CMAS 258 EXAM 1 UPDATED Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is child maltreatment? - CORRECT ANSWER - -a generic term that includes abuse
and neglect
-the term maltreatment is generally used in research, but not always in practice/ policy
-notably, sometimes laws will use the term "child abuse" to refer to abuse and neglect
CPS - CORRECT ANSWER - -child protective services
~most general term and refers to the system that investigates and responds to allegations of child
maltreatment
~frequently called "social services" which is an older and less specific term
-people may also use state specific terms, in PA its CYS
civil statutes - CORRECT ANSWER - ~always lower, can't deprive people of their
fundamental liberty
~allegations found to be true but not offensive
~to terminate someone's parental rights it has to have a clear and convincing argument
criminal statutes - CORRECT ANSWER - severe abuse
research - CORRECT ANSWER - ~variable
~mandatory reports to CPS > have to report everything they see
lay definitions - CORRECT ANSWER - ~they way we generally talk about maltreatment
~based on community standards or culture > lots of disagreement
When, What and by Whom of maltreatment - CORRECT ANSWER - -has to be recent
>statute of limitations to protect the accused
,~effort to change statute of limitations with sexual abuse cases
-act or fail to act
-on the part of a parent or caretaker
act or failure to act - CORRECT ANSWER - ~doesn't have to be something that you do,
can also be something that you don't do
-parents have responsibility to provide for kids, when they fail to meet their basic needs= failure
to act
-someone else if harming child and parent fails to intervene even if they know about it= failure
to act
~tends to be controversial especially in cases of domestic violence
on the part of a parent or caretaker - CORRECT ANSWER - ~very restrictive > generally
assumed that if someone other than parent/caretaker abuses a child it can be taken care of by the
parental figures/other adults in the household
~being able to remove child from the person causing the abuse/neglect
~Pennsylvania has more exceptions than most states
Physical abuse - CORRECT ANSWER - ~generally defined as a "non-accidental physical
injury"
~areas of variability/subjectivity
-type or level of injury required
-acts that did not, but could, result in injury
sexual abuse - CORRECT ANSWER - ~"sexual abuse or exploitation" Any of the
following:
~"The employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enforcement or coercion of a child to engage
in or assist another individual to engage in sexually explicit conduct, which includes but is not
limited to the following-(for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification)
-viewing intimate parts of a child
-participating (by any means) in sexually explicit conversation with a child
,-actual or simulation sexual activity or nudity
emotional abuse - CORRECT ANSWER - ~this is variously referred to as "mental injury"
or "psychological abuse" and encompasses verbal abuse
~requires a professional diagnosis to prove it
physical neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - ~an inability or unwillingness to provide for a
child's basic needs
EX. food, water, shelter, hygiene, medical care, safety/protection from others
supervision neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - ~sometimes simply called "general neglect";
difficult to define
~includes both "lack of supervision" and "inadequate supervision"
**sometimes supervision counts as a basic need under physical neglect, but it's significantly
different construct so we will, where possible, separate physical and supervision neglect**
~substance abuse is usually a factor
emotional neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - ~failure to attend to child's emotional needs;
this would generally refer to the absence of love, attention and stimulation
educational neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - a parent's failure to provide for a child's
basic needs with regards to school and education.
legal neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - ~child without a legally responsible caregiver
~would include abandonment, relinquishment, re-homing
international issues of maltreatment - CORRECT ANSWER - -other forms of child
maltreatment that aren't frequently encountered in the U.S., but are prevalent in other parts of the
world
~child labor
, ~child soldiering
-engages children with violence at a very young age; not mentally/emotionally capable,
involuntary
-child marriage
Key issues in defining maltreatment - CORRECT ANSWER - -requires a threshold
~why is this a problem? > lot of gray area, spectrum
~why do we need thresholds at all? > people disagree on where the line should be, decides who
gets services and who doesn't
-who decides?
~U.S. > federal government, states have ability to set laws
Medical-Psychological Approach - CORRECT ANSWER - ~key elements: create a profile
for perpetrators
~Goals: identify people before they perpetrate maltreatment
Sociological Perspectives - CORRECT ANSWER - ~labeling: can't separate the definition
of maltreatment from the culture in which it occurs, who is doing the labeling and why is an
important part in this process > constructed by people looking at a narrow set of conditions, the
label itself of being a perpetrator of maltreatment is stigmatized; differential-response > two
systems, child protective services & general protective services (handles about 75% of cases,
typically neglect); PA has some of the most strict laws for expungement
~culture: cultural values determine roles that children and parents have, purpose for having
children > different parenting expectations
~situational: people behave based on the constraints of their environment
interactionist perspective - CORRECT ANSWER - ~everything matters!
