Table of Contents

1. Multicultural Orientation to Child Maltreatment Work
Orienting Concepts
Ecosystemic Framework
Treating Clients Fairly
Poverty
Child Maltreatment
Working with Families
Research and Clinical Literature on Culture and Child Maltreatment
Concluding Thoughts: Remembering the Difficulty of the Material and Sacredness of our Work
2. Working with Immigrant Families
Social Stressors for Immigrant Families
Family Life, Child Behavior, and Discipline
Immigrants and the Child Welfare System
Domestic Violence
Basic U.S. Immigration Definitions
Suggestions for Improving Cultural Competence with Immigrants
Concluding Thoughts
3. Assessing Diverse Families for Child Maltreatment
What Constitutes a Suspicion, and What’s Culture Got to Do with It?
Is it Maltreatment? Is the Child at Risk?
Once Again: How Culture Matters
Assessment Instruments and Structured Decision Making
Concluding Thoughts
4. Interviewing Diverse Children and Families about Maltreatment
Before the Interview or First Session
Building Rapport and Establishing Trust
During the Interview
Closure and Preparation for the Next Steps
Concluding Thoughts
5. Physical Discipline and Abuse
Research on Group Differences
Corporal Punishment and Physical Abuse
Culture in Discipline and Abuse
Child-Raising Norms
Intervening with Families Who Use Harsh Corporal Punishment
Supporting Nonviolent Parenting
Prevention Programming
Concluding Thoughts
6. Child Sexual Abuse
Shame in Child Sexual Abuse
Cultural Aspects of Shame in Child Sexual Abuse
Counteracting Shame
Concluding Thoughts
7. Working with Interpreters in Child Maltreatment
When to Use an Interpreter
Finding an Interpreter
Informal Interpreters
  Preparing Interpreters
Cultural Asides and Other Reasons to Pause and Interview
The Interpreter’s Role
The Interpreted Conversation
The Emotional Cost of Interpreting in Child Abuse Situations
Concluding Thoughts
8. Child Maltreatment Prevention and Parent Education
Child Maltreatment Prevention
The Parents’ Best Interests
Addressing Physical Abuse: Parent Groups and Classes
Concluding Thoughts
9. Improving the Cultural Competency of Your Child Maltreatment Agency or Organization
Why Should Agencies Change?
Concluding Thoughts
A Final Wish
References