Quick Reference to Child and Adolescent Forensics

""Drs. Muscari and Brown have synthesized the key information on forensics pediatrics and produced a 'must read' text that needs to be on every person's bookshelf."" --Ann Wolbert Burgess, DNSc, APRN, BC Professor of Psychiatric Nursing, Boston College

Health care practitioners frequently work with victims of child abuse, sexual assault, and juvenile offenders, but often lack the education and resources they need to deal with the everyday forensic issues of pediatric practice. This quick guide provides current information that assists pediatric practitioners with the prevention, identification, and management of pediatric victims and offenders. The book describes the general principles of forensics and its implications in pediatric practice, including the cycle, continuum, and cultural aspects of violence. It also serves as a guide to conducting the forensic assessment and recording the legal documentation, collecting evidence, navigating the criminal and family justice systems, and producing expert witness testimony. The authors clearly define the role of the pediatric provider working with children who witness violence at home, in the community, and in the media. Key topics:

How to detect abusive parents as well as abused children The effects of victimization of children by abusive, absent, or incarcerated parents Delinquency and juvenile justice systems-with insight into bullying, school violence, arson, gang membership, juvenile sex offending, and dating violence Unnatural pediatric deaths, such as sudden unexpected infant and child death, accidents, homicides, and suicides

Practicing emergency room nurses, pediatric critical care nurses, nurse practitioners, and student practitioners will find this book to be an essential reference guide for managing and understanding pediatric forensics.