Charlotte Newcombe Scholarship Application (Autobiographical Description)

The roles that childhood trauma has on adult social lives is tremendous. It is important for social work practitioners to closely abide by the NASW Code of Ethics when working with this population to combat resurfacing and unaddressed childhood trauma. When assisting clients social workers should pay special attention to specific values such as: dignity and worth of a person and competence. When clients seek service or they are mandated to receive service from social workers it is our job to keep the best interest of the client at hand and make them feel warmth and genuineness. It is hard for clients to touch on childhood traumatic experiences because some do not know what trauma is and when they let us in we have to ensure that we do not make

Our life experiences play a large role in shaping who we are as people. My childhood experiences influenced the woman that I am today. My father was abusive. He abused my mother, my siblings, and myself. Whether it was a domestic assault against my mother, slapping of my siblings, or a daily cursing session, our house has always been in turmoil. There were adults that knew about the abuse going on in my home, including teachers. However, none of them intervened for my brothers and I. I cannot help but wonder how my life would have been different if someone had. Experiencing child abuse, as well as my mother’s domestic abuse, is my greatest catalyst in pursing a graduate degree in social work. Pablo Picasso once said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” Child abuse could have broken my spirit but it made me stronger. It sparked my interest in mental health, and showed me the importance of compassion. I plan to use my gift to help others improve their quality of mental health, and encourage the development of self-determination.

East Carolina University is and has always been a dream school for many students including myself. I have grown up hearing about the University and it is nothing short of spectacular. Many family members of mine have attended East Carolina, and I have always pictured myself at this school. It would be an honor to be a pirate. Throughout high school I have struggled in Science and Math. I know I could have done better in high school but in life you can always do something better, im eager to push myself more and work harder than ever to succeed as an adult, if given the chance There are many times when I should I have put school in front of my extra curricular activities such as dancing, art, work, tennis, and swimming. However, all of those

When I was five years old, my mom told me that there were some children who didn’t have moms. I was shocked, and told my mother frankly that I’d be their mom. Caring for children with early trauma has been the driving passion of my life. When I was six and again when I was eight, my parents adopted children from Vietnam. Having siblings who were born and orphaned in another country put a very personal face for me on human rights and child welfare issues around the world. I’ve spent the last four years working for the International Foster Care program at Catholic Charities Fort

Other health problems arise when the trauma from past experiences such as abuse or violence in the home cause long term effects in the children. The needs of children in foster care are multifaceted and the problems are exacerbated when the resources in the community are scarce and when the service system is fragmented (Halfon, Berkowitz, & Klee, 1993). Due to the complexity of their problems and the degree of vulnerability, a well-trained and

This inability to cope with their child’s intellectual or developmental disability often leads to improper care, and in extreme cases, abuse. Aside from the abovementioned causes, a small percentage of placement is due to particular environmental factors such as financial need, inadequate housing, or chronic unemployment, but poverty frequently contributes to the crises that require children to be placed in foster care (McDonald). While the overall goal is to reunite these children back with their families, sometimes that option isn’t feasible and while some children are fortunate enough to gain kinship care, others aren’t as fortunate. “Foster care includes a wide variety of placement options including emergency shelters, diagnostic centers, foster boarding homes, kinship foster homes, agency-operated boarding homes, group homes, group residences, child care institutions and residential treatment centers” (FC & EC). With so many options for placement that a child can be exposed to, it provides various dimensions that can impact child development, especially with those with past trauma history. The type of residence a child is placed in, whether it’s kin or non-kin, how many children are already in the residence, the type of staff and the support services provided all play a crucial role in their developing growth and overall success in the system.

Ever since I was a kid I have always thought about what college I was eventually going to go to. I made the decision in high school that I wanted to be a special education teacher, so I thought about some schools that had that teaching program. My number one school I wanted to attend that had the best teaching program was East Carolina University. Having ECU as my number one choice lead me to apply there. Weeks after I applied I got a letter telling me some sad news that I was not accepted. Since I applied to ECU and did not get in, I was now thinking about applying to other schools like Methodist University or maybe a community college.

