Australian Centre for Child Protection, University of South Australia , Adelaide, Australia.
J Child Sex Abus. 2020 Aug-Sep;29(6):638-658. doi: 10.1080/10538712.2019.1709241. Epub 2020 Feb 11.
The Multi-agency Investigation & Support Team (MIST) was a new approach to abuse investigations that aimed to minimize the distress and uncertainty experienced by children and non-abusive caregivers in dealing with the many agencies typically involved in a case post-disclosure, while also attempting to improve the accessibility of supportive and therapeutic services. As part of a broader evaluation, this study examined worker perceptions early in the implementation of this new approach. Thirty-three (33) interviews were conducted with workers affected by this new pilot. The interviews identified almost exclusively positive perceptions of the changes relative to practice as usual, particularly in terms of improvements to collaboration and communication across agencies, and the benefits of providing support alongside the investigation process. Some areas of difficulty and areas for improvement were identified, particularly the need for stronger governance of the cross-agency protocol and improved connection to some of the groups involved in the response that were not co-located. The study suggests professionals working in the MIST model consider the model beneficial to the quality of the response to severe child abuse while highlighting that the process of change into this new way of working was challenging at times.
多机构调查与支持小组（MIST）是一种新的虐待调查方法，旨在最大限度地减少儿童和非虐待照顾者在处理披露后通常涉及的许多机构时所经历的痛苦和不确定性，同时也试图提高支持和治疗服务的可及性。作为更广泛评估的一部分，本研究在这种新方法实施的早期阶段检查了工作人员的看法。对受该新试点影响的 33 名工作人员进行了 33 次访谈。这些访谈几乎完全对与常规做法相比的变化持积极看法，特别是在跨机构合作和沟通方面的改进，以及在调查过程中提供支持的好处。确定了一些困难领域和改进领域，特别是需要加强跨机构协议的治理，并改善与没有同地办公的一些参与应对的群体的联系。该研究表明，在 MIST 模式下工作的专业人员认为该模式有利于提高对严重虐待儿童的反应质量，但同时也强调，有时向这种新工作方式转变的过程具有挑战性。
