Law enforcement professionals are often asked to collaborate in the investigation of severe cases of physical or sexual abuse. It is important that child welfare and law enforcement professionals are able to provide a coordinated response to children and youth at risk of abuse or neglect. The following resources address training curricula and materials to help law enforcement professionals better understand the child welfare system and the overlapping issues affecting each system, including State and local examples.
Abuse and Neglect of Children with Disabilities: A Collaborative Response: A Curriculum for Parents, Educators, Law Enforcement and Child Protective Services
O'Neill, Purcell, Orelove, & Shelton (2003)
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Designed to promote collaboration among parents of children with disabilities, educators, child protective services workers, and law enforcement officers in dealing with abuse and neglect of children with disabilities.
Child Abuse Victims with Disabilities: A Curriculum for Law Enforcement First Responders and Child Protective Services Frontline Workers: Instructor Manual (PDF - 3,460 KB)
Baladerian, Heisler, & Hertica (2005)
Assists trainers in conducting a full-day training for first responders to allegations of child abuse involving children with disabilities. It can also be used with supervisory staff and other frontline workers. Also see the participant manual (PDF - 2420 KB).
Children Exposed to Violence: A Handbook for Police Trainers to Increase Understanding and Improve Community Responses (PDF - 322 KB)
Baker, Jaffe, Berkowitz, & Berkman (2002)
Educates police officers about the dynamics of domestic violence, the impact of spouse abuse on children and adolescents, and considerations for police action.
Law Enforcement's Initial Response to Child Sexual Abuse: Guidelines for Patrol Officers
National Children's Advocacy Center (2007)
Provides an overview for patrol officers on responding to child sexual abuse, including information on gathering information, assessing the child's safety, and referring to child welfare professionals.
Protecting Children in Cyberspace: The ICAC Task Force Program (PDF - 205 KB)
Medaris & Girouard
Juvenile Justice Bulletin, 2002
Supports the efforts of State and local law enforcement agencies to investigate Internet child pornography and sexual abuse cases.
State and local examples
How Law Enforcement and Mental Health Professionals Can Partner to Help Traumatized Children
Osofsky, Hammer, Freeman, & Rovaris (2004)
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Describes a partnership between police and mental health professionals in New Orleans to intervene on behalf of young traumatized children.
Child Welfare Information Gateway encourages organizations to submit resources from their workforce or training efforts for inclusion in our library. Send information to library@childwelfare.gov.