National Honors Society is an amazing opportunity to be chosen for. By being accepted, it shows that the hard work that I have done in the classroom, and in the community have done well for not only the community but for myself as a person. Since I have started High-school, I have done many volunteer hours at my church. I have done many things such as help lead game-time for the little ones during a learning program called Awana. Awana is a program done by some churches to help raise children to love and serve God. I also help most Sundays in the sound room at church. I help to run the sound and the computer that displays the songs that we are doing that particular Sunday. I enjoy doing these things because seeing the children’s faces, enjoying

“Survivor”, 2005). This experience turned an otherwise lovely and caring mother into an individual that

Cameron Academy, the place where it all started for me. The first ever school that I had gone to. It was the place where I learned to fear anyone older and bigger than you because the teenagers there were not above fighting kindergarteners. Where I learned that the safest place to be after school was the office because the fights between the police and the students that took place outside on the front steps of the school were too brutal for me to witness; at least that's what my mom told me. That school was the place where I learned to be ashamed of any art that I may produce, to always keep it to myself, lest I be laughed at by the teachers. Cameron Academy is where I learned that “bad” kindergarteners who were in Ms. Valorie’s class got beat up.

Yet children in the foster care system generally suffer severe amounts of trauma compared to the average child. These experiences may include the trauma that was caused due to their removal from the home or even perhaps due to abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse, and the trauma of separation from their families, and the potential trauma involved with numerous removals and placements in out-of-home care creating severe turmoil and separation anxiety. (Racusin, Maerlender, Sengupta, Isquith, & Straus, 2005, p.588). Every therapist who has children that are in or have been in the foster care system should have training in TF-CBT, regular forms of therapy will not help these children and their deep seeded issues. Cohen, Mannarino, and Knudsen (2005) presented a1-year follow-up on the results of a randomized trial of a trauma-focused cognitive behavioral (TF-CBT) intervention for sexually abused children and their parents. The findings confirm that TF-CBT is an effective intervention and that gains are sustained over time, meaning not only is there short term gain there is also mid-term and long-term gain equaling out to an entire lifetime. (Berliner, 2005, p.103). More importantly, the authors show that it is not just providing treatment that makes the difference; the type of treatment matters, one cannot expect these children to be able to handle themselves with just any form of psychological or therapeutic treatment these types of gains only come with

I was only two years old when my mother passed away. Left with an absentee father, I felt a void in my life. I was constantly misunderstood by other family members, which triggered my aggressive behaviors and communication style. Unable to cope with my emotions as an adolescent, I sought help from my school’s social worker. For the first time, it felt great to express my feelings without worrying about being judged. Through our regular meetings, she helped me improve my social development and attitude. She changed my life as I was becoming a better person. In addition, with her assistance, my family and I were able to value communication, understand each other and live in a healthier environment. This chapter of my life has inspired me to pursue a career in social work and be part of a team who continuously helps people overcome obstacles in their lives.

As a foster child, I lacked a true role model for the beginning slice of my life. In my first six years the Department of Family and Children’s Services or DFACS had dragged my brother and I from foster home to foster home to orphanage to foster home. The idea that a family would care enough or love us enough to keep us was something that was hoped for with a deep heartfelt affliction as the children that we were. Then one day everything changed… a social worker from DFACS had came to the school my brother and I were going to.

My parents sent me off to Los Angeles when I was in 4th grade to pursue an acting career. I went from audtion to audtion, doing short/student films, plays, and pagents just to get my name out there. I landed a comercial for Time Warner Cable(Southern California Company) as a nerd in a science academy. This lifestyle took dedication and because my mom owned businesses in Salinas, my dad lived with me. We would still travel 6/7 hours every other weekend back and forth from Salinas to Los Angeles.

I had the opportunity on Friday, February 10th, 2017 to visit with Samantha Sanchez, a professional from the Kansas Children’s Service League regarding their Oasis program. The Oasis program works to serve youth, ages 10-17, that are either at risk for running away or have already run away from home. Sanchez is a case manager through KCSL and works with families and youth to prevent run-aways and build strong families. Before working at KCSL, Samantha completed a degree in psychology and had every intention of working in the field of family and children psychology. While applying for jobs after graduation, her application landed on Amber’s, her current supervisor’s, desk. Although it was not her original intended career, Samantha assured me that KCSL’s Oasis program is her home.