Multiple essay questions: formats and assessment strategies

Child Abuse

You are an experienced protective services social worker. You have just been assigned a new case to investigate as a result of an abuse report. Your first task is to do a home visit to begin the assessment. How will you prepare for this visit? What is your objective for this first visit? Once you arrive, what would you guess might happen? What reactions might the family have? Are there cultural variations to these reactions? How will you attempt to overcome these barriers? What engagement tools will you use? What observable symptoms and/or behaviors will you be watching for in the child, other family members? Other considerations? How will you know if the visit was successful when you leave the family's home? In other words, describe your activities from before you arrive to the home visit through completion.

Answer 1.

Visiting clients in their homes is sometimes a daunting task for social workers. Social workers practicing in the area of child protective services make most of their contacts and clients in the field. This means that the client is given the requisite services in other places other than the office. It is common for social workers practicing in the area of child protection services serve their clients from their homes and not in hospitals or other facilities that are considered appropriate (Snyder & McCollum, 1999). In my preparation for a home visit as a protective service social worker working on an abuse case, I will first ensure that I provide the address of the home I will be visiting. The address will include clients name, street, and neighborhood and I will post it on a white board in my office.

In addition, I will plan my schedule and ensure that I meet my client at the appropriate time. This may include instances like free time after school: and when activities for survival are limited. I will carry a folder containing forms and an address for the local police, which I might need during the visit (Allen & Tracy, 2008). I will also purchase small toys, which I will use to keep the child comfortable and busy. My objective for the first visit will be to inspect my client's surroundings and analyze the way it influences his or her functioning. I will analyze matters concerning safety, the condition of the neighborhood and many other aspects in order to obtain significant information that might assist in evaluating and planning the case (Collins, Jordan & Coleman, 2010).

Most families or clients are usually afraid of social workers (Reder, Duncan & Gray, 1993). Once I arrive, I believe my client and family will be surprised to see me, and if they realize that I am a social worker, they might try to avoid me. Different families have different cultures and might not be comfortable discussing their well-being with strangers or even social workers (Trotter, 2006). Evidently, cultural variations accompany these reactions in the sense that the family might view me as an outsider or intruder who has no right to come to their home and investigate how they raise their children.

In order to overcome these barriers, I will introduce the name of my organization and myself in a polite manner whilst giving the family a chance to know me not just as a social worker but also as an individual. I will smile and ask for permission to seat whenever I will be directed. In some instances, families may fail to engage with the social worker services maybe because they feel threatened or due to other reasons depending on the situation. In this case, I will try to incorporate engagement tools such as crayons, coloring books, and puzzlers in order to get the child and even family to participate in the services.

The behaviors that I will be watching in the child and family will include aspects such as placing feet on tables and chairs, leaving shoes outside the door, communication between family members and the child, level of activity in the house, aggression and anxiety. It is worthwhile to understand that child abuse does not just involve physical aspects but emotional too. Neglecting a child can also be termed as abuse and thus checking out on other behaviors that are not physical is vital. The level of cooperation from the family and child will tell whether the visit was successful or not. If the family and child gladly accept to engage in the services, then it will automatically mean that the visit will be fruitful (Yatchmenoff, 2005).

Q2. The textbook by Crosson-Tower suggests three areas in need of change to ensure a brighter future for all children: society, the helping system, and research. What specific changes do you believe are most necessary to reduce the incidences of child abuse? What would be your plan i.e. which do you think needs to happen first? Be specific about your change recommendations and be sure to specify what category(s) they fall under.

Answer 2.

According to Crosson-Tower, three areas need change in order to ensure a brighter future for every child (2009). These areas include the helping system, society, and research. The changes necessary to reduce incidences of child abuse fall mainly under the helping system category. Children are not the only affair of their families but also the society. It is necessary for helping system provide the necessary services to those families that need help on how to raise their children. The current world is undergoing tremendous changes ranging from economic to social thus some families are finding it hard to survive the challenging times.

Issues such as poverty are affecting many families; in the end, children are suffering innocently. The current society is also full of insecurities, which frustrate child protection services; this is a matter should be addressed. The way through which services are provided to families must be changed. Child protection services should not be offered when incidences of abuses have occurred. It will be better when the helping system tries to find ways and means of preventing probable abuse. Some parents or families try to provide clues to child protection services; unfortunately, the signs are never taken seriously and abuse occurs in the end.

There is need for surveillance measures, which must be upheld in neighborhoods and communities to prevent abuse. Such measures will enhance trust between clients and child protection services and ease the dangers that come with child abuse. The helping system should also evaluate family needs and determine ways and means through which these needs can be met (Hughes, 2008). Helping systems should also provide reports that concur with one another and ensure that follow up is conducted. On the other hand, social workers need to be effectively trained so that they can offer quality services to their clients. Workers should be comprehensively trained on both basis and minor needs of their clients.

This will not only enhance quality services but also increase the levels of accuracy when it comes to compiling reports on child abuse. Helping systems should also work together and communicate with each other on how to solve matters concerning child abuse. There are cases organizations try to copy one another or even compete with each other forgetting that priority should be directed to the child. Organizations should avoid acting in self-interest and concentrate on the child.

