Protective Services Research Articles

National Parks and Landscape Commodification: New Challenges for Nature-based Tourism in Patagonia

Summary Some of the most important tourism destinations in North Patagonia are located inside or adjacent to National Parks, especially around a circuit known as the Lakes Corridor that runs along the Andes through more than 600 km. Even though the main attractions are in the protected areas, accommodation and other services are provided in the towns or cities nearby. As a result of the intensification of tourism and recent inward migrations, the region has experienced urban growth and the emergence or increase of social disputes around land use, environmental issues, and local residential needs. In this case study, we analyze this process, focusing on destinations from the Lakes Corridor and paying special attention to the COVID-19 pandemic effects. The main objective is to understand the characteristics, actors involved, and tensions that emerge in urban development related to this specific kind of tourism based on the positive valorization of nature. This case study is part of an investigation regarding the configuration of tourist landscapes in North Patagonia. Methodologically, it involves the construction of data through observation and interviews, as well as qualitative analysis of different sources, like promotion material and public documentation regarding territorial planning. Information © The Author 2024

Existence of Witness and Victim Protection Agencies in The Perspective of Justice for Victims Domestic Violence

The objective of this research is to examine the functioning of institutions responsible for safeguarding witnesses and victims in ensuring justice, advantages, and legal assurance for individuals affected by domestic violence. The chosen research method is Normative Juridical, also known as Normative research. Despite the Witness and Victim Protection Agency fulfilling its responsibilities to protect victims of domestic violence, it is not the primary choice for those seeking protection. To address this, there is a need to extend the reach of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency beyond the National Capital to include representatives in all Provincial Capitals across Indonesia. Additionally, empowering these representatives to make decisions on protection requests from domestic violence victims is crucial. Furthermore, there is a necessity to formalize the institutional relationships between the Witness and Victim Protection Agency and other relevant organizations. This would enhance protection services tailored to the specific requirements of domestic violence victims. This could involve establishing institutional connections to improve the overall effectiveness of victim protection efforts

Uncertainty and instability in social and health services impact well‐being of mothers with lived and living history of substance use

AbstractMothers who use substances often experience gender‐based and structural inequities that can jeopardize maternal and family wellness. Instability in the availability of services, particularly during public health crises (e.g., COVID‐19 pandemic), often results in changes in population health needs/funding/services, which may magnify experiences of disadvantage. Limited research has focused on times of change/crisis and its impact on maternal and family wellness. We examined the experiences of structural disadvantage, service access, and well‐being among mothers who use or formerly used substances during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 26 mothers with current or past engagement in outpatient substance use treatment programs for pregnant and parenting women in Ontario, Canada. Transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, revealing that instability of services and decreased access to/quality of informal and formal relationships often magnified the mental and affective toll of stressors, both pre‐existing and new. The impact on well‐being appeared to be greater for families who were actively engaged with child protective services. Findings are discussed in relation to literature examining systemic and societal factors that perpetuate gender‐based and structural inequities experienced by mothers with lived and living histories of substance use. The potential impact of changes in public health service delivery requires thoughtful and proactive attention for and by all stakeholders, including integrated attention across systems (e.g., health, social, education) that provide services to support maternal and family well‐being.

DoS attack detection using Aquila deer hunting optimization enabled deep belief network

PurposeDenial-of-service (DoS) attacks develop unauthorized entry to various network services and user information by building traffic that creates multiple requests simultaneously making the system unavailable to users. Protection of internet services requires effective DoS attack detection to keep an eye on traffic passing across protected networks, freeing the protected internet servers from surveillance threats and ensuring they can focus on offering high-quality services with the fewest response times possible.Design/methodology/approachThis paper aims to develop a hybrid optimization-based deep learning model to precisely detect DoS attacks.FindingsThe designed Aquila deer hunting optimization-enabled deep belief network technique achieved improved performance with an accuracy of 92.8%, a true positive rate of 92.8% and a true negative rate of 93.6.Originality/valueThe introduced detection approach effectively detects DoS attacks available on the internet.

