What Are The Key Issues In The 2014 Justina Pelletier Case
It is clear that Massachusetts’s child protection laws, as written in Part 1 Title 17 chapter 119, have a primary aim of establishing rules, which best protect the children of the commonwealth against harm that they may encounter under the supervision of their parents or legal guardians. These laws influence the enforced policies in government organizations, such as the Department of Children and Families (DCF). These policies in turn have the potential to negatively affect respective children and families within a society. This potential harm calls for a change in policy and law. This paper will address and analyze key issues in DCF policy, as made apparent through the 2014 Justina Pelletier case, and how they stem from inconsistencies between …show more content…
After hearing both sides, they would have been able to make an educated decision on what was actually in the best interest of the child. It is clear that the protocol established by the DCF’s policy was poorly followed, or not followed at all, in this case. Of the types of causal theories discussed by Deborah Stone (2012), the Pelletier case would evidently fit under the category of an inadvertent cause, which is guided and unintended. Some of the characteristics of this theory are avoidable ignorance, carelessness, and unanticipated harmful side effects of policy (Stone, 2012).
There is no doubt that the DCF has been successful in removing children from their homes. However, there is little evidence to support the idea that the DCF has actually strengthened or provided families with the tools needed to successfully rehabilitate and no longer need government welfare agencies, such as the DCF. The cause of this stems back to Massachusetts laws that focus on establishing rules that promote parent deterrence, but fail to consider deterrence policies for agency employees (Gen. Laws,
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Laws, 2014). This entire chapter on child protection laws does not mention how and if a child is to be protected from government agencies that fail to properly perform their functions. This leaves children vulnerable to the harms of being placed in unfit foster homes or under the supervision of under or unqualified adults. It also puts the child at risk of not getting the appropriate help in time to prevent a tragedy from occurring, which ultimately makes for a counterproductive
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1758 Words | 8 PagesPolicy Analysis: Megan’s Law Sexual violence, particularly against children, is a significant issue all around the world. In the early 1990’s in the United States, there were multiple well-publicized cases of sexual violence against children. From kidnappings, to rapes, and everything in between, violence was being committed against children and something needed to be done about it. In 1996, Megan’s Law was passed in response to the sexual assault and death of Megan Kanka, a seven-year-old from New Jersey (Corrigan, 2006).
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765 Words | 4 PagesKey features of this change that can be found in other states child reform programs as well. The key features in the RC vs. Alabama contract are “commitments to “system investments” or infrastructure development such as equipment acquisition or training for sophisticated information processing systems; increase of caseworkers and supervisors, with a goal towards getting caseloads down to some benchmark and establishment of minimum qualifications for workers” (Noonan, K. G., Et al. 2009). There were also typically commitments “to monitor compliance with a series of procedural and documentation norms.” (Noonan, K. G., Et al, 2009). This approach also gives structure to three themes that have long defined the back ground legislation of the child welfare system.
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Explain The Current Legislation Guidelines Policies And Procedures For Safeguarding The Welfare Of Children
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