Other than the helping system, the society in general should also undergo some changes to ensure a bright future for children. It is wrong to assume that parenting is anyone's affair. Issues such as poverty have had a negative impact on how children are raised. The society should take responsibility and assist in child nurturing. Various entities in the societies including the state can come in and assist those communities that are adversely affected by poverty. It is undisputable that children need to grow in a healthy environment. Healthy surroundings cannot be provided or created by an individual. Society members and entities need to come together and work in unison towards reducing child abuse.

The impact of child abuse does not just lower the status of the child but also that of the society in general (Reamer, 2003). It is unfair to watch children being mistreated and abused while something can be done about it. The future of any nation depends on how children are raised. Communities cannot have peace or feel secure when children are continuously being abused, and nothing is done about it. It should not just be left upon helping systems to ensure that children are secure in their homes. A collective effort is required in this area (Lonne, Thompson & Harries, 2009).

Q3. In the Voices of Youth video, you will meet numerous young adults who recently exited, or are still in a state foster care system. They shared their personal stories of abuse and experiences in foster care. In spite of their many traumatic experiences, they are now all moving forward from a position of strength with positive hopes for the future. First, briefly define the Resiliency Model. Then, using this video as your case study: What concepts from the Resiliency Model can you identify that were illustrated in their stories? Describe and explain. Considerations include: Did you hear any recurring themes mentioned by more than one of these young adults? What did they describe as being most valuable to them during their foster care experiences? Consider some of their recommendations: what treatment model(s) do their suggestions fall into?

This video can be accessed at: http://www.kidscount.org/kidscount/video/voices.html

Answer 3.

In the late twentieth century, research conducted with the aim of identifying the factors that render young individuals at risk of developing various issues like mental illnesses and drug abuse generated interest in the field of resilience (Trotter, 2002). Studies revealed that individuals exposed to various risk factors eventually developed into healthy and productive society members (Masten & Powell, 2003). The studies later focused on the resilience of young individuals. It later directed their attention on uncovering internal and external protective factors responsible in assisting individuals to respond after experiencing adverse situations. The protective factors have later been broadened and offer a clear explanation why some individuals are resilient compared to other people (Garmezy, 1991).

In the "Voices of Youths" video, the concepts from the resilience model that were illustrated from the story include the experience of life stressors such as being beaten repeatedly and finally getting used to the adversities and become resilient. The children at the foster care explain their experiences of the abuses they faced while under the program. The youths in this video all reveal not just a pattern of physical abuse but sexual and emotional too. The youths have been neglected by those tasked to care for them. However, the protective factors have interfered with the adversities that these young people are undergoing and have in turn rendered then resilient. The young people after being abused and experiencing resilience, they have adapted to the situation and fairing on even better than they were (Richardson, 2002). In this video, these adults mentioned recurring themes such as being beaten and neglected by their foster parents.

The aspect that these youths described as being most valuable to them during their foster care experiences was a secure home environment. The youths explained that the mistreatment they encountered from their foster parents made them feel insecure, experienced the lack of love and care. The youths explained that they felt like they were in a prison and had no right over themselves or anything. The treatment models that these youths suggest is one that clearly defines the role of service providers and other entities that are involved. The model suggested is one that should be well comprehended by the helping system and stakeholders. A comprehensively defined model is one that has been advocated for even in the area of research and it is aimed at influencing the families served positively. Studies conducted on children who have undergone adversity under caregivers reveal various characteristics that are common a. These characteristics known as "protective factors" often counter-attack the adversities experienced by children in foster homes.

The youths in foster care suggest that helping systems and the society must conduct follow up exercises to ensure that the children in foster care are treated well. Helping systems should also find means and ways of ensuring that the laws and rules concerning caregivers and children in foster homes are being followed. All children need to be loved because they are negatively affected in case they lack affection from parents. The needs of children in foster care are similar to the requirements of those children living with their real parents. It is inappropriate to mistreat a child just because one is not his or her biological parent. However, it is necessary to understand that child abuse does not only occur in foster homes. Normal households also experience various incidents of child abuse. Nonetheless, across the entire world, the quality of care being given to foster children is being questioned.

Q4. The Past: It took one hundred years between the case of Mary Ellen, which greatly influenced the intervention in child maltreatment, until laws were passed on a national level to protect children from child abuse and neglect. The Present: A significant barrier to reducing child abuse is the fact that there is no universally agreed-upon way to define maltreatment, nor is there one ideology (framework) used to define type of intervention and desired outcome. What societal and/or cultural factors can you identify that help explain the Past? What societal and/or cultural factors can you identify that help explain the Present? Are there similarities to these explanations, or are they totally divergent? Are there any lessons to be learned from the past to guide us on where we should go from here? Explain

Answer 4.

The case of May Ellen significantly influenced the intervention of child maltreatment although it took a century for any form of development on this matter to occur. There are various societal and cultural factors explaining the past. Child protection has recently attracted political and social interests. Forms of protection for children have only emerged in the recent past. Until recently, voluntary agencies or endorsed families were homes for abandoned children (Tomison, 2001). Only abandoned children were served. Child protection services from abusive parents or caregivers did not exist in the past (Liddell, 1993). Governments in Ellen's time believed that it was the sole responsibility of parents to take care of their children and treat them as they pleased. Definite laws to protect children from abuse lacked. The attitude of the western society in the past was cruel towards children.