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The purpose of the current study is to contribute to the knowledge base on the use of family education and support (FES) services by examining the longitudinal trajectories of FES receipt and multiple domains of child and family functioning. Using an extant data set of more than 9,000 youth and their caregivers, results indicate that families who received FES on entry into services had greater caregiver strain, and their children experienced greater emotional challenges than families who did not receive FES services. Furthermore, for families who received FES, the longitudinal results revealed an immediate effect of seeking additional services, decreasing caregiver strain 6 months after receipt of FES services, and improving child emotional functioning 6 to 18 months after initial receipt of FES services. The complex, lagged effects in the results are discussed in the context of the theorized cyclical course of family stress as exemplified by the Double ABCX model of adjustment and adaptation. Implications for future research of FES services are discussed, especially the need to develop a functional logic model and an operational definition of FES and its components. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Qualitative responses by caregivers (n = 203) and youth (aged 8 and older; n = 65) about their experiences with sexual abuse investigations were analyzed in conjunction with quantitative ratings of satisfaction. Respondents described mostly high levels of satisfaction, although dissatisfaction was reported with some key aspects of investigations. The features cited as worse than expected by caregivers were the investigators' commitment to prosecuting the alleged offender and the absence of clear and regular communication about the status of the case. The features mentioned most often by caregivers as better than expected were the emotional support and interviewing skills of investigators. Youth focused both praise and criticism on investigators' interviewing skills. There were relatively few complaints by either caregivers or youth about the duration of the investigation, medical exams, lack of services, or failures of interagency communication, areas of considerable reform in the past several decades. Implications for investigator training and reform initiatives are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]