Fire protection services and house prices: A regression discontinuity investigation

Despite its importance as a public good, little research studies how fire protection services affect housing markets or other economic outcomes. We focus on fire levies that are up for renewal so that the timing of the levy is exogenous, to help preserve the independence of votes. We use regression discontinuity to compare the price of houses in fire districts that barely pass and fail to renew a fire tax levy. House values drop at least 6.7 % the year after a community votes to cut fire protection funding, which is a quarter of a standard deviation of sale price and larger than the capitalization of crime, school quality, or environmental quality. Tax levies representing more than the median 18.8 % funding drop elicit a larger drop in house prices. The short-term decrease does not persist, though, suggesting limited awareness and a decline in risk perception over time by buyers and sellers.

Parents' perspectives on the results of mandatory child protection support: A qualitative study

AbstractIn situations where parents do not accept support while their family situation is assessed as unsafe (for instance in cases of child abuse and neglect), it is sometimes necessary to offer mandatory support to families. The aim of the current study is to investigate how parents perceive the results of mandatory support from Child Protection Services (CPS) and which elements of the mandatory support parents mark as crucial for the results of the support. In‐depth semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 18 parents. Parents report mixed feelings about the results of the mandatory support. According to parents, reaching alignment with professionals about the problem definition, as well as the aims of CPS at the start of mandatory CPS, is a crucial element contributing to results of CPS. Additionally, the perceived quality of the support (both on the organizational and professional level) is simultaneous important conditions for a positive view on the support of parents. Implications for practice include the importance of multi‐directed partiality of professionals to reach an agreement about the problems definition and the aims of the mandatory CPS involvement.

Profile of hospitalised maltreated children aged 0 to 3 years and their families.

Maltreatment adversely affects children's health and development. Knowledge of child maltreatment in early childhood is limited. We studied the demographic factors and health issues in children aged 0-3 years who were hospitalised for maltreatment. In this retrospective cohort study, health and demographic information was extracted from the electronic medical records of children hospitalised in KK Women's and Children's Hospital between January 2018 and June 2019. High-risk groups were children with developmental delay (DD), missed vaccination (MV), low outpatient attendance, high dependency unit (HDU) or intensive care unit (ICU) admission and Child Protection Service (CPS) referral. Chi-square or Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables. Mann-Whitney U test was used for skewed quantitative variables. Among the 101 children included in the study, the most common type of abuse and alleged perpetrator were physical abuse and parents, respectively. In addition, 35.6% of the children had pre-existing health conditions before hospitalisation, 58.4% had new health conditions diagnosed during hospitalisation requiring follow-up and 26.7% had maltreatment-related injuries. One-fifth of the children had DDs and another one-fifth had MVs. About 20% of them had defaulted all outpatient appointments. High-risk children mostly lived in rented housing. Their mothers mostly had primary education or lower. Most children admitted to ICU or HDU were <6 months old (8/12 [66.7%] vs. 6-24 months 3/12 [25%] vs. 24-47 months 1/12 [8.3%], P = 0.001). A higher number of children with DD were referred to CPS (63.2%, P = 0.049) than to other agencies. Maltreated children have significant health needs that are not fully met through routine surveillance practices. They are at risk of defaulting their hospital appointment. It is imperative that families at risk of child maltreatment are identified early and their needs holistically evaluated, with care coordinated within the hospital-community support system.

Preliminary examination of the effects of an early parenting intervention on amygdala-orbitofrontal cortex resting-state functional connectivity among high-risk children: A randomized clinical trial.

