• 1. Introduction

    In this session, we are going to be learning about how to gather data on hearing quality. As with any project, the method that you choose for data collection should depend largely on the questions that you want to answer, balanced with the resources that you have to collect the data. So, consider first, what do you want to know? That will help drive the decision for how to collect data. Then consider, what resources do you have available to better understand your issue.

    The most common, and often the most robust way to collect hearing quality data is through a structured court observation process. This allows you to examine specific, directly observable practices that are occurring in court. This process is typically fairly resource intensive, requiring observation of multiple hearings.

    We are going to learn how to do court observation of a child abuse and neglect hearing using a structured instrument.

    An instrument has been provided that is very typical to what is used in the field and includes several of the constructs identified in session I. Please download the instrument and print so that you can use it to code. This instrument is designed to be used at an initial hearing, the first hearing on the case.

    We are going to walk through the instrument together.

  • But she has not been able to talk about coming home and seeing her parents drunk and often in the midst of physical fights. She is ashamed to discuss this with the worker or anyone else. She has tried to ignore her parents but is frightened. She tried to intervene once. As a result, her father began to hit her and her mother pushed her out of the way. The mother fell and cut her lip. Katrina felt like it was her fault her mother fell.

  • The CPS worker understands the nature and frequency of the parents’ drinking and fighting from interviews with the mother and grandmother. Katrina presents herself to the worker as someone who is eager to please, is pleasant and has few concerns. She is willing to take the worker’s business card when offered.

  • While the mother has been somewhat candid about the domestic violence and the frequency that alcohol is used in the home, she does not want to confront the situation at this time. The police have been to the home four times in the past year. The situation seems to be escalating. The last two incidents have been more violent, involving damaged items in the home and greater visible bruising.

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