Knowledge And Training Needs Of Child Advocacy Center Directors Regarding Trauma Informed Services for Abused Children

A Qualtrix survey was designed to assess knowledge and attitudes of child advocacy center staff related to evidence-based treatment of abused children, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and perceived training needs. The survey was approved by the IRB of Texas Tech University and was distributed by the National Children’s Alliance (NCA).    A web link to the Internet survey was sent via email to 729 directors of child advocacy centers across the nation; 264 were completed (36%).  Respondents correctly identified evidence-based treatments as trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for sexual abuse (SA), and both abuse-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and parent-child interaction therapy for physical abuse (PA). However, respondents also incorrectly identified play therapy as an evidence-based treatment for sexual abuse (64.5%) and physical abuse (64.8%). Respondents correctly identified symptoms of PTSD, but also identified non-symptoms as symptoms of PTSD.  Perceived training needs in order of priority were identified as follows:  (1) Recognizing trauma symptoms in maltreated children; (2) Understanding which treatments are effective; (3) Understanding which measures are helpful in diagnosing common symptoms among abused children; (4) Making referrals to clinicians; and (5) How to take care of oneself after hearing about the abuse that children experience.  When misidentification of evidence-based treatments is combined with the low priority endorsed for additional training in making referrals, these findings suggest a disparity between actual and perceived training needs.