Susanne Witte
German Youth Institute
Susanne Witte is a psychologist. She is working in child protection in various research projects. Her work includes training and ecucation of professionals to prevent child maltreatment as well as international aspects of child protection and comparative research on child protection systems. Her Phd thesis is about siblings in the context of abuse and neglect, specifically risk constellations, the impact on the sibling relationship, and psychological well-being.
Background: Policies and law in England, the Netherlands and Germany provide different frameworks for conducting investigations in cases of suspected child maltreatment. For example, in Germany help and support has to be... [ view full abstract ]
Background: Policies and law in England, the Netherlands and Germany provide different frameworks for conducting investigations in cases of suspected child maltreatment. For example, in Germany help and support has to be offered at a very early stage of the investigation and is linked to a high family orientation. A high family orientation can also be seen in the Netherlands. In contrast, in England the child protection system is less family and more child-oriented. However, it is unclear how these principles relate to child protection practice.
Objective: The study investigated characteristics and handling of cases of suspected child maltreatment in three countries.
Method: Over 1,200 case files were analyzed by trained coders. The case files were provided by local authorities in charge for conducting investigations of child maltreatment.
Results: First analyses showed differences in the type of suspected child maltreatment at the beginning of the investigation. In the Netherlands, there was a high number of cases due to intimate partner violence between parents. These reports were mostly made by the police. In Germany, reports about intimate partner violence were also most likely made by the police, yet they were less frequent. However, there is a great variability between sites in Germany. During the investigation contacts with the child, the caretakers, or other professionals were more likely in England than in Germany and the Netherlands. However, in Netherlands it was most likely that more caretakers were considered important for the investigation especially in cases of problematic divorces.
Discussion: The results highlight differences between countries which, to some extent, are based on differences in policies. A stronger child orientation is seen in the English system, having more contacts with children. In the Netherlands, the investigations are more likely to take into account the plurality of different families.
Child Protection Systems and Strategies at local, national and international levels
