THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 3, 1994 TAG: 9408030005
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Your story ``Day care provider who shook baby gets 3 years'' (July 27) demonstrated the importance of using effective employment methods to screen child-care applicants for their potential to physically abuse children.
Parents, day-care providers and agencies must recognize that child-care workers are employees, and as such the use of testing, structured interviewing and other truly effective employment methods is necessary, just as with any other job.
More than 70 years of research on employment methods has consistently demonstrated that references, unstructured interviews and ``gut intuition'' are notorious for their inability to do anything other than to give the employer a false sense of security.
Available technology can identify a substantial proportion of physical child abusers. Our clinicians use a program of psychological tests, structured interviews and other methods. Research indicates that this approach can substantially improve the chance that applicants who are hired will be superior performers in all respects, and not abuse children.
Identifying effective employees can never be achieved with 100 percent certainty. Using employment methods that really work, however, can greatly improve the chance of hiring the right employee, whether a secretary in a medical practice, an executive in an oil company or a child-care worker in your home.
ROBERT J. SOLOMON, Ph.D.
Greenwich Psychological Associates
Virginia Beach, July 27, 1994 by CNB