The APSAC Advisor is a peer reviewed quarterly news journal for professionals in the field of child abuse and neglect.
The APSAC Advisor provides succinct, data-based, practice-oriented articles that keep interdisciplinary professionals
informed of the latest developments in policy and practice the field of child maltreatment. It is designed to highlight
best practices in the field and publish original articles and current information about child maltreatment for professionals
from a variety of backgrounds including medicine, law, law enforcement, social work, child protective services, psychology,
public health and prevention in the U.S.
If you wish to learn more about submitting an article to the Advisor, please click here.
This library contains Advisor issues dating back to the first issue in 1988. The most recent issue appears at the top.
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In the listing below, click on a year and issue number to see the articles in that publication.
2026 Number 3
For twenty years, U.S. states have extended, eliminated, and revived statutes of limitations (SOLs) for child sexual abuse (CSA)-the time limits for filing civil suits or bringing criminal charges. This article reviews that record against six benefits that proponents claim SOL reform delivers. The evidence strongly supports claims that SOL reform has increased access to courts, exposed previously hidden perpetrators, and created a cascade effect in which one survivor’s suit prompts others to come forward. SOL reform has also increased financial accountability but has not led to institutional change. There is no evidence that SOL reform prevents future abuse or improves well-being, though both remain plausible. For practitioners, this record has concrete implications: document forensic interviews as potential long-term legal evidence, prepare Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) for inquiries from adult survivors, and help clinicians prepare to support survivors in weighing decisions about filing.
Are You Open to Feedback? Conversations at the Heart of Child Protection Simulation Training
Providing experiential learning through simulations to assess child safety and families’ protective capacities is used for newly hired child protection specialists working for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. This article describes the simulation training program and the debriefing and feedback processes that are the core elements of making simulation trainings effective. The training enables child protection workers to develop metacompetence, the ability to apply one’s skills in actual practice in the midst of the emotional and cognitive demands of the client encounter. Effective feedback and debriefing methods in simulations may be one tool for responding to workforce shortages burdening the child protection field. Experiential learning opportunities in child welfare should be increased and expanded beyond professional foundations training.
Building Vicarious Trauma Resiliency in Children’s Advocacy Centers
This article examines the implementation of methods for building vicarious trauma resiliency for multidisciplinary team (MDT) members and staff in Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs). Creating opportunities to build vicarious trauma resiliency is required in order to meet a national accreditation standard for all CACs. In a phenomenological study, nine executive directors of Children’s Advocacy Centers in the southern region participated in individual interviews where they described successes as well as barriers and challenges building vicarious trauma resiliency within their CACs. From the interviews, three themes were constructed: building relationships among CAC staff and MDT partners, developing internal support, and providing trainings to promote vicarious trauma resiliency. Additional themes were constructed regarding deficits in time, funding, resources, and buy-in that were barriers to developing vicarious trauma resilience. Limitations and implications are discussed.
The Foster Care Utilization Review Program (FCURP), based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and embedded within the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS), provides an interdependent, practice-focused partnership that strengthens child welfare outcomes across the state. Since its establishment in 1998, FCURP has evolved from conducting compliance reviews to service as a central resource in Illinois’ preparation for multiple rounds of the federal Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSRs). The team connects data, policy, and casework practices through independent case reviews, targeted training, technical assistance, and support for statewide Continuous Quality Improvement initiatives. FCURP’s contributions include leading Illinois’ transition to quality-focused review process, designing and managing state review systems, supporting Program Improvement Plans, and helping redesign and validate the Administrative Case Review model. By integrating case review findings with frontline practice insight, FCURP demonstrates how deeply embedded university partnership can strengthen staff learning, improve practice consistency, and enhance outcomes for children and families.
Medical chronology generation -the creation of a comprehensive record review in the form of a spreadsheet -is a time-intensive cornerstone of medical child abuse (MCA) investigations. Artificial intelligence (AI) advances have led to the development of several tools with the potential to assist with chronology generation, medical record review, and clinical summarization. We reviewed six AI platforms, including commercially-available medicolegal tools and electronic health record-integrated applications, and summarized their capabilities, accessibility, cost, and security considerations. These technologies may improve efficiency and enhance record navigation; however, concerns remain regarding accuracy, contextual understanding, accessibility, and security. Further research should establish best practices, evaluate effectiveness, and define the appropriate role of AIassisted chronology generation in MCA investigations. If validated, AI may allow clinicians with expertise in MCA to devote more time to clinical reasoning, multidisciplinary collaboration, and patient care.