Long-term outcomes of a short-term group treatment program for abuse husbands were investigated in a controlled study. Recidivism rates, based on police reports, were found to be lower than those for a control group of untreated abusive husbands; they were also found to be lower for those men initially exhibiting greater depression. Implications for further research are discussed.

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Few researchers have set out to explore parents’ feelings about their experiences with Child Protective Services (CPS) particularly as they relate to the relationship between workers and parents who come to the attention of CPS. Yet the worker-client relationship is a central aspect of social work intervention, contributing to positive case resolutions. Understanding aspects of this relationship can contribute to improved CPS. This article reports findings from a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews to explore the experiences of 61 parents who had involvement with CPS.1 Parents appreciated workers who were caring, genuine, empathetic, exceptionally helpful, non-judgmental, and accepting. Negative qualities of workers identified by parents were being judgmental, cold and uncaring, poor listeners, critical, and insincere. Child protection interventions can result in greater actual and/or perceived power imbalances between the client and the worker compared to other social work interventions. Our findings, however, suggest that a positive alliance can be achieved within the context of the adversarial and complex nature of CPS. Possible ways to maintain relationships or rebuild ‘ruptured’ relationships are suggested.

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At discharge from a specialized inpatient treatment program, adults with a history of abuse during childhood showed improvement relative to a wait list group. Scores tended to deteriorate in the 3 months following discharge but rebounded to discharge levels by 12 months postdischarge. Although many abused adults benefited from specialized inpatient treatment, a substantial proportion did not show clinically significant change 1 year later.