Is There a Place for Extended Assessments For Evaluating Concerns about Child Sexual Abuse? Perceptions of 1,294 Child Maltreatment Professionals

Abstract

This article reports the findings from an online survey of child maltreatment professionals about the appropriateness of extended assessments when maltreatment concerns cannot be resolved in a single interview. Respondents practiced in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 3 territories, and reported mean years of experience about 15 years. The overwhelming majority of respondents saw the need for extended assessments and endorsed a wide range of child and context characteristics appropriate for extended assessments, the most common being cases where children denied abuse despite persuasive evidence to the contrary, cases with multiple types of maltreatment, cases with preschool age children, and cases with children with disabilities. On average about a fourth of the children seen in their work would benefit from an extended assessment. More than one fourth of respondents actually conducted extended assessments. Respondents however identified barriers and drawbacks to extended assessments, including lack of funding, lack of training, and concerns about contaminating the child's account.