IPT Journal - "Evaluating Multidisciplinary Child Abuse Training: A Comprehensive Program and Questionnaire"

Multidisciplinary Training Questionnaire

Multidisciplinary training is designed to assist child welfare workers and police officers in developing specialized expertise, knowledge and skills in the forensic investigation of child abuse, to develop interviewing skills, and improve understanding of court precedents and the challenges of the criminal justice system. We are interested in understanding how well this approach is meeting the needs of professionals and need your help by completing this questionnaire.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to respond to this questionnaire. Please give your most candid and thorough response to the questions below. Responses to the questionnaire will be confidential, and will not be made available outside the research
team in a format that would allow the identification of individuals. Please answer these questions as they apply to your work in child abuse investigation.

Please rate how strongly you agree with the following items on the scale:

1	2	3	4	5
strongly disagree	disagree	neither agree/disagree	agree	strongly agree

Then underneath there is space if you wish to describe your experience.

Knowledge
This training has contributed to my understanding of:

the policies, procedures, and practices of other professionals (police/child welfare) ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
how legislation and mandates determine the role of other professionals ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
my own role in the child protection process ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
the process of referring cases ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
Shaken Baby Syndrome ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
false allegations and the media ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
the profile of a sexual abuse perpetrator ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
abuse through pornography and the internet ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
how to conduct joint interviews ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
child sexual development ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
other areas of child development ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
the ability of non-offending parents to protect the victims of child abuse ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
how information is being shared with people ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
timelines for responding to referrals ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
the skills of other professionals ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
how to collaborate well with other professionals ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5

Attitudes
This training has:

contributed to my understanding of the importance of collaboration or teamwork in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
influenced how much I value the contribution of other professionals. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
been a good use of my time. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
contributed to my management of work related stress. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
increased my respect for involvement of others. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
positively affected my interactions with others (e.g., colleagues, school administrators, etc.). ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
improved my ability to anticipate complications (possible conflicts) in joint investigation, and their possible resolutions. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
increased my appreciation of others' priorities and pressures. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
decreased the number of conflicts I experience when working with other professionals in decision making. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
given me a more sensitive and comprehensive appreciation of the needs of the child client. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
given me a more sensitive and comprehensive appreciation of the needs of the families of the victims of child abuse. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
increased my confidence in managing sexual abuse allegations. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
made me more likely to ask for support from colleagues and other professionals. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
contributed to an improvement in our multidisciplinary team's efficiency in conducting investigations. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
positively changed my planning for management of sexual abuse cases. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
or will result in better investigation process and follow-ups on child abuse cases. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
or will reduce secondary trauma associated with child abuse investigations (e.g. limiting multiple interviews). ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
effectively addressed issues associated with sexism, ageism, and racism in child abuse investigation. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5

Behaviors
This training has:

increased the number of interviewing techniques available to me. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
improved my ability to identify indicators of sexual abuse in children. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
improved my negotiating skills. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
improved my ability to compromise. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
made me more assertive in my work. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
made me more persuasive in my work. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
helped me to defend my position in my work. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
improved my ability to work in a multidisciplinary group. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
I have received comments from clients about changes in my approach since the training. ____________________________________________________	1	2	3	4	5
Other ways I have been, or not been, affected by this training: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________