Child Welfare Is A Program That Helps Improve The Lives Of Disadvantaged Children

Child welfare systems typically receive and investigate reports of possible child abuse and neglect; provide services to families that need assistance in the protection and care of their children; arrange for children to live with foster families when they are not safe at home; and arrange for reunification, adoption, or other permanent family connections for children leaving foster care.When you look up what the Child welfare system it says,

The United States is the richest nation, yet millions of Americans live below the poverty line and millions more struggle every month. The children in society today living in poverty is increasing daily. The majority of these children are from single-parent homes where sometimes parents are not working or have become disabled and therefore cannot work. Children who are raised in foster care and leave as adults do not have strong relationship ties most of the time and are at an increased risk for experiencing poverty, early parenthood and homelessness (American School Board Journal, 2007). The reason for most of the poverty in the United States is due to low family incomes.

The most vulnerable individuals are found within the elderly and children population. Children can be impacted tremendously when experiencing situations that may affect their emotional, physical, and mental stage. Abuse can be seen in different forms such as sexual, emotional, physical abuse, and neglect. If any child is exposed to any of these abuse, it is the law to reach out to the proper authorities in order to protect the child’s life. Each state has its own mandated reporting laws and it is important to be able to recognized the protocol and what the law requires in each state.

Children are being uprooted form their lives and placed in a home they are not accustomed too. This experience can become even more traumatic when they are placed in homes and shelters with limited or inadequate living conditions. Of the five-billion dollars federally allocated to annually fund the child foster care, 75% of that is spent in the child welfare systems. This exhibits even more atrocities of neglect and abuse from the system designed to protect children. (Hagopian 6) This money is being wasted on frivolous things such as pay-raises for social workers instead of providing a suitable living environment for the children’s prosperity. This money will be better spent on providing food, clothing, or even in scholarships for children who want to go to college. Also, while a child is in the system their emotional, medical, dental, and educational need are required to be taken care of (AdoptUSKids 2).

Being a homeless child can bring with it many risks. Children are often hungry, wonder where they will sleep that night, and worry about their families well being. Having those uncertainties in life can lead to negative consequences such as developing slower than their peers and also some mental health issues. If the children are younger than the age of 5 the damage can be lifelong, as that is when a child develops the most. These children need predictability in their life, however, dont get it. Their mothers are sometimes not able to support or protect the children either due to the struggles from poor education and no employment. programs that help stabilize this age would be crucial. Programs, where parents learn how to parent, would be

For example, this particular family which consists of a single mother with five boys ranging from a 2-year-old toddler to a 15-year-old adolescent have been the prime example of a family who faces adversity on a daily basis. Every day I witness the family deal with many challenges that their environment poses. For example, gun violence and drug related crimes that plague the city of Camden, one of the poorest cities in the United States, hinders the boys from having a normal childhood experience. As their Case Manager, I had to witness the boys be placed into shelters, foster homes and treatment homes due to their mother’s inability to parent. Furthermore, what I have learned from watching the family go through such traumatic experiences was that the child welfare system is not only flawed but, lacks resources to assist families in need.

Upon entering the child welfare system, children are submitted to a number of adjustments in their lives that they are expected to response to without being provided adequate support for behavioral and psychological problems in result to the changes (Shin, 2005). These adjustments are unhealthy for children to embark on, especially when these adjustments can involve out-of-home placements. Children also experience stressors due to multiple out-of-home care placements (Ko, Ford, Kassam-Adams, Berkowitz, Wilson, Wong, Layne, 2008). The child welfare system provides children and youth that are temporary separated from their family a 24-hour out-of-home placements services (Mallon & Hess, 2014). Out-of-home placements according to Mallon & Hess (2014), can include family foster home, emergency shelters, medical foster homes, residential treatment and kindship better known as relative care placement. Placements that some professionals have agreed are hostile places for LGBTQIA+ youth (Majd, Marksamer, & Reyes,

“In 1976 more than three million victims were reported to CPS making 1.5% of the country’s children victims of child abuse” (“Opposing”). In 2013, 79% of child abuse cases were reported from neglect (“Gale”). Abuse has increased 18% more and more than 1,000 children die each year (“Opposing”). 6.4 million children are abused each year and 114,000 are removed from their homes (“Gale”). “40 million of them

To assure the best outcomes for sad children, all of the agencies in the system must work together. Each must rely on the others to provide the necessary information and resources. Child welfare agencies, though ultimately charged with the responsibility of caring for maltreated sad children, cannot provide optimal care without the collaboration and support of other agencies. But currently no fundamental structure for governing the system or managing resources exists. Instead, most agencies have established either formal or informal cooperative agreements.

A common misconception that still lingers within society today is the belief that a child is a vulnerable innocent in need of protection and nurturing rather than being an active social agent. According to Halsall, “childhood and youth are not timeless; they are subject to the same historical shifts and institutional factors that shape human experience.” Several complex forces shape children and youth which are uniquely constructed in different societies at different times. Amidst the millions of children in America today, the National Center of Family Homelessness reported that approximately a staggering 2.5 million children in America are homeless each year. In addition, amongst this vast population, it is generally recognized that

There are a few child maltreatment prevention services that include interventions that help the parents to improve their economic status. Job training is an example of this. Most of the services offered are substance abuse treatment, parenting courses, and child care. States have used money from the federal governments Emergency Assistance Program to help families that are experiencing economic hardships.

Child welfare agencies are central to the system, but their policies and practices vary from state to state. For example, each state determines its own definition of

Throughout my entire working career, but more importantly in my current role as a Child and Youth Worker at Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB), I have attended and participated in numerous courses and training specifically dealing with child abuse and neglect. I am familiar with the protocols/responsibilities as they relate to my “duty to report” and throughout my career, I have make the difficult call to Children’s Aid Society numerous times; and in some cases the police became involved. While working at Children’s Aid Society (C.A.S.), the young people in our group home were already removed from their parents’ care. Our duty to report came into play when a child or youth disclosed further information or raised any concerns. We would inform the assigned Child

The need for strong families and stable homes in which children can be raised is an issue that I believe deserves better resources and more public attention. It is a complex matter that has no easy solution, nor one single avenue by which it can be addressed. Social work as a profession should continue to address this issue in several ways.

Every state employs child protective services to legally respond to neglectful and abusive situations involving children. Because community-based social workers have constant contact with members of the public, they assist with enforcing child protection services legislation. Social workers are mandatory reports of child neglect and abuse, so they often are the ones who report concerns to officials, gather information and initially interview victims and witnesses. Experienced community-based social workers with strong ties to their state’s Child Welfare agency will most likely be asked to act as a liaison and advocate if the victim is directly on or related to