Each day, the well-being of some children across the United States and even the world are threatened by child abuse and neglect. According to the National Children’s Alliance, nearly 700,000 children are abused in the United States annually (National Children's Alliance , 2015). It is also stated that an estimated 1,670 children in the U.S. died from abuse and neglect in 2015 (National Children's Alliance , 2015). It is important to have a model or theory used in practice to effectively intervene when such situations arise. For the organization of this paper, I have selected Division of Family Services specific handbooks, as well as Department of Health and Human Services literature. I have spoken with agency professionals to gather information …show more content…
These reports determine whether and investigation is necessary. Reports are taken twenty-four hours a day, including weekends and holidays. Cases typically involved youths ages birth to eighteen. The caseworker (often called Family Crisis Therapist) will then conduct an investigation when the case is accepted. There are different priority cases and each has a response time. Very extreme cases must be responded to within forty-eight hours. Mid-level cases have a three day response times and low priority cases have ten day response times. Family history checks are done. Collateral contacts with schools and doctor’s offices are conducted. If the saferty of the child is compromised, a safety plan is enacted thus neutralizing the threat. The investigations are either substantiated or unsubstantiated. Sometimes, there are grey areas and a case can be deemed as unsubstantiated but with concerns for a specific issue. Those cases are transferred to treatment as stated above. If a case is substantiated, legal action is the most common form of …show more content…
The framework and underpinnings of the practice I examined are used at DFS. “The Mission of the Division of Family Services is to promote the safety and well-being of children and their families through prevention, protection, and permanency. Our vision is that our children are our future and our responsibility” (State of Delaware, 2017). The state of Delaware has different DFS locations. These locations are in: Wilmington, Middletown, Dover, Milford, Seaford, Georgetown, and Frankford. Locations in Seaford and Frankford deal mainly with treatment. Cases from investigation units (e.g. Georgetown, Milford ) are transferred when the caseworker feels more services are required after a case closure. The agencies serve diverse populations. The agency’s services cater mainly to families and
When children are hurt physically, emotionally, or sexually it is known to be child abuse. Children are known to be neglected when they are not getting the proper attention needed for children. When children are neglected or abused in any way it is the responsibility of others to report such acts to the authorities as to what they have witnessed first-hand or signs of abuse or neglect seen after the fact, these people who reports such acts are known as third parties. The proper authorities to report child abuse or neglect is called Child Protected Services also known as Child Welfare. After the abuse or neglect is reported the proper authorities will then investigate to see if the abuse or neglect is legit or fraudulent (Sedlak, 2001).
Most services provided to families by the child welfare system have complicated requirements that make it nearly impossible for them to receive all the necessary resources. For example, the child welfare system currently provides the family with a packet of resources, in which the family on their own must contact agency after agency for services, just to be notified that there are fees to receive services or there are long waiting lists. For the most part, families are then discouraged from asking for further assistance. The child welfare system needs to be able to address the underlying issues that disadvantaged families are dealing with, which may be playing a role in the child maltreatment occurring in the home, whether it is general neglect or child abuse.
The family unit is recognized as an importance in the field of social work. If a family is in need of temporary assistance, social workers are in full support of this, because
As a matter of fact, on the one hand, PHFS emerged from the efforts of a group of Presbyterian churches that came together to address their welfare responsibility by founding an orphanage. However, as the status of orphan was changing, the federal government was fostering children’s’ return to a family or community setting rather than group care. Consequently, demand for group homes declined and, although the organization included adult housing services for individuals with disabilities and later on offered a few community-based services, it faced a declining donor base and was losing its relevance. On the other hand, the Family Alliance resulted from a community outreach tentative by several churches in Lynchburg. FA focused on services targeted at the Lynchburg community, fostering neighborhood leadership, young training, prevention, and intervention. However, the organization was approximately 85% funded, thus relied heavily on federal and local grants. As the state of the economy declined, the statewide support on foster care declined. The organization lost funds and had to stretch the funds it had left while keeping the quality of its services. Ultimately, both companies were facing challenges that drew attention to the need to modify their tactics and respond to ...
Many children across the country are wrongfully removed from their homes everyday by workers with an anti-family mindset, who use removal as a first resort not a last. It is not only detrimental to the child’s well-being, but is also immorally abusive to the child. The goal of the child welfare system is to promte safety, permanency, and wellness among all children.