-individual characteristics and the roles of institutions
Official rates in the United States of maltreatment - CORRECT ANSWER - -what is
reported by the government about prevalence
Questions and CORRECT Answers
What is child maltreatment? - CORRECT ANSWER - -a generic term that includes abuse
and neglect
-the term maltreatment is generally used in research, but not always in practice/ policy
-notably, sometimes laws will use the term "child abuse" to refer to abuse and neglect
CPS - CORRECT ANSWER - -child protective services
~most general term and refers to the system that investigates and responds to allegations of child
maltreatment
~frequently called "social services" which is an older and less specific term
-people may also use state specific terms, in PA its CYS
civil statutes - CORRECT ANSWER - ~always lower, can't deprive people of their
fundamental liberty
~allegations found to be true but not offensive
~to terminate someone's parental rights it has to have a clear and convincing argument
criminal statutes - CORRECT ANSWER - severe abuse
research - CORRECT ANSWER - ~variable
~mandatory reports to CPS > have to report everything they see
lay definitions - CORRECT ANSWER - ~they way we generally talk about maltreatment
~based on community standards or culture > lots of disagreement
When, What and by Whom of maltreatment - CORRECT ANSWER - -has to be recent
>statute of limitations to protect the accused
,~effort to change statute of limitations with sexual abuse cases
-act or fail to act
-on the part of a parent or caretaker
act or failure to act - CORRECT ANSWER - ~doesn't have to be something that you do,
can also be something that you don't do
-parents have responsibility to provide for kids, when they fail to meet their basic needs= failure
to act
-someone else if harming child and parent fails to intervene even if they know about it= failure
to act
~tends to be controversial especially in cases of domestic violence
on the part of a parent or caretaker - CORRECT ANSWER - ~very restrictive > generally
assumed that if someone other than parent/caretaker abuses a child it can be taken care of by the
parental figures/other adults in the household
~being able to remove child from the person causing the abuse/neglect
~Pennsylvania has more exceptions than most states
Physical abuse - CORRECT ANSWER - ~generally defined as a "non-accidental physical
injury"
~areas of variability/subjectivity
-type or level of injury required
-acts that did not, but could, result in injury
sexual abuse - CORRECT ANSWER - ~"sexual abuse or exploitation" Any of the
following:
~"The employment, use, persuasion, inducement, enforcement or coercion of a child to engage
in or assist another individual to engage in sexually explicit conduct, which includes but is not
limited to the following-(for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification)
-viewing intimate parts of a child
-participating (by any means) in sexually explicit conversation with a child
,-actual or simulation sexual activity or nudity
emotional abuse - CORRECT ANSWER - ~this is variously referred to as "mental injury"
or "psychological abuse" and encompasses verbal abuse
~requires a professional diagnosis to prove it
physical neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - ~an inability or unwillingness to provide for a
child's basic needs
EX. food, water, shelter, hygiene, medical care, safety/protection from others
supervision neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - ~sometimes simply called "general neglect";
difficult to define
~includes both "lack of supervision" and "inadequate supervision"
**sometimes supervision counts as a basic need under physical neglect, but it's significantly
different construct so we will, where possible, separate physical and supervision neglect**
~substance abuse is usually a factor
emotional neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - ~failure to attend to child's emotional needs;
this would generally refer to the absence of love, attention and stimulation
educational neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - a parent's failure to provide for a child's
basic needs with regards to school and education.
legal neglect - CORRECT ANSWER - ~child without a legally responsible caregiver
~would include abandonment, relinquishment, re-homing
international issues of maltreatment - CORRECT ANSWER - -other forms of child
maltreatment that aren't frequently encountered in the U.S., but are prevalent in other parts of the
world
~child labor
, ~child soldiering
-engages children with violence at a very young age; not mentally/emotionally capable,
involuntary
-child marriage
Key issues in defining maltreatment - CORRECT ANSWER - -requires a threshold
~why is this a problem? > lot of gray area, spectrum
~why do we need thresholds at all? > people disagree on where the line should be, decides who
gets services and who doesn't
-who decides?
~U.S. > federal government, states have ability to set laws
Medical-Psychological Approach - CORRECT ANSWER - ~key elements: create a profile
for perpetrators
~Goals: identify people before they perpetrate maltreatment
Sociological Perspectives - CORRECT ANSWER - ~labeling: can't separate the definition
of maltreatment from the culture in which it occurs, who is doing the labeling and why is an
important part in this process > constructed by people looking at a narrow set of conditions, the
label itself of being a perpetrator of maltreatment is stigmatized; differential-response > two
systems, child protective services & general protective services (handles about 75% of cases,
typically neglect); PA has some of the most strict laws for expungement
~culture: cultural values determine roles that children and parents have, purpose for having
children > different parenting expectations
~situational: people behave based on the constraints of their environment
interactionist perspective - CORRECT ANSWER - ~everything matters!
-individual characteristics and the roles of institutions
Official rates in the United States of maltreatment - CORRECT ANSWER - -what is
reported by the government about prevalence