We examined the long-term causal effects of an evidence-based parenting program delivered in infancy on children's emotion regulation and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) during middle childhood. Families were referred to the study by Child Protective Services (CPS) as part of a diversion from a foster care program. A low-risk group of families was also recruited. CPS-involved families were randomly assigned to receive the target (Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up, ABC) or a control intervention (Developmental Education for Families, DEF) before infants turned 2. Both interventions were home-based, manualized, and 10-sessions long. During middle childhood, children underwent a 6-min resting-state functional MRI scan. Amygdala seed-based rs-fc analysis was completed with intervention group as the group-level predictor of interest. Fifty-seven children (NABC = 21; NDEF = 17; NCOMP = 19; Mage = 10.02 years, range = 8.08-12.14) were scanned successfully. The DEF group evidenced negative left amygdala↔OFC connectivity, whereas connectivity was near zero in the ABC and comparison groups (ABCvsDEF: Cohen's d = 1.17). ABC may enhance high-risk children's regulatory neurobiology outcomes ∼8 years after the intervention was completed.

Levels of Involvement with Child Protection Services Associated with Early Adolescent Police Contact as a Victim and Person of Interest.

The relationship between childhood maltreatment and subsequent offending/victimization is well established. However, the magnitude of this relationship for different levels of child protection services (CPS) involvement is poorly understood, due to measurement issues, lack of longitudinal data, and reliance on reports of substantiated maltreatment, which can underestimate the impact of maltreatment. This study examined associations between CPS involvement during childhood (ages 0 to <11 years) and police services contact (as a victim and/or a person of interest) for criminal incidents in early adolescence (11 to ~14 years), differentiated according to levels of CPS involvement (i.e., no risk of significant harm [non-ROSH], unsubstantiated ROSH, substantiated ROSH, and out-of-home care; each examined relative to no CPS contact). Data for 71,465 children were drawn from the New South Wales Child Development Study, an intergenerational, longitudinal investigation that uses administrative records from CPS and police alongside other health, justice, and education data. Multinomial regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between increasing levels of CPS involvement and police contact as a victim only, a person of interest only, and as both victim and person of interest while accounting for covariates (i.e., child's sex, Aboriginal, and/or Torres Strait Islander background, socioeconomic status, maternal age at child's birth, and parental offending history). Children exposed to any of the four levels of CPS involvement had higher odds of police contact, relative to children with no CPS involvement. Odds ratios were higher for contact with police as both a victim and a person of interest, compared to police contact as a victim or a person of interest only. These findings highlight that children with even unsubstantiated CPS reports (i.e., non-ROSH and unsubstantiated ROSH reports) are at heightened risk of police contact compared to children who are unknown to CPS, underlining the need to support all families in contact with CPS.

Positum MGS Coaching Protocol in the Framework of Positive Group Psychotherapy Training for Specialists Working with Groups of Children and Adults Affected by War, Disasters and Refugee Crises: a Case Study

War brings destruction in the broader sense, forcing millions to flee their homes, and resulting in an increased burden of depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental and behavioral disorders. This burden grows even more in the framework of pandemics and natural disasters, as social and protection services experience crisis of resources. Providing one-to-one mental health care is no longer feasible for masses of refugee and internally displaced children and adults who need support, and, as a result, the need to have increasing numbers of mental health specialists who intervene in groups becomes more and more emergent. The paper reviews the Positum MGS approach to work with groups of children and adults in refugee settings, and not only, suggests the ‘Positum MGS coaching protocol’ within the framework of group Positive Psychotherapy (PPT after Peseschkian, since 1977)TM. Empirically supported and demonstrated by a case in the paper, the protocol being applied by a Positum MGS trainer or team of trainers, during an in-person training of 4-5 days, helps trainees greatly in learning to use psychosocial transcultural games and related techniques as resilience-building tools with groups of children, adolescents or adults. Either in the position of PPT trainers, psychotherapists, consultants or students, the participants in a Positum MGS core training and coaching or PPT training at basic or master levels with a focus of working with groups, can be supported through the suggested coaching protocol and questions in line with the 5-stage consultation of PPT.

