The Characteristics Among Maltreatment, Special Education Service Delivery, and Personnel Preparation

Children are experiencing abuse and neglect at alarming rates, and reported cases of maltreatment are increasing every year. Furthermore, children are 4 times more likely to receive special education services if they have experienced abuse and neglect. Multiple calls for action to better support children with special needs who have experienced maltreatment have been developed; however, we must understand what the research says related to the preparation of special education providers to carry out these recommendations. In this literature review, we focused on three areas related to maltreatment: (a) reported and assessed knowledge base of school-based professionals, (b) attitudes and training beliefs of school-based professionals, and (c) access to training opportunities. The findings suggest practitioners feel unprepared, there are limited and insufficient opportunities for preparation, and researchers need to consider different methodology when studying this topic. Practice and research implications are discussed.