Baby Kim Case Study: If

Baby Kim Case Study:

If What ethical standards (Statements #1-9, the Human Service Professional's Responsibility to Clients) relate directly to the Baby Kim Case? Explain your answer.

In consideration of the conditions relating to Baby Kim's case, the primary statement offered as and ethical standard for human services which seems most to apply is Statement 4. This considers the necessity promoted in this case to intervene on behalf of Baby Kim. It is clear that parental drug problems have created a situation of potential endangerment for the child. According to the National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) (1996), "If it is suspected that danger or harm may occur to the client or to others as a result of a client's behavior, the human service professional acts in an appropriate and professional manner to protect the safety of those individuals." (NOHS, 1) This is an ethical justification for intervening on behalf of Kim.

Which of the 9 statements might be challenging for a human services professional working with Baby Kim's family? Why?

Among the statement provided by the NOHS, perhaps the most challenging to the human services professional would be that which demands the respect toward and building of the client's strengths. Here, Statement 9 dictates that it should be considered the responsibility of the human services professional to cultivate the ability of the parents to raise their children in a healthy, safe and nurturing environment. This may require one to overcome certain hostilities toward the family in question for endangering Baby Kim in the first place in order to identify and work with those positive traits demonstrated by the parents.

3. If you were assigned to work with Kim's family, how would you handle yourself? If you were uncomfortable with their choices or what was happening in the family, would you express your feelings? Why or why not?

I would consider Kim's family to be susceptible to positive change. Several aspects of the family profile suggest that where drug abuse may be present, its usage has not reached the point of unraveling the family altogether. The health and adjustment of the other two children, as well as clean and orderly state of the house and the intact earning potential of the father suggest that it would be more appropriate to keep the family together and focus on rehabilitation services for both parents. Where it is evident that the parents have run afoul of their rehabilitation responsibilities, I would be inclined to verbally intervene with the intention of advising them on how to protect their interests.

4. How would you adhere to Statement #2 and make sure that you are treating the client with respect, acceptance and dignity?

I would work to maintain the dignity of clients by making as a primary priority the stability of the whole family unit. Removing Baby Kim from the care of the parents appears not to be the best way to pursue this end. Therefore, I would consider it important to work with the parents to emphasize their strengths, which in the case of the mother appears to be domestic responsibilities and rearing her children and in the case of the father appears to be his ability to earn a stable living. These areas should be used to promote drug rehabilitation and parent skill training.

5. Based on what you've learned, why do you think the children were placed in foster care?

Based on what I have learned, it is my understanding that a drug-filled environment is not suitable for raising a child. Therefore, Baby Kim has been remanded to foster care for her own protection from this context. According to the National Drug Endangered Children Training & Advocacy Center (NDEC-TAC), "a majority of substantiated child abuse cases involving adult drug activity by the offending adult. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of drug arrests are made each year that involve children who are not interviewed and are left in a potentially dangerous environment. Children of addicts are an estimated four to seven times more likely to become addicts themselves if they remain in a drug-using environment." (NDEC-TAC, 1)