Practices and Challenges Investigating Cases Involving Child Sexual Abuse Material at Children's Advocacy Centers

Area of Science:

• Childhood trauma research
• Forensic psychology
• Social work practices

Background:

• Multidisciplinary teams in Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) investigate child sexual abuse material (CSAM) cases.
• Existing practices and challenges within these teams are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey the practices and challenges faced by multidisciplinary investigation teams working with CSAM cases at CACs.
• To identify areas for improvement in CAC responses to CSAM.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to executive directors of 379 CACs across the United States.
• Data collected focused on protocols for CSAM discussion, screening, documentation, training, family support, and school collaboration.

Main Results:

• Most CACs (88.4%) discuss CSAM before interviews, regularly screen for it (69.1%), and document it (71.2%).
• Only half (54.9%) mandate CSAM training for forensic interviews, with less for other team members.
• Providing parent support and resources is a key challenge and important practice.

Conclusions:

• CACs generally have similar practices regardless of size, indicating a need for universal improvements.
• Enhanced multidisciplinary team training, better parent support strategies, and improved CSAM response protocols are recommended for all CACs.