Child welfare services should create a better environment in foster care homes. Children face mental and physical trauma every day in foster care homes like emotional distress, unstable mental health and surroundings, developmental delays etc. High trauma rates in children who currently reside in foster care or did, amounting to “one-half to two-thirds,” raises everyday (Dorsey, Burns, Southerland, Cox, Wagner, and Farmer 871). A nationwide social services policy on how to become a foster care parent or child should focus on the mental, emotional and physical state of the individual to decrease foster care abuse.
Child abuse in the United States is a growing epidemic. Every year the number of reported cases, and missing children go up. This is caused mostly by lack of education about the different types of child abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Communities need to provide more resources to better educate the public about the types of abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Child abuse and neglect can be lessened by more resources, more education and to reach out to others.
Haight, Wendy L., James E. Black, Sarah Mangelsdorf, Grace Giorgio, Lakshmi tata, Sarah J. Schoppe, and Margaret Szewcyk. "Making Visits Better: The Perspective of Parents, foster Parents, and Child Welfare Workers." EBSCOhost. EBSCO, 1 Mar. 2002. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Half the children in this country live in homes in which one or both parents work. Twelve million children in this country do not have health insurance, and over 4.5% of all children are victims of suspected child abuse or neglect (Doktor and Poertner). Believe it or not, these are all indicators of the demand for Family Resource Centers within our school systems. Many question whether Family Resource Centers are worth the money the state pours into them. However, in serving students, parents and teachers, there should be no question of their significance. Due to The Kentucky Education Reform Act in the early 1990's we have seen the development of Family Resource Centers in Kentucky, and they are fulfilling expectations and serve a valuable purpose in spite of some skepticism. Being a social work major and growing up in a school system under KERA, I know that family resource centers are important and that all parents, students and teachers need to be informed of all the good they do for a community. To address these points we will discuss the purpose of family resource centers the controversy that surround them and their effectiveness.
Child Protective Services For 30 years, advocates, program administrators, and politicians have joined forces to encourage even more reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. Their efforts have been successful, with about three million cases of suspected child abuse having been reported in 1993. Large numbers of endangered children still go unreported, but a serious problem has developed: Upon investigation, as many as 65 percent of the reports now being made are determined to be "unsubstantiated", raising serious civil liberties concerns and placing a huge burden on investigative staff. Unreported Cases Most experts agree that reports have increased over the past 30 years because professionals have become more likely to report apparently abusive and neglectful situations. But the question remains: How many more cases still go unreported?
Downs-Whitelaw, S., Moore, E., &McFadden, E. J. (2009). Child welfare and family services: Policies and practice, USA: Parson Education Inc.
Downs, S., Moore, E., McFadden, E., & Costin, L. (2004). Child welfare and family services: Policies and practice. (7th. Ed., pp. 319-363) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
In the United States of America, it is a parent's fundamental right to raise their children without state interference. Each state in the US has its own agency responsible for the protection of children. In Los Angeles, California this agency is known as DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services). This agency is responsible for responding to reports of child abuse and neglect, and the handling of adoptions. In the past social workers were responsible for assessing child abuse reports and determining whether or not a child would be detained. However, these days a computer will be handling these tasks. Computers and a system call an SDM (Structured Decision Making) will now be responsible for running a risk assessment and determining whether to remove a child.
...or state organizations to provide these additional services for families, they are in need of government funding. “States can use about 10% of federal dedicated child welfare funds flexibly for family services and supports, including prevention or reunification services…”. More funds are needed for the organizations to provide services to all members of the family, both directly and indirectly involved. The Nurse-Family Partnership program found a “48% lower level of abuse and neglect for children served through the program than children in the control group”. So having access to these services has shown a reduction in child abuse. As discussed in class, the goal is always to keep the child in the home. This article is aiming to do that but need funds and additional resources in order to accomplish this. (Pew Charitable Trust, 2008)
In past few years, there are many countries that developed different programs and plans for intervention in child abuse and neglect. But, some of them fail to reach the goal. When there is contact with family or client, at this moment this is intervention. Effective prevention and early intervention services can make a difference when provided at the right time. Intervention is all about time, matter of weeks. In fact, at this critical period you can achieve a progress that is not even equivalent up to 3 years of case treatment and management. Intervention methods are just putting a bandage on the issue of child abuse and neglect (Mathieson, Reynolds, & Topizes, 2009).