Child abuse and neglect is something that is all too common in today’s society. There are many organizations that will help children in their time of need. The most infamous of these would have to be Child Protective Services (CPS). Many a time, CPS has stepped in and been the good or bad guy (depending on your perception). However, there are also many cases where they have failed to step in when needed or stepped in when it was unnecessary. Is CPS really doing everything they can to protect children? Some would say they are overstepping their boundaries, and for the wrong reasons. The system is flawed and is somehow oblivious to that fact.
In a survey of twenty-six adults from Fresno, 42.3% of people said that CPS was too soft on parents under investigation (Anstett, 2010). Seth Ireland could have agreed with that. Last year, CPS left him to a life of beatings and torture. This eventually led to his murder in or around January 2009. Despite several reports, the organization was unable obtain conclusive evidence of abuse and therefore could not remove Seth from the home. ”Every day, four children die as a result of child abuse” with three million reports made each year and experts estimate that the actual number of occurrences is three times greater than that reported (Phillips, 2009). This means that this case could have been preventer; if we know that four children die a day from child abuse, then all reports should be taken seriously especially if there is a volume attached to that case. Things could have ended differently for Seth.
On the other hand, we have cases were Child Protective Services may have been too stern. Case in point: a current Heald College student, who requested to remain anonymous. At the hands of her sp...
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...taining evidence should be quick and simple. I read somewhere that CPS workers aren’t trained child psychologists, not even close. Why not, I ask. This could be the most important breakthrough of all, regarding this. And I leave you with that in mind.
Works Cited
Administration for Children & Families. (2009). Retrieved June 15, 2010, from FY 2009 Adoption Incentive Awards. Web.
Adoption Incentives. (2009, January 09). Retrieved June 15, 2010, from ExpectMore.gov. Web.
Anstett, C. (2010). How are you, CPS? Fresno, CA: NA.
Craft, C. (2009, September 23). About.Com. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from Carrie's Adoption Blog. Web.
Phillips, P. (2009, January 9). KSEE24. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from KSee 24 News. Web.
Rizzo, T. (2003, April 18). Three charged with hogtying, killing boy are bound over for trial. Retrieved June 15, 2010, from Kansas City Star. Web.
The job of a child welfare worker appears to be a demanding profession that promotes the child’s safety, but also strengthens the family organization around them in order to successfully raise the children. This child welfare workers work in the system known as the Child Protective Services whose initiative is to protect the overall welfare of the child. The short novel From the Eye of the Storm: the Experiences of a Child Welfare Worker by Cynthia Crosson-Tower demonstrates the skills necessary to deal with the practice of social work along with both its challenges and its happy moments. The novel consists of some of the cases involving Tower’s actual career in social work. In reading the book, I was able to experience some of the actual cases in which children dealt with physical and mental abuse from their families that caused them to end up within the system. Also, some of these children had issues in adapting to foster and adoptive families based on the issues they faced earlier in life. As we have learned earlier in the course, the violence that a child experiences early in life has an overall affect on the person they become as they grow into adulthood. When children deal with adverse childhood experiences, they are at a higher risk for abusing drugs and/or alcohol, increased likelihood of abusing their own child or spouse, higher rates of violent and nonviolent criminal behavior, along with several other issues throughout their lifespan.
With the increasing number of cases each day, concerns are being raised as to whether the rights of parents are being violated. It is common knowledge that there have been serious accuracy flaws resulting in the wrongful termination of many parents’ rights. However, little is being done to fix these errors and give parents their children back. Child Protective Services is the most needed yet unwanted agency in each state. While a system is necessary to intervene and protect children who are abused, there is speculation on the procedures and policies the state uses.
But there was a new social panic in the air. Across North America, day-care workers were being accused of mass child sex abuse. Social workers sensed a cause, and ambitious prosecutors sensed an opportunity. The children, badgered to come up with lurid tales, obliged. Sympathetic juries were exhorted to believe the children. Hundreds of preschools closed; many people went to prison before their sentences were overturned.
Beckett, Celia, Jenny Castle, Christine Sonuga-Barke, Colvert Edmund, and Stevens Jana. "The experience of adoption: a study of intercountry and domestic adoption from the child's point of view. Adoption and Fostering.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) helps our communities guard our children, disabled and our elderly from abuse and neglect. This agency also helps protect the children in foster homes or any 24-hour child facility. The consultants provide intense investigations and prevention programs before placing a child in a new home. Texas Child Protective Services, also known as CPS, has five main goals which include: investigating reports of abuse and neglect of children, providing services to children and families in their home, placing children in foster care, providing services to help youth in foster care make a transition to adulthood, and placing our childr...
The controversial issue of whether or not Child Protective Services are doing their jobs properly, has grabbed nationwide attention. Child Protective Services is the name of a government agency in many states of the United States whose mission is to respond to reports of child abuse and neglect. Some of these cases may include physical abuse, sexual abuse, and mental abuse (Wikipedia). The child welfare system is corrupted. The parents and guardians who are accused of abuse are automatically labeled as guilty and will have to prove their innocence; instead of being innocent until proven guilty.