Social workers’ assessment of a child’s need for services as ‘craftwork’ practice

ABSTRACT This study examines assessment practices when social workers determine whether a child needs child welfare or child protection services. It describes the elements employed when constructing assessment practice. The data consist of 28 group interviews among assessment teams from child and family services. The analytical framework, based on the theory of decision-making ecology and thematic mapping, allowed for a theory-driven reflective analysis . Our results highlight the distinctive nature of the assessment process, which contains the following elements: 1) individual and holistic assessments, 2) changing structures, 3) conflicting or shared understandings, and 4) unclear legal guidance. The assessment process is case-related and situational, such that tailoring also contains elements that combine decision-maker, organisational, and external factors, leaving significant space for professional discretion. Such an assessment practice represents a contextually crafted practice.

Disparities in Child Welfare Referrals for Patients Seen in a Pediatric Emergency Department for Unintentional Ingestions

ObjectiveTo examine the characteristics of patients visiting the pediatric emergency department (PED) for unintentional ingestions and associations between patient race and ethnicity in referrals to Child Protective Services (CPS) for supervisory neglect. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis of children <12 years old who presented to the PED between October 2015 and December 2020 for an unintentional ingestion. Patients were identified by searching the electronic health record for diagnosis codes corresponding to unintentional ingestions. Patient demographics, ingestion type, disposition, and referrals to CPS were abstracted by manual chart review. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between patient demographics and visit characteristics with referral to CPS. ResultsWe identified 129 PED encounters for unintentional ingestions that were included for analysis. Overall, 22 patients (17.1%) were referred to CPS for neglect. In the univariate analysis, both ingestion of an illicit drug and arrival to the PED by ambulance were associated with a higher odds of referral to CPS. In the multivariable model adjusted for parent language, ingestion type, and mode of arrival to the PED, Hispanic patients had higher odds of referral to CPS than White patients (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 17.2, 95% confidence intervals [1.8–162.3], P = .03). There was not a statistically significant association between Black race and referral to CPS. ConclusionsReferrals to CPS from the PED after unintentional ingestions are common and disproportionally involve Hispanic patients. More research is needed to promote equitable child maltreatment reporting for children presenting to the PED following unintentional ingestions.

A retrospective review of methylamphetamine detected in child deaths reported to the Victorian Coroner, Australia.

This study investigated methylamphetamine (MA) exposures in the deaths of children (≤ 12years old) reported to the Coroner in the state of Victoria, Australia, between 2011 and 2020. Demographics, autopsy findings including the cause of death, self-reported prenatal or caregiver drug use, child protection services information, and toxicological findings were summarized by descriptive statistics. Validated methods of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry were used in the analysis of drugs. There were 50 child deaths with MA detected in blood, urine, and/or hair with 64% (n = 32) identified in 2018-2020. Most children were 1-365days old (66%, n = 33) and the cause of death was unascertained in 62% (n = 31) of cases. MA was toxicologically confirmed in hair (94%, n = 47) significantly more than blood (18%, n = 9). Prenatal or caregiver drug use was self-reported in 44% (n = 22) and 42% (n = 21) of cases, respectively. Moreover, only 54% (n = 27) of deceased children were a child protection client at their time of death. These findings suggest the number of deceased children exposed to MA has increased over the past 10years, which is consistent with the greater supply of crystal MA in the Australian community. Hair analysis provided additional means to identify cases that were unknown to child protection services and may have implications for other children in the same drug exposure environment.

