The child advocacy team in legal actions.

Abstract

This paper provides a general description of child advocacy teams, which are formed in difficult child custody or abuse and neglect cases. They are created when a judge asks that a team assist in determining the child's psychological status and developmental needs, assessing parenting capacities, developing a treatment plan, and monitoring the family's progress. The team consists of representatives from the legal, social service, mental health, and educational systems. The author describes the principles and techniques of child advocacy, characteristics of the professional systems involved, and phases of the team's operation, such as the planning conference, the therapeutic-evaluation process, team meetings, report preparation, and courtroom participation. Outcomes of 77 cases handled by a University of Wisconsin child advocacy team over the past 20 years are presented to show that a team is an effective means of integrating professional and volunteer activities for a family during a child protection or divorce action.