David suffered physical, mental, and emotional abuse from the age of four to 12-years-old. As his teachers and principal, neighbors, and even his maternal grandmother and father stand by and let the abuse happen, it makes me wonder what they could have done differently. For example, David’s father saw the abuse firsthand and he would try to intervene to help him out initially. David’s father was caught by the madness of his wife in calling him, ‘the boy’ and ‘It’. As much as his father tried to comfort David, he did not have the will to stand up against his wife. Another example, the maternal grandmother commented on bruises visible on David’s body and she did not take action to report her daughter for abusing her grandchild, David. Instead, David’s grandmother stated that she should stay out of it and let David’s mother raise her children as she saw fit. I believed the unreported instances observed by the public to be just as substantial a crime as the child abusers themselves. Also, the Department of Children and Social Services were contacted because of the alleged child abuse events that occurred previously; however, he was not taken from the home because the social worker of the agency sided with David’s mother. The social worker did not complete a thoroughly
Participating in the Mandated Reporter Training is a helpful tool for understanding the role of a social worker as a professional if and when one learns information concerning abuse of a minor. The goal of a social worker is to improve the quality of life for all individuals and if one learns about any type of abuse-physical, sexual, emotional, and/or neglect- it is their responsibility to bring this information to the proper authorities. The training stated that, “Research has shown that when multidisciplinary protocols are followed arrest and prosecution rates increase and trauma to the child decreases” (Arizona Child Abuse Info Center).
A state that undertakes custody of a child is declaring that it can do a better job providing protection. This system is a powerful agent of support, providing positive nurturing environments that enable a child to reach his or her potential. Nonetheless, when children suffer additional abuse in the system, this government intervention should be questioned.
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?
As a Child Protective worker, my responsibilities are to assess safety (immediate), risk (future harm), abuse and maltreatment, and make a determination as to whether a child is safe or at risk of future harm and assess the need for services. The child welfare worker assigned to investigate the case failed to ensure the above. Works Cited Downs-Whitelaw, S., Moore, E., & McFadden, E. J. (2009). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.
Child Protective Services systems are often called “broken,” and the case of Logan Marr is a solid example of why. Logan was taken away from her mother, Christy, after an extensive battle that involved accusations, investigations, and mandates. After the struggle, Logan was finally placed into a foster home under the supervision of Sally Schofield, a child caseworker of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Schofield admits that she soon saw that book-learning and experience were two different things. Her lack of true preparation for the supervision and care of Logan ultimately lead to the death of the child.
Many people grow up in loving families and cannot imagine not having their parents and siblings around, but each year, 18,000 or more American born babies are put up for adoption (Newlin Carney). That means at least 18,000 children face the harsh truth of maybe not having a family to grow up in. Childhood is a very important part of one’s life and helps shape who one is. These children that are eligible to be adopted just need loving parents, good homes, and stability. And who is to say the high price of adopting is not ho...
All the benefits provided by CAPTA are important, but one highly important benefit CAPTA provides for infants and children is that all allegations of child abuse and neglect must be investigated to ensure the well-being and safety of every infant and child. After allegations of child abuse and neglect are reported an investigation is the next step in protecting every child. Another benefit of CAPTA for infants and children is that if the heart wrenching experience of child abuse or neglect occur the state CPS systems and private organizations are trained and prepared to provide treatment for the child. In a like manner, CAPTA provides benefits for women and families by providing support and services that address domestic violence. CAPTA also promotes family involvement in all aspects of a CPS case involving child abuse and neglect. The states benefit by the foundation that CAPTA sets regarding the functioning of CPS systems and in a financial aspect. CAPTA provides funding to “Support child abuse and prevention activities by funding discretionary grants to states and/or public or private agencies or organizations” (California Department of Child Services, 2011). Everyone benefits when CPS systems according to CAPTA policies, “The act’s sponsors meant to feature three important themes of CPS reform in these amendments, including encouraging the involvement of family members in a child welfare agency’s decisions process; promoting and enhancing COS collaboration with domestic violence services and substance abuse treatment programs, and increasing the use of differential response by states through the use of noninvestigative/nonaccusatory approach to responding to reports of child maltreatment” (American Bar Association,
Through all of the hurdles, the government still tries to provide some assistance and keep this issue in the forefront so others can pitch in to help. The protection and care of kids should initially come from the parents, however as other demons are battled it prevents children from experiencing the love, care, and concern of a family. Until funding, assistance for parents, assistance for kids who have aged out, and foster care programs can be corrected, the government will be aiding in detrimental child outcomes. Family may represent the love and security in a child’s life, but it can also be a prison in which physically, emotionally, and sexually kids may feel punished (Causes and Effects). The government protection can only go as far as the law allows.