The effects of child maltreatment and exposure to intimate partner violence on the co-occurrence of anxious/depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior

BackgroundChild maltreatment (CM) and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) pose significant threats to child behavioral health, particularly for young children in toddlerhood and early childhood. Children who experience CM and/or are exposed to IPV are more likely to develop anxious/depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. ObjectiveThis study is a three-year longitudinal examination of the effects of CM and exposure to IPV on the co-occurrence of anxious/depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior. Participants and settingThe sample included 459 children drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II, a national longitudinal study that investigated the outcomes and well-being of children and families that were involved in Child Protective Services (CPS). MethodsLatent growth curve modeling was conducted to examine the correlation between the trajectories of anxious/depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior, and the effect of CM and IPV exposure on child behavioral outcomes. ResultsA positive correlation was observed between anxious/depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior intercepts, and the slope parameters of both growth models were also positively correlated. CM and IPV exposure was associated with worse anxious/depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior over time. ConclusionsThe findings suggest the co-occurrence of anxious/depressive symptoms and aggressive behavior among CPS-involved children and demonstrate the negative effects of CM and IPV exposure on children over time. The findings pinpoint the necessity of comprehensive methodological considerations for research and a lens of trauma-informed care for practice.

Research on Power Service Route Planning Scheme Based on SDN Architecture and Reinforcement Learning Algorithm

The power communication network carries various power services to ensure the safe operation of the power network, among which, the relay protection service is the most important service. Reasonable planning of the service route can improve the effectiveness and reliability of data transmission in the power communication network, thereby ensuring the reliable operation of the power grid. This paper constructs a route planning architecture for the power communication network based on a software-defined network. On this basis, parameters such as the power service and network-carrying service status are defined. With the goal of minimizing network risk variance and considering link bandwidth utilization and overload constraints of relay protection services, a service route allocation problem has been raised. To solve this problem, a power service route planning scheme based on a reinforcement learning algorithm is proposed. This algorithm uses the state–action–reward–state–action (SARSA) algorithm to complete service route planning. The simulation results show that using the route planning scheme proposed in this paper can avoid the overload of relay protection services, reduce network risk variance, and effectively balance network risk.

Parental occupations at birth and risk of adult testicular germ cell tumors in offspring: a French nationwide case-control study.

Testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) are the most frequent cancer in young men in developed countries. Parental occupational exposures during early-life periods are suspected to increase TGCT risk. The objective was to estimate the association between parental occupations at birth and adult TGCT. A case-control study was conducted, including 454 TGCT cases aged 18-45 from 20 French university hospitals, matched to 670 controls based on region and year of birth. Data collected from participants included parental jobs at birth coded according to the International Standard Classification of Occupation-1968 and the French nomenclature of activities-1999. Odds ratios (OR) for TGCT and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression, adjusting for TGCT risk factors. Paternal jobs at birth as service workers (OR = 1.98, CI 1.18-3.30), protective service workers (OR = 2.40, CI 1.20-4.81), transport equipment operators (OR = 1.96, CI 1.14-3.37), specialized farmers (OR = 2.66, CI 1.03-6.90), and maternal jobs as secondary education teachers (OR = 2.27, CI 1.09-4.76) or in secondary education (OR = 2.35, CI 1.13-4.88) were significantly associated with adult TGCT. The risk of seminoma was increased for the above-mentioned paternal jobs and that of non-seminomas for public administration and defence; compulsory social security (OR = 1.99, CI 1.09-3.65); general, economic, and social administration (OR = 3.21, CI 1.23-8.39) for fathers; and secondary education teacher (OR = 4.67, CI 1.87-11.67) and secondary education (OR = 3.50, CI 1.36-9.01) for mothers. Some paternal jobs, such as service workers, transport equipment operators, or specialized farmers, and maternal jobs in secondary education seem to be associated with an increased risk of TGCT with specific features depending on the histological type. These data allow hypotheses to be put forward for further studies as to the involvement of occupational exposures in the risk of developing TGCT, such as exposure to pesticides, solvents, or heavy metals.

