Child Protective Social Work Role

Child protective services (CPS) is a government agency located in many states across the United States that helps children stay away from harm and abuse. Child protective services and its agencies plays a big role in society. Children of all ages are assaulted and most of the times by a dearest loved one. Child abuse is defined as any type of neglect upon a child including mentally, physically, and sexually.

There are many efforts that are made each day to ensure safety of children living in the state of Mississippi. The MS Department of Child Protection Services (MDCPS) is at the center of every community’s child protection efforts. MDCPS conducts initial assessments of reports of child abuse and/or neglect. The agency also provides other prevention services to children and families where maltreatment has occurred or is likely to occur. The adaptation of these services examines underlying conditions. These underlying conditions consist of drug and alcohol abuse, sexual molestation, poverty and cultural beliefs. MDCPS utilizes tools such as Comprehensive Family Assessments (CFA) and Family Service

I have often exaggerated the workplace and lifestyle of a social worker. After meeting with a fellow social worker, I am now able to understand their busy lifestyle. A social worker has to consider the struggles clients have experienced and hear their narratives. At the same time, these social workers need to keep their life in order in a professional and healthy way. A social worker I had the chance to meet, has endured four years of training at Thompson Rivers University: he received a bachelor degree off social work with a child welfare specialization, and two practicums, as well as regular training introduced by the government; that broadened his understanding on domestic violence, child welfare, and interview training. He stated six particular duties: provide child safety, child welfare, family care, community development, assisting individuals and being a go-to person to fellow clients (personal communication, January 27, 2016).

Social work professions need to understand the importance of how individuals interact both with other people and their environment, to have an understanding how individuals are affected by these interactions (Rogers, p. 2). According to Rogers (2016), “Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course; the range of social systems in which people live; and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well-being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development (p. 2). Their work with clients begins with assessments to evaluations of intervention and is based in and supports of the core value system of the profession.

Thanks Vanessa, you did a great job defining the role and use of supervision. I did not know if you noticed that Our Lady of the Lake mission’s statement is in perfect line with the social worker code of ethics. I would like to share what I found in similarity with our mission statement. According to the National Association of Social Work (2010), the mission of the social work profession is rooted in a set of core values. These core values, embraced by social workers throughout the professions’ history, are foundation of social work’s unique purpose and perspective. Service, Social justice, Dignity, Dignity and worth of the person, Importance of human relationships, Integrity, and Competence. This constellation of core values reflects what is unique to the social work profession. According to Kiser (2012) the field supervisor is key to student learning in any human services internship. Ideally, supervisory relationships are based on trust and mutual understanding. Great job and good luck.

On September 21, 2015, I met with Ms. Katie, a student in the MSW program at NCSU, to conduct an interview. We met at Starbucks in Cary, in the crossroads shopping center. Ms. Katie’s responses helped me learn and think about social workers in the child welfare social field. As a prospective social worker, my questions were formed based thoughts that I was concerned about my responsibilities in the social work field..

A social worker’s field placement and internship experience are the uttermost integral component of his or her social work education. This experience can vary in both quantity and quality depending on the type of leadership and guidance the social worker is receiving. Supervisors play a fundamental role in the guidance and training of a new social worker during his or her internship. Having similar work styles as your supervisor can lead to a satisfying field placement experience.

I believe that the most challenging aspect of working in protective services is separating work from home. Being able to "leave work at work" is difficult to do for any position, especially when considering deadlines that must be met and paperwork that must be completed. Working in protective services provides the additional challenge of leaving the horrifying images and circumstances that a service worker will see and face at the door before entering the home. Protective services appeals to me specifically because I want to assist children and families in facing some of the darkest moments in their lives. While it is difficult to separate work from home, working in protective services is one of the most worthwhile things one can do and one

The authors of this study choose to perform a qualitative study because of the small number of participants. The sample was collected purposefully to focus on what social workers experienced when working with

Social work is one of the most diverse fields in that there are so many distinct areas that social workers can specialize in such as family, children and school social work; community social work; health and medical social work; mental health and psychiatric social work; substance abuse social work; hospice social work; military social work; as well as positions in policy, administration and research. Because the field is so varied, there is no one size fits all leadership style. Each of these distinct subdivisions of the social work field calls for different leadership styles. Also dependent on the most effective leadership style in any given work environment is the employees themselves, as some may need a more transactional approach where as other may work better with a non-transactional laissez-faire style of leadership.

Maurice William’s understands that social workers get tired because of their relentless job responsibilities, therefore, she makes sure they don’t experience burn out since it is her responsibility to keep the families intact (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Since she is not out in the field visiting the homes, she puts her faith in her upper management team to be able to listen and pay attention to any problems or potential future problems (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011). Since she is unable to be out in the field, Williams uses her supervisory skills to train her staff to be able to identify potential problems and also to report back to her what the problems are. If there were problems out in the field (i.e., foster parents, foster children), she shoulders the full responsibility to make sure that the problems are addressed and resolved, or modify changes that are in the best interest of the children.

Young (2014) provided personal insight from her own experiences from a social work intern student to a coordinator. The article examined some tips and guidelines for new social worker intern students before beginning at their first field placement. The author identified that new interns are going to be nervous and unsure in the beginning. It is important for the student to take their time and ask questions to become more knowledgeable at their agency. She advised the student to have a positive learning attitude when observing the social worker. The article stated that the internship gives the student the opportunity to be expose to the field and is the best opportunity for the student to develop skills. Young expressed the internship should be taking seriously by the student. This article conveyed valuable learning opportunities and challenges that the student will be expose to in their

Leadership and social work go hand in hand. Oftentimes social workers are the first to identify instances where policies, procedures, and programs that are ready or overdue for change (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 73).

Child and family social workers are professionals tasked with improving the quality of lives of children and their families. They often focus on both the psychological and social set ups of families and children, and deal with situations, such as homelessness, poverty, child abuse and domestic violence.

This kind of social work may also include things like setting up an adoption or foster home and even bringing families back together. In a way child and family social work is similar to Department of children and families (D.C.F). They may also work within schools in helping counsel about teenage pregnancy, extreme behavior, and advising teachers/