Helping Children Affected by Abuse

Angelo Giardino is the medical director of Texas Children's Health Plan, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, and an attending physician for the Texas Children's Hospital's forensic pediatrics service at the Children's Assessment Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Giardino completed his residency and fellowship training in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Immediately after his fellowship training, Dr. Giardino became the assistant, and then the associate, medical director at Health Partners of Philadelphia, where he had primary responsibility for utilization management, intensive case management, and health care data analysis. He also shared responsibility for the plan's quality improvement program. Additionally, Dr. Giardino began the Child Abuse and Neglect Team for Children with Special Health Care Needs, which was funded by a three-year grant from a local philanthropist. In 1998, he was appointed associate chair of clinical operations in the Department of Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), and in June of 1999, he was asked to chair the CHOP Quality Committee. These accomplishments are only a few of his career.

This book successfully addresses the complexity of all forms of child maltreatment including the scope and nature, causes, and consequences of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. The focus is on diagnosis, intervention, and prevention, enhancing the roles of the healthcare provider to become more engaged with families and effective community-based programs that can help these children and their parents. There are excellent examples of intervention and prevention strategies for both parents and teachers to utilize for children and their caregivers. The authors have added three important sections on timely areas of concern: the parameters and key issues surrounding dating violence, childcare settings, and Internet safety.

Additionally, an overview of public child welfare, mental health, and team decision making are reviewed to give the reader a broader understanding of systemic responses to the problem of child abuse and neglect. Also, an introspective chapter on art therapy gives insight into the power of this technique to explore feelings and assist in the healing process for families. A must-read for professionals in the field, teachers, health care providers, and parents alike.

Lisa Pion-Berlin, Ph.D.
President and Chief
Executive Officer
Parents Anonymous® Inc.
Strengthening Families All Around the World

This well-written volume provides an up-to-date review and analysis of the core topics related to child maltreatment. It delves below the surface to disentangle risk factors for maltreatment from consequences and provides readers with an enhanced understanding of this complex issue. With a focus on prevention and early intervention, this book offers concrete strategies that parents, teachers, and clinicians can employ to respond effectively in situations where abuse is suspected. This book is a valuable resource for anyone working with children.

Catherine Bradshaw, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Mental Health
Associate Director
Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

The authors have created an excellent overview of child abuse, indicating how child abuse is manifested, how to recognize and treat child abuse, and importantly, how to prevent child abuse for future generations. This is a terrific resource for all individuals who care for children and want to keep them free from harm.

Nancy Chandler
Executive Director
National Children’s Alliance

The book is an excellent resource for parents, teachers, and even child protection workers. Dr. Giardino has the ability to simplify complex topics of abuse and make them understandable for both parents and professionals. The book’s practical suggestions and guidance on the spectrum of abuse, protecting children, the Internet, schools, and childcare will be indispensable to concerned caregivers and education professionals. The easy language of this book makes it a valuable resource for any personal, professional, or school library.

Michael L Haney, PhD, NCC, CCISM, LMHC
Division Director for Prevention and Intervention
Children’s Medical Services
Florida Department of Health

This resource book provides a concise and up-to-date look at the complex issues surrounding child abuse. It is a valuable combination of definitions, dynamics and concrete discussions that explore how effective parenting can help prevent child abuse, how teachers can shape the dialogue concerning abuse issues, and how physicians and other professionals can influence positive parenting and prevention efforts. It clearly portrays the responsibility we each have for all the children in our sphere of influence and how we can put that responsibility into action in a variety of contexts. From parents to schools to communities, this book lays out a mandate for protection of children, even as we teach them how to protect themselves. Helping Children Affected by Abuse is a must have for every school and professional library.

Sherryll Kraizer, PhD
Founder of the Safe Child Program
Author of The Safe Child Book and Bully Proof Your Child

As a medical student interested in public health, and specifically in protecting children from violence, I am always searching for resources to effectively educate communities about “helping children affected by abuse.” This book beautifully demonstrates that adults in our society have the responsibility and capacity to protect children. It accomplishes a very important goal of not only outlining different kinds of abuse in a clear and thorough manner, but also providing suggestions of what parents, teachers, and any other adults in a community can do to protect children from the harms of abuse. I think that anyone who interacts with children should have to read Helping Children Affected by Abuse.

Sarah Bagley
Third-Year Medical Student
Georgetown University