Michael Lauderdale

Community characteristics and ethnicity in the prediction of child maltreatment rates

In this study of 246 Texas counties, the varying ability of certain community characteristics to predict rates of maltreatment was examined for different ethnic groups. The use of rates based on Central Registry data is based on the assumption that officially registered reports of abuse and neglect are a reasonably valid index of actual child maltreatment. The results provide support for socioeconomic and demographic factors investigated by previous ecological researchers. In general, the greater the proportions of single mothers and working mothers in a community, the greater its rate of maltreatment; the greater the proportion of families with annual incomes over

The Identity of Transracial Adoptees

15,000, the lower the county maltreatment rate. Differential patterns were observed for various predictors for rates of abuse and neglect considered separately. Greater economic resources availability was significantly related to lower county rates of neglect, but not significantly related to abuse rates. Higher abuse rates were significantly associated with greater proportions of single mothers, while higher neglect rates were significantly associated with greater proportions of absent mothers due to employment. Smaller amounts of formal economic assistance to single-parent families (AFDC) significantly enhanced the prediction of counties at risk for higher rates of child abuse. Differential patterns of results were observed for Anglo, Black, and Mexican-American segments of county populations. Socioeconomic status of counties was a significant predictor of Anglo rates; greater urbanization was a significant predictor of increased rates of both Black and Mexican-American maltreatment. These results support the use of indicators of the availability of economic and social resources for identifying high-risk communities and planning preventive interventions for child maltreatment.

Child deaths attributed to abuse and neglect: An empirical study

A study identifies familial and contextual factors that may influence the development of racial self-perceptions among black children whose major reference groups are white. It also suggests responsibilities for transracial adoptive families and agencies that provide service for them.

Race, ethnicity, and child maltreatment: An empirical analysis☆

This study of 267 child deaths associated with abuse or neglect in Texas during 1975 through 1977 suggests a number of indicators for identifying potential child fatalities. Families where abuse or neglect is implicated in a child fatality are characterized by small family size, young parents, and under-utilization of community support services. Over three-fourths of the families in the study had never come to the attention of the states child protective services agency. In addition, when fathers were present in the home, they were as likely to be involved in the abuse or neglect as mothers. Neglect was implicated in the death of a child as often as abuse. The study suggests the need for further examination of child fatality profiles associated with abuse and neglect and increased community outreach efforts to provide support to high-risk families, The study also has implications for social policy decisions, particularly in relation to efforts to resist attempts to exclude neglect from child protective service responsibility.

Three fundamentals of service quality in welfare reform

Abstract Using central registry data for Texas for 1975–1977 of validated cases of abuse and of neglect, a study was conducted to investigate empirically the relationship of child maltreatment to ethnicity, addressing methodological issues that merit consideration in such studies. The ethnic composition of the at-risk population was 61% Anglos, 15% Blacks, and 24% Mexican-Americans. The annual rates for all abuse and neglect were 2.87, 3.17, and 3.94 per 1,000 under 18 population for Anglos, Mexican-Americans, and Blacks, respectively. Abuse was more predominant among Anglos, accounting for 33.5% of the validated cases of maltreatment, than among Mexican-Americans and Blacks, accounting for 25.2% and 29.4% of the maltreatment, respectively. Neglect was the major dynamic of maltreatment for Mexican-Americans and Blacks, accounting for 65.6% and 61.2% of the maltreatment, respectively, with Anglos having 55.4% of the maltreatment due to neglect. These relationships were not altered when rural-urban differences were taken into consideration.

Issues in securing the community's sanction before making an intervention.

Public health and welfare organizations must move toward a service-oriented strategy that embodies many of the quality principles that are assuming growing importance in the private sector. This article explores some of the limitations on reform of welfare and service quality. It explores three approaches that are fundamental to bringing about the change in organizational culture on which actual reform must rest.

Self-esteem and racial identity in transracial and inracial adoptees

Achieving successful community change is a complex and daunting task. Indeed there is substantial concern today that American communities may be less capable in dealing with challenges than in many times during the past. The article reviews the community from a systems perspective and identifies the major properties that must be identified before any community intervention. This includes the initiation of both internal and external change. It concludes with a checklist of items that must be addressed to bring community change and a call for increasing community efficacy to deal with challenges.