon > wrote: I agree with you, Rick, and Ruth. Words matter. There just may not be a perfect language that perfectly fits an imperfect situation. When better language does emerge, it eventually acquires pejorative connotations through its association with a problem. By way of analogy I think of the evolution of terms pertaining to "individuals with intellectual disabilities" (an interesting term/phrase itself). The etymology of words that we now consider offensive were not always intended to be so. Even "imbecile", which we now regard as particularly offensive, originally meant "without a staff" (for support) and I've lived long enough to have seen common uses of "retardate, retarded, mentally retarded, people with mental retardation, developmentally disabled, people with developmental disabilities and so on. And the language in service settings evolved similarly: Patients became residents recame clients became consumers.... We regarded each successive revision as enlightened, acceptable. It may be that what bothers us is that our language always singles out the individuals in the child welfare system. When we refer to them we don't have the language that identifies social conditions as at least as complicit in matters of child welfare. Maybe Bernie can help. Cheers- Brandon F. Greene, Ph.D. •Associate Professor & Coordinator-Retired Shenandoah University •Professor Emeritus Southern Illinois University EMail: bgreene@su.edu On Thu, Apr 13, 2023 at 3:53 PM Barth, Rick > wrote: Yes words do matter. Child Maltreatment 2021 continues to use the term “victims” and “perpetrators”. I have long thought about the need to get rid of those because they also do not reflect the dynamics in most families reported for a reasonable suspicion of child maltreatment. Why not, just, “children reported” and “parents reported”—suitable person-first language. Rick Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW (he/him/his) Professor and Chair, Executive Committee of the Grand Challenges for Social Work University of Maryland School of Social Work Baltimore, MD 21201 410 706 3371 rbarth@ssw.umaryland.edu https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/ , STRENGTHENING SOCIETY https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/ From: bounce-127303010-26628876@list.cornell.edu > On Behalf Of Ruth Anne White Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2023 10:24 AM To: Child Maltreatment Researcher List (CMRL) >; 'child-maltreatment-research-L@cornell.edu ' > Subject: RE: Call For Proposals - 2024 San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment You don't often get email from rwhite@nchcw.org . Learn why this is important CAUTION: This message originated from a non-UMB email system. Hover over any links before clicking and use caution opening attachments. Good morning, I look forward to this conference and I plan to submit a proposal on the rapid evolution of FYI “on demand” Housing Choice Vouchers for youth aging out of foster care. Which, as many on this listserv know, was written by current and former foster youth to end homelessness for their “brothers and sisters” in care. The proposal will describe how NCHCW accomplished that goal with the foster youth, HUD, Congress, and the army of incredible professionals in public child welfare agencies and public housing authorities nationwide. (feel free to stop reading here – I’m about to go in a different direction : )). That said, I want to encourage folks, particularly the moderators of this listserv and the rest of us in the child welfare epistemic community to consider setting aside the term “Child Maltreatment.” There is a long overdue conversation brewing about the ramifications (particularly for the populations lifted up in the email I’m responding to) of the routine conflation of poverty and neglect. However, it is long past time to discuss the routine and unquestioned practice of equating and, I would argue, conflating abuse with neglect. We need to take a hard look at what we are accomplishing as professionals by choosing to use the term “child maltreatment.” It isn’t just a convenient shorthand, and if it is, then as researchers, we need to think about what we lose in terms of precision and clarity and, well, science when we use this term. Aside from the obvious resource allocation problems, using this term, for example to name HHS’s biannual report from the field, Child Maltreatment, is that women who are far more likely to among the individuals involved with child welfare due to poverty-related neglect, are referred to as “perpetrators” right alongside unrelated men who are more likely than mothers to be involved with child welfare for having committed sexual or physical violence against a child. It is difficult to engender sympathy and build support for resources to help people who are routinely referred to as “perpetrators” by the US Government and the researchers studying them. One could also argue that this is (albeit unintentionally) damaging, classist, and misogynistic. This chart was eliminated from the Child Maltreatment report (without explanation) but here is the 2013 chart as an illustration of what I mean: Again, this is not just a simple rhetorical problem. Rhetoric is the currency with which political actors free-up government resources and define problems. So, words matter. Eliminating the use of this term and being more precise about what is actually going on in the field would be a giant step forward towards getting this right for families – led by the research community. Thanks for reading. -Ruthie Ruth White, MSSA Executive Director National Center for Housing & Child Welfare 4707 Calvert Road College Park, MD 20740 phone 301-699-0151 toll free 866-790-6766 rwhite@nchcw.org www.nchcw.org Strengthening America's families through affordable housing. Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males Aside from the obvious resource allocation problems, the use of the term “Child Maltreatment” results in mothers who are much more likely to be involved with child welfare due to poverty-related neglect to be referred to as “perpetrators” right along with unrelated males who are far more likely to be the perpetrators of physical and sexual abuse. Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males From: bounce-127302203-12859385@list.cornell.edu > On Behalf Of Rolls-Reutz, Jennifer Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 3:51 PM To: 'child-maltreatment-research-L@cornell.edu ' > Subject: Call For Proposals - 2024 San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment Hello, We are accepting proposals for the 2024 San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment! All proposals must be submitted electronically by April 30, 2023. Priority will be given to proposals that incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion into the content by including at least one of the of the following topics: systemic racism, historical trauma, anti-racism, disparities in BIPOC communities, and culturally relevant theories/models that can be utilized with BIPOC population. We look forward to reviewing your submissions, Conference Planning Committee Call for Proposal Website ________________________ Jennifer A. Rolls Reutz, MPH Pronouns: She/Her/Hers California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) – www.cebc4cw.org California Training Institute (CalTrin) – www.caltrin.org Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego 3020 Children's Way Mailcode 5131 San Diego, CA 92123 Tel: (858) 576-1700 ext. 243508 jrolls-reutz@rchsd.org NOTICE: This message, including attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain legally protected confidential, proprietary, and/or privileged information. PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE SENDER. If you are not the intended recipient (or intended recipient's employee or agent), you may not use, copy, disclose, or distribute this message or its attachments. If you believe you have received this message in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments. Thank you.

This is an important discussion. It's worth revisiting CAPTA's definition of abuse and neglect: > "the term ‘child abuse and neglect’ means, at a minimum, any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation (including sexual abuse as determined under section 111), or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm;" If people are arguing that the Child Maltreatment report includes many founded cases of neglect that do not constitute neglect as envisioned by CAPTA, then the problem isn't wording - it's the substantiation of allegations that should not have been substantiated. If some of the suggested word changes like "Children reported" and "Parents reported" take root in NCANDS and the Child Maltreatment report, I would be concerned it would take us farther away from - and not closer to - a more restricted and judicious use of CPS reporting and investigation practices. Perhaps we need to narrow our definitions and wording, and reduce the number of people who get unjustly labeled with them. Changing the wording to be more broad could have the opposite effect. Kurt Heisler, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S. Kurt Heisler Consulting, LLC heislerkurtgmail.com On Mon, Apr 17, 2023 at 1:45 PM Greene, Brandon > wrote: I agree with you, Rick, and Ruth. Words matter. There just may not be a perfect language that perfectly fits an imperfect situation. When better language does emerge, it eventually acquires pejorative connotations through its association with a problem. By way of analogy I think of the evolution of terms pertaining to "individuals with intellectual disabilities" (an interesting term/phrase itself). The etymology of words that we now consider offensive were not always intended to be so. Even "imbecile", which we now regard as particularly offensive, originally meant "without a staff" (for support) and I've lived long enough to have seen common uses of "retardate, retarded, mentally retarded, people with mental retardation, developmentally disabled, people with developmental disabilities and so on. And the language in service settings evolved similarly: Patients became residents recame clients became consumers.... We regarded each successive revision as enlightened, acceptable. It may be that what bothers us is that our language always singles out the individuals in the child welfare system. When we refer to them we don't have the language that identifies social conditions as at least as complicit in matters of child welfare. Maybe Bernie can help. Cheers- Brandon F. Greene, Ph.D. •Associate Professor & Coordinator-Retired Shenandoah University •Professor Emeritus Southern Illinois University EMail: bgreenesu.edu On Thu, Apr 13, 2023 at 3:53 PM Barth, Rick > wrote: Yes words do matter. Child Maltreatment 2021 continues to use the term “victims” and “perpetrators”. I have long thought about the need to get rid of those because they also do not reflect the dynamics in most families reported for a reasonable suspicion of child maltreatment. Why not, just, “children reported” and “parents reported”—suitable person-first language. Rick Richard P. Barth, PhD, MSW (he/him/his) Professor and Chair, Executive Committee of the Grand Challenges for Social Work University of Maryland School of Social Work Baltimore, MD 21201 410 706 3371 rbarthssw.umaryland.edu https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/ , STRENGTHENING SOCIETY https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/ From: bounce-127303010-26628876list.cornell.edu > On Behalf Of Ruth Anne White Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2023 10:24 AM To: Child Maltreatment Researcher List (CMRL) >; 'child-maltreatment-research-Lcornell.edu ' > Subject: RE: Call For Proposals - 2024 San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment You