Child Welfare Policy Summary

Consistent with the value of personalismo, parents stress the importance of a good relationship with their worker and the implications to their case. Child welfare policy is another factor that can impact workers’ abilities to provide culturally congruent services. Conflicts with child welfare workers may arise as policies that guide the public child welfare system practices are child centered and reflect main-stream values influenced by individualistic world views. The findings from this qualitative study indicate that substantial change is required if we truly aim to provide culturally congruent and relevant services to the families served by the public child welfare system. Towards this aim, child welfare practice and policies need (1) to be informed by the families’ perspectives, and (2) to address child welfare workers’ need for training and support.

The overarching goal of Child Protective Services (CPS) is to protect children from instances of future abuse or neglect. In general, CPS is responsible for investigations of allegations of abuse and neglect, to initiate child protective proceedings and place children into foster homes when needed, with each state taking a different approach in how their agency is structured and operated. In the state of New York, CPS “first obligation is to help the family with services to prevent its break-up or to reunite it if the child has already left home” (FindLaw, 2016). The protection of the child focuses “on the child in the context of the family, and recognizes the value of the family to the child” (NY Committee on Children and Families, 2001).

Each day, the safety and well-being of children across the Nation are threatened by child abuse and neglect. Intervening effectively in the lives of these children and their families are not the sole responsibility of any agency, but rather the safety and the care of the children in need. Child Protective Services (CPS) was created by law to make sure children are safe and to help families create a safe environment for their children. When investigating a report of abuse or neglect, CPS seeks active involvement from the children’s parents and other family members to help solve issues that lead to abuse or neglect. The objective of CPS is to reunify parents and children whenever possible, and if reunification is not possible, CPS will seek to

Although child abuse has had a long-standing presence throughout United States history, laws to protect children only began in the early 20th century. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), approximately 3.4 million cases of child maltreatment was reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) in 2011 involving about 6.2 million children. Of those, approximately 681,000 children, were determined to be victims. Child maltreatment has become a widespread public health issue that requires careful attention from professionals and lawmakers in order to protect the safety and health of children across the country.

Policies are put in place for people to follow not only in the government setting but also in much smaller settings. According to Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman (2016) defines policy as a clearly stated or implicit procedure, plan, rule, or stance concerning some issue that serves to guide decision making and behavior (p. 87). In the social work field policies are put into place so that there is guarantee that all clients are treated with the same respect and are offered the resources that are available to them in their community. In this paper I will discuss policies that are in place for children that are being abused and what is in place to help them. Not only are we concerned with if these policies are working but also how are they being paid

The current risk assessment process reinforces the idea that once the risk is identified or properly addressed, the children are safe and prevented from future risk. It also broadens the false notion that child welfare means protection of the children rather than providing support to the children and

When working with children and young people, it is important that their safety and well-being is paramount. There are a number of guidelines, policies and procedures which cover the safeguarding of pupils, including;

On November 18, 1999, the House of Representatives passed the H.R.3443, which is The Foster Care Act of 1999. This was signed into law by former President, Bill Clinton. The Foster Care Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-169) is there to help the many young adults who age out of the foster care system and have nowhere to go and no family to rely on (Social Security, 2015). With so many young adults aging out of the foster care system, there has to be a solution as to what they do next.

It is the on-going social worker’s responsibility to provide professional child welfare social work services, through home visits, to the family. This is done by assessing the family’s strengths and needs, developing

Thru my investigation, I found that the DSS began recruiting non-profit organizations in the community like La Alianza to fulfill its sociocultural gap; especially, racial and ethnic minorities to provide the welfare for the abused and neglected children in the state of Massachusetts. A collaborative relationship with La Alianza was established by DSS, with an intention to manage and offer better child welfare services. La Alianza was highly reputable at the time in fulfilling its mission. DSS hoped that La Alianza would close the cultural sensitivity gap they were struggling with in providing the childcare and family needs in the Hispanic community.

Within this article, there are guidelines for caseworkers that work with child protective services (CPS). There are seven stages in the CPS process. The stages consist of intake, initial assessment or investigation, comprehensive family assessment, planning, service provision, evaluation of family progress, and case closure. There are several core values that CPS workers follow. One of the stages that I focused on while reading is that CPS workers work hard to guarantee the safety of children within their family and home.

There was the child saving efforts that happened in the United States in the 1800’s that has helped to evolve the system of child welfare (Mizrahi & Davis, 2008). The first government department that focused on the safety of children was created in 1912, the children’s bureau still remains in today’s child welfare system (Mizrahi & Davis, 2008, p. 279). Based on the practice update from 2010 social workers in the child welfare field use strength based theory to help youth aging out of foster care. One point that was in the practice update is that the social worker is able to see strengths of the child and help them to see those strengths to set goals for their future (Torrico, 2010).

Competency Statement III To support social and emotional development and to provide positive guidance. My goal in a child care facility would be to make sure to support the social development of the children as well as the emotional development too. I would also make sure to provide them with positive guidance. They need a positive guidance in their life especially at the age that they are in.

Safeguarding is an important part of integrated working. When professionals work together in an integrated way, they put the individual at the centre of all activities to help identify their holistic needs earlier to improve their life outcomes. It is important to see safeguarding as part of a continuum, where prevention and early intervention can help children, vulnerable adults and families get back on track and avoid problems turning into a crisis. Protection is a central part of safeguarding and promoting welfare. It is the process of protecting an individual identified as either suffering or at risk of suffering significant harm as a result of abuse or neglect.

Foster care is not a perfect system. Many children that are put into the foster care system are separated from their siblings and put into harmful environments. These environments are supposed to be safe and give the child a chance at a better life. However, children living in group homes are not able to develop secure attachment to the people who are supposed to take care of them. Children bounce back and forth from house to house, family to family, causing them to live in an unstable environment through most (if not all of) their child hood. According to childrensrights.org, Children will be “further abused in systems that are supposed to protect them” (Newsroom/fact sheet). Some children end up back into that abusive or unsafe environment