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. Standardisation of policy and practice needed nationally. - The need for a system to hold agencies to account and to clarify their roles and responsibilities. - The need for a statutory requirement for agencies to participate in order to ensure that sufficient priority is accorded to adult protection issues. - The need to give adult protection equivalent status to child protection. There can be a difference in views from those held by professionals about the meaning of the term ‘adult protection’, with little overall awareness of the systems relating to adult protection that exist. For those people with experience of adult protection systems, the lack of involvement of service users and their carers within adult protection systems, can cause problems around the apparent lack of inter-agency work in this area,
NHS and community care act 1990: sets out the duties of local authorities to assess an individual’s needs and ensure that each individual receives the required services to which they are entitled. Human rights act 1998: sets out an individual’s rights and freedoms under the law. Carers act 2004: ensures carers are identified and informed of their rights and that their needs for education, training, employment and leisure are taken into consideration. Mental capacity act 2005: provides the legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of those who lack the mental understanding to do so themselves. Safeguarding vulnerable groups act 2006: ensures unsuitable persons are barred from working with vulnerable adults and that employers
Many people are supported in their homes by people who work along side the health and social care service such as social workers,nursers ,doctor and care givers or they may get support from their family members and friends. An elderly person may choose to stay in their own homes instead of a residential care home while seeking help and support from others,however this can lead to potential opportunities for abuse happening to the person who Is being looked after. When an individual is getting support at home by a carer, the individual being cared for is vulnerable and defenseless and therefor this makes them a target for abuse,another example is abuse by strangers,when an elderly person lives alone they are at risk of people calling at the door and then gaining access to their homes,they may steal items from them or mistreat them or cause intimidation. A person who is vulnerable and living alone are at risk of physical and sexual because there is no one there to stop this abuse from happening.
The author, Woods, aimed to prove that the court system should be looking more carefully when deeming a guardian appropriate to care for a vulnerable elder. “Guardians must act under the strictest standards of care and accountability-and the court has responsibility for oversight” (Woods, 2012).The goal of thoroughly examining the guardian is to reduce the likelihood that abuse will occur later on. A “Five-Plus-Five” formula was developed to help guardians protect the rights of the vulnerable elderly who need cared for. There are five questions that should be asked prior to appointing a guardian and after the guardianship is implemented.
As a community we want to ensure that our elderly and vulnerable adults are protected. In Buncombe County, 17.5 percent of residents are over the age of 65 and 12 percent of the population 18 and over have one or more types of disabilities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Our neighbors, relatives, and friends all deserve to be cared for appropriately and we are a key part to ensuring that they are safe. North Carolina’s Adult Protective Services law provides protection to all adults over the age of 18 who have a disability and who might be abused, neglected or exploited and who might be in the need of protective services. This can look like a caretaker that withholds appropriate medical care for an adult with a disability, a disabled
Identifying people at risk of abuse and neglect It is important when working in a health and social care environment that service providers are able to recognise or identify people who are at risk of suffering from abuse or neglect. Some abusers are aware the care worker’s role. This role is to make sure that they are able to report concerns and will make user that they don’t abuse or neglect a service user in front of others. In addition to this, it is important that a service provider is able to spot of there has been any changes in behaviour in a certain service user who they are giving help to.
These seven goals are as follows: “filling service gaps, educating the public, training professionals, enhancing adult protective services, increasing prosecuting, maximizing resources, and eliminating policy barriers” (78). If the government and society worked towards improving these goals, then elderly abuse will
Having knowledge of social policies is essential to address elder abuse because it is crucial to have valued information to provide to the service user or how to report any type of abuse or neglect with seniors. In Canada, elder abuse legislation is a responsibility of federal, provincial and municipal (Podnieks, 2008). Likewise, the federal Criminal Code (1985) defines the standards for criminal justice through the country. Hence, this code has strengths and limitation regarding elder abuse.
been left to local or state governments or non-profit organizations. This not only raises public awareness, but provides hope for those who feel powerless when someone they care about has experienced abuse. However, adult maltreatment is still falling behind fields, such as child abuse and violence against women, in federal funding. Furthermore, after reading the book “Protecting the Shadow.”
Safeguarding is protecting people's health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. Abuse comes in many forms, for example, physical, sexual, verbal, financial, emotional, discriminatory abuse and neglect and working in substance misuse it is important for me to protect individuals against safeguarding issues, such as blood borne viruses, drug awareness, drug dealing, sex working, domestic violence, neglect to others and self-neglect. I have worked with vulnerable adults, who are or may be in need of community care services due to mental or other disability, age or illness, and who are or may be unable to take care of themselves, or unable to protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation. Safeguarding adults involves protecting their rights to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. I have worked in partnership to prevent the risk of abuse or neglect and stopped it from happening.
“A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds” (“Child Abuse Statistics”). Social workers help the children who are abused get out of their unsafe homes and getting them proper education and care. As one prepares for a future in the field of social work, one must consider the job description, educational requirements, the NASW Code of Ethics, the duties and responsibilities, the type of social work, the work environment, and the wages and benefits. There are many different types of social workers, but they all have one thing in common: helping people. Social workers help with people's problems ranging from mentally, emotionally, physically, or even just helping with their daily lives.
In order to help with elder abuse from family taking care of them, families should be provided with more at-home care for their seniors to help relieve stress from the family who is caring for them. Society needs to be more aware of how mistreated our elders are, especially with the baby boomers becoming older and increasing the elderly population. Lastly, the regulations involving abuse need to be adjusted to help the elderly. Since the regulations involving abuse aren’t as fine tuned as they should
“ Every person – no matter how young or now old – deserves to be safe from harm by those who live them, care for them, or came in day-to-day contact with them”(solution for elder abuse & neglect, 2012). Older people today are more visible, more dynamic and more independent than ever earlier. Each year, hundreds of thousands of elder’s persons are mistreated, neglected and exploited by their household members and others. Also, it is hard to set an end to unless people to recognize the abuse and let someone know it is taking place. Older people who experience abuse may have serious health implications, as well as various psychological disturbances, including stress level, anxiety, depression and weakness.
Clearly stated in the article, there is a clear stigma associated with the power imbalances within the dynamic relationships social workers are entangled in with their clients. There has been an unrealistically dismal amount of effort allocated into the investigation needed to be conducted where researchers would be sent out to explore and analyze the parents’ feelings with regards to Childe Protective Services based solely on their prior experiences and interactions with the organization. Several explorations have been conducted (Farmer, 1993; Haight et al., 2002; Winefield and Barlow, 1995) which take into consideration the parents’ responses in their studies. Unfortunately, the focus point of these studies was aimed at the overall satisfaction
Elder abuse can be referred to as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. Elderly people often get abuse by people who should be their protector and carer, in most circumstances many elderly adults are abused in their own homes, in relatives’ homes, and even in facilities responsible for their care. If you suspect that an elderly person is at risk from a neglectful or overwhelmed caregiver, or being preyed upon financially, it’s important to speak up. Learning about the warning signs of elder abuse, what the risk factors are, and how you can prevent and report the problem it’s very vital in protecting the elderly from abuse, some of these abuse are; • Not caring for someone property (neglect) • Pressuring
Why Child Abuse? Child abuse forms may outlooks within the social work profession. These outlooks can shape social workers views ethically, personally, and professionally. Social workers have a challenging time with ethical values. This is because of the ethical dilemmas that arise.