don't often get email from rwhitenchcw.org . Learn why this is important CAUTION: This message originated from a non-UMB email system. Hover over any links before clicking and use caution opening attachments. Good morning, I look forward to this conference and I plan to submit a proposal on the rapid evolution of FYI “on demand” Housing Choice Vouchers for youth aging out of foster care. Which, as many on this listserv know, was written by current and former foster youth to end homelessness for their “brothers and sisters” in care. The proposal will describe how NCHCW accomplished that goal with the foster youth, HUD, Congress, and the army of incredible professionals in public child welfare agencies and public housing authorities nationwide. (feel free to stop reading here – I’m about to go in a different direction : )). That said, I want to encourage folks, particularly the moderators of this listserv and the rest of us in the child welfare epistemic community to consider setting aside the term “Child Maltreatment.” There is a long overdue conversation brewing about the ramifications (particularly for the populations lifted up in the email I’m responding to) of the routine conflation of poverty and neglect. However, it is long past time to discuss the routine and unquestioned practice of equating and, I would argue, conflating abuse with neglect. We need to take a hard look at what we are accomplishing as professionals by choosing to use the term “child maltreatment.” It isn’t just a convenient shorthand, and if it is, then as researchers, we need to think about what we lose in terms of precision and clarity and, well, science when we use this term. Aside from the obvious resource allocation problems, using this term, for example to name HHS’s biannual report from the field, Child Maltreatment, is that women who are far more likely to among the individuals involved with child welfare due to poverty-related neglect, are referred to as “perpetrators” right alongside unrelated men who are more likely than mothers to be involved with child welfare for having committed sexual or physical violence against a child. It is difficult to engender sympathy and build support for resources to help people who are routinely referred to as “perpetrators” by the US Government and the researchers studying them. One could also argue that this is (albeit unintentionally) damaging, classist, and misogynistic. This chart was eliminated from the Child Maltreatment report (without explanation) but here is the 2013 chart as an illustration of what I mean: Again, this is not just a simple rhetorical problem. Rhetoric is the currency with which political actors free-up government resources and define problems. So, words matter. Eliminating the use of this term and being more precise about what is actually going on in the field would be a giant step forward towards getting this right for families – led by the research community. Thanks for reading. -Ruthie Ruth White, MSSA Executive Director National Center for Housing & Child Welfare 4707 Calvert Road College Park, MD 20740 phone 301-699-0151 toll free 866-790-6766 rwhitenchcw.org www.nchcw.org Strengthening America's families through affordable housing. Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males Aside from the obvious resource allocation problems, the use of the term “Child Maltreatment” results in mothers who are much more likely to be involved with child welfare due to poverty-related neglect to be referred to as “perpetrators” right along with unrelated males who are far more likely to be the perpetrators of physical and sexual abuse. Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males Numerous studies have conducted to identify the individuals that could be vulnerable to the perpetration. Gender related studies have indicated that the vulnerability is more prominent in males (Lucas et al, 2002). Inquiry of Flaherty (2006) through the confessions done by abusers of 41 children, hospitalized due to the injuries of victimization, revealed that 76% of the perpetrators were males From: bounce-127302203-12859385list.cornell.edu > On Behalf Of Rolls-Reutz, Jennifer Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2023 3:51 PM To: 'child-maltreatment-research-Lcornell.edu ' > Subject: Call For Proposals - 2024 San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment Hello, We are accepting proposals for the 2024 San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment! All proposals must be submitted electronically by April 30, 2023. Priority will be given to proposals that incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion into the content by including at least one of the of the following topics: systemic racism, historical trauma, anti-racism, disparities in BIPOC communities, and culturally relevant theories/models that can be utilized with BIPOC population. We look forward to reviewing your submissions, Conference Planning Committee Call for Proposal Website ________________________ Jennifer A. Rolls Reutz, MPH Pronouns: She/Her/Hers California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) – www.cebc4cw.org California Training Institute (CalTrin) – www.caltrin.org Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego 3020 Children's Way Mailcode 5131 San Diego, CA 92123 Tel: (858) 576-1700 ext. 243508 jrolls-reutzrchsd.org NOTICE: This message, including attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain legally protected confidential, proprietary, and/or privileged information. PLEASE DO NOT FORWARD WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE SENDER. If you are not the intended recipient (or intended recipient's employee or agent), you may not use, copy, disclose, or distribute this message or its attachments. If you believe you have received this message in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy all copies of the original message and any attachments. Thank you.