Estimating the incidence of substance exposed newborns with child welfare system involvement

BackgroundPrenatal substance use can have negative health consequences for both mother and child and may also increase the likelihood of child welfare involvement. The rate of newborns with substance exposure has increased dramatically. As of 2016, federal law requires notification of all infants to child welfare agencies so that a plan of safe care can be developed and referrals to services can be offered. ObjectiveChild welfare agencies have not historically collected consistent, systematic data identifying substance exposed newborns. We utilized a unique strategy to identify substance exposed newborns with child welfare involvement. Participants & settingWe used data from the National Child Abuse & Detection System (NCANDS) which captures N = 3,189,034 unique child protective services investigations for children under the age of 1 between 2004 and 2017. MethodsWe calculated the incidence of substance exposed newborns investigated by child welfare agencies and compared with other administrative data on prenatal substance exposure. We also analyzed this rate by infant demographic characteristics (race/ethnicity, sex, rurality). ResultsBetween 2004 and 2017, approximately 13 % of infants reported to child protective services were likely reported because of substance exposure at birth, and the rate of substance exposed newborns with child welfare involvement increased from 3.79 to 12.90 per 1000 births, an increase of 240 %, over this period. ConclusionsUnderstanding the extent of the substance use crisis for child welfare involvement is important for policymakers to support children and families.

The Dunes Contribution to the Ecosystem Service of Coastal Protection on the Northern Coast of RS

Coastal dunes have a crucial role in offering the ecosystem service of natural coastal protection. This paper investigates the importance of dunes in providing the ecosystem service of natural coastal protection on the North Coast of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) in southern Brazil. The Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST®) Coastal Vulnerability Model was used to quantify the relative susceptibility to coastal erosion and flooding within the study area. First, the model was run to assess the susceptibility to coastal hazards considering the presence of dunes. Then, the model was run again without the presence of dunes. By comparing the results of the two model simulations, it was possible to identify where dunes contribute to reducing coastal exposure, which indirectly reflects their role in providing the ecosystem service of natural coastal protection. There are two main dune fields in the study area, one in the northern coastal sector and one in the southern sector, respectively in the municipalities of Torres and Cidreira. The index of exposure values produced by the two model simulations were very similar for locations along the Torres coastline. In contrast, along the coast of Cidreira, results from the model simulation without dunes produced higher exposure values than the simulation with the presence of dunes, suggesting that the dunes have an important role in offering natural coastal protection. Dunes are a natural barrier against coastal erosion and flooding, but they are not the only factor influencing the ecosystem service of coastal protection. In Torres, for instance, the local topography and the wind patterns contribute to reducing local exposure. The greatest threat in this sector is the urban sprawl.

Analysis of Value Implications, Realistic Dilemmas and Breakthrough Paths of China's Public Cultural Service Construction in the Context of Digitization

In the context of digitalization, the construction of public cultural services in China is of great significance. It is an inevitable choice to promote the development of an information-based society and an important force to meet the cultural needs of the masses. In recent years, the digitization construction of China's public cultural services has made remarkable progress. However, in this process, there are still some constraints: a low level of legal protection services, a low level of platform co-construction and sharing, an obvious singularity of the main body of resource supply, and a need to improve governance capacity. In order to promote the high-quality development of the digitalization of public cultural services, we should focus on overall awareness and strengthen the construction of the digital legal system, platforms, resources and governance capacity, so as to give full play to its role in the provision of public cultural services and the satisfaction of people's spiritual and cultural needs.

Using Elder Abuse Case Studies to Develop LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) elders are vulnerable to both the “usual” types of elder abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse, along with neglect), and with abuse that is specific to the context and history of LGBTQ+ elders. Training for adult protective services, long-term care ombudsmen, and other professionals who work with abused elders therefore should include information and skill-building in responding to this population. Research into effective training about LGBTQ+ elders indicates that interactive training activities such as case studies are critical components. This paper presents six case studies of LGBTQ+ elder abuse, representing financial and physical abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Victims are transgender, lesbian, and gay. Each case study is accompanied by a discussion of key elements in the case, and includes discussion questions and developer comments to help integrate the cases into a comprehensive curricula.