Advanced Practice I : Children, Youth, Women And Families

The primary clients that the agency services are the children whom are considered the alleged victims. The organization also works with the parents and any other adult that is considered an alleged perpetrator. As stated on the DFPS website “The mission of The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is to protect children, the elderly, and people with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation by involving clients, families, and communities”. Child Protective Services was established to investigate all allegations of abuse and/or neglect of children under the age of eighteen. The investigation is usually initiated through an intake-the process where information is received from an outside source- doctor, family, friend, school personnel, law enforcement etc. - to the agency

It has been debated that children and families have received poor service because of the failure of professionals in understanding each other’s roles or working together in a multi-disciplinary

A report was received on 06/05/2017 alleging that the mother (Hermionne) left Ashante (C-V 17) with a non-relative since 02/2017 without any legal rights. According to the report, the mother refuses to take her child back home and will not engage with Ms. Aarons (caretaker) to provide legal documentation for the child to be enroll in school and taken to a Primary Care Physician. Ashante has not been is school for the past 4 months and are unable to enroll in school without paperwork. According to the report, Ashante self mutilates her arms, and the mother refuses to get counseling. The report indicates Ashante was to follow-up with a Cardiologist for a chest pain and the mother refuses to take her to the doctor.

When children come into the custody of DCFS and are placed into Foster Care they are scared, confused, lonely, and usually conditioned not to tell when they are being mistreated. Most of the children that come into “the system” have learned to accept abuse as normal or natural and are unaware that they are even being mistreated. Therefore, when they are placed in homes where this is occurring it is not in their nature to speak up. Once they are removed from their parents, they are solely reliant on the department for their protection and it is the department’s responsibility to provide that protection which has not always been fulfilled by the department or the foster care agencies. The department should be making reasonable efforts to provide proper services

Tennessee Department of Children’s Services also referred to as DCS is a public, nonprofit organization that has the responsibility of protecting children from abuse and neglect. DCS provides a wide range of services to help children and their families, including temporary care for children who cannot safely remain in their own homes, as well as permanent homes for those children who are legally free for adoption. DCS currently have approximately 8,000 children in state custody (www.state.tn.us.gov).

The current five step program enacted by the Department of Human Services is both inefficient and permissive, calling for minimal action and few opportunities for the reconnection of a family. Often times, case workers of the Department of Human Services (DHS) attempt to persuade young people into removal and treatment with no clear understanding of the challenges that the family faces. Case workers, although inclined to tell you they are there to keep the family together, often lead to tearing a family apart because of the lack of assistance offered by DHS. A study done by Roan Fairbairn and David Murray explored the gaps in care provided by DHS and its workers, with the outcomes of the youth involved; most importantly targeting how case workers interacted with young people, stating that “strategies that attempt to engage young people in a dialogue about their individual circumstances, including drug use, may be more effective than attempts to coerce them into treatment.” They go on to explain that “practioners with the best intentions intervene and inadvertently cause more harm for the clients than if they had not acted at all.” (Fairbairn and Murray 18) Little is available in terms of a nationwide change. In recent years, a call to action has been released with a keen eye on the lack of progress made by DHS to change their system. The Children’s Bureau is one of many organizations that plan to tackle this issue head on. Upon review of DHS it was discovered that of the

personal communication). The child in the Gann’s care was in six different homes in the year leading up to placement with them and it was the result of physical abuse; one removal was the result of physical abuse by the caretaker’s adult son. The agency needs to do more thorough background checks on anybody who will be in frequent contact with the child in everyday life to strive for more stability, so that the child does not endure multiple placements in such short amount of time.

By defining admission criteria, NDCC 25.03.2-06 gives a place for society’s most troubled youth a place to stay without placing them in an inappropriate level of care. However, families without insurance cannot send their children to these programs, which would leave the some youth without the help that they need. They may have to enter the child welfare or juvenile delinquency system before their issues are addressed by a PRTF, as then they would qualify for Medical Assistance through the government (B. Novotny, personal communication, October 26, 2017) . Unfortunately, further damage and trauma may have been done just by being in those alternate systems. However, PRTF do offer a place for some youth to receive treatment before more drastic measures may be taken and gives them a chance at a more normal life.

On Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at approximately 1902 hours, I responded to Division of Family and Children Services, 975 Taylor Street for a Runaway Juvenile. Upon my arrival I met with the complainant Kathy Suber. Suber advised me she is a case worker for DFACS and Tretanya Fitzerald left the location.

The court has made the decision that the Child Welfare program should be given temporary legal custody of your child. Based on state and federal laws the placement of children is only completed with considerable evidence that the child is unsafe due to abuse or neglect. The business practices and decisions made concerning Protective Services are not determined unilaterally but involve many individuals who evaluate the safety and welfare of children with the objective of keeping them safe from abuse and neglect. Making decisions in this fashion ensures that impartial, neutral individuals will facilitate the decision-making rather than one individual. Removing children from their families can be a traumatic, life changing event and is not done without considerable deliberation and

Being placed in the guardianship of DCFS also carries with it the possibility of being placed in the Department of Juvenile Justice under Section 3-10-11 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The sentence to IDOJJ means that Andrew could be placed in “any program or facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice, or any juvenile residential facility.” Furthermore “a minor transferred under this Section shall remain in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice until the Department of Juvenile Justice determines that the minor is ready to leave its program.” Once it is determined that the juvenile is ready to leave IDOJJ, a transition plan will be put in place with cooperation from DCFS “to move the minor to an alternative program.” With this sentence option, a minor transferred to IDOJJ cannot “remain in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice for a period of time in excess of that period for which an adult could be committed for the same act.” This means that Andrew could spend an undisclosed amount of time in IDOJJ custody. The length of his sentence

The FS family came to the agency's attention on 03/03/16 (prior to the PUR) for a report of Physical Abuse/Passive Physical Abuse and Unspecified Abuse against the mother. Although the allegations were not substantiated, the family was referred and opened in the voluntary Family Services program on 5/2/2016 due to a multidisciplinary staffing recommendation. Prior to this investigation, the family had multiple investigations and non-accepted reports. The family household consisted of the mother and her 2 children. The father of the youngest child resided with them at the beginning and end of the Family Services case with a separation in the middle of the case. The father of the oldest child (referred to during the review as the first child’s

Family and Youth Services Bureau, which is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, runaway and homeless (DHHS) management for children and families Youth Act (RHY) setup. RHY Act contains the following four programs:

Reason for Referral and Presenting Issues: Elizabeth was referred, due to domestic violence in the home. As a result of the domestic violence incident the children were removed and place with family. Elizabeth requires services to maintain a parent/child bond. Elizabeth also needs to ensure a safe living environment for herself and family. The presenting issue is that Elizabeth often defers to her husband to establish the circumstances surrounding of her visits. For example Elizabeth tends to schedule she visit based on his availability which cause frequent changes in visitation times, locations, and activities during visits.

There are a lot of things that has to happen when the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) take protective custody (PC) of a child. After DCFS has taken PC over a child or children they have to have court within 2 days. The court date is considered the first court hearing. The perpetrator is encouraged to come and they have been appointed and attorney. The attorney will be there to represent their client at this first initial court hearing.