Mandated Court Report Training

Employers, local authorities, professional regulators and other bodies have a duty to refer to the ISA, information about individuals working with children or vulnerable adults where they consider them to have caused harm or pose a risk of harm.

Children are forced to forfeit their homes, their safety, their public and self-image, and their primary source of comfort and affection (Bernstein 2005). A national survey found that almost 70% of children when present when their parent was arrested (Bernstein 2005). Researcher Christina Jose Kamfner interviewed children who had witnessed their mother’s arrest and found that many suffered from post-traumatic stress symptoms; they could not concentrate or sleep and had flashbacks of the arrest (Bernstein 2005). The majority of the children at the scene of an arrest are taken away in a police car which is more intimidating than to say if they were taken away in a child welfare worker’s car (Bernstein 2005). Many of these children (is no other family is available) are shuffled around in the course of an arrest; the hospital for physical examinations first, then the police station for appropriate , “paperwork,” then to a juvenile detention center and lastly, they are deposited at a foster home (Bernstein 2005). Anyone can vouch that the process of what to do after the arrest is clearly a traumatizing one at that. After the arrest, children wait anxiously for the level of the sentence that their parent has to face. In most cases, children are unaware of why their parent is being sentenced because they were unaware that their parent was involved in the crime. Carl, for example, only remembered

A state that undertakes custody of a child is declaring that it can do a better job providing protection. This system is a powerful agent of support, providing positive nurturing environments that enable a child to reach his or her potential. Nonetheless, when children suffer additional abuse in the system, this government intervention should be questioned.

If a child is extremely disobedient, rude majority of the time, uncontrollable on a daily basis or maybe if the child isn’t developing properly it should be reported because the child may have a certain medical condition such as; autism or ADHD. The first signs of this usually show in young children and it is important to know exactly what’s going on so you don’t address the child in the wrong way or jeopardise the child’s learning.

It is very important that anyone working with children should be able to recognise if a child is at risk of harm of in need because of their vulnerability. The earlier this is recognised, the better outcome for the child involved.

Countless number of children that are removed from their homes should not have been. In New York alone, just as the police have to distribute a certain amount of citations a month, CPS workers are required by law to remove a certain amount of children a month to meet their quota. I believe that when a crime is committed against a child, police action should be take a s a necessary procedure to properly investigate and gather accurate evidence of abuse, therefore giving the accused fair due process.

Attentively, I watched a television from a large wooden table, crammed into a small interview room. As the young child on the screen painfully disclosed years of horrific abuse and neglect to a forensic interviewer, I observed in silence. Surrounded by a multi-disciplinary team of police officers, Department of Child Services case managers, advocates and prosecutors, I knew my purpose. I wanted to be a voice for those who were unable to speak and advocate for themselves. My internship with the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office, Special Victims and Family Violence Unit, allowed me the opportunity to explore my interest in the legal system and helped kindle my passion for child welfare.

According to the National Children’s Alliance, one in four girls and one in six boys under the age of eighteen are at risk of being sexually abused but only according to what is reported. In the State of Texas, a professional has forty-eight hours to report any cause to believe a child been abused as stated in Sec. 261.101. As a foster parent and principal, Angela Sugarek and Carol Jeffery had a major moral responsibility and legal duty to report what her three year old foster son was displaying: behaving strangely and an anal injury.

This is possibly the hardest assignment I’ve had to do to date. It’s difficult to examine how much this little boy had to suffer at the hands of his father. The crimes that took place here were more than abuse. I believe that the case worker is culpable for refusing to protect the child and should have been disciplined if not charged with a crime. The mother deserved a more severe sentence for allowing this abuse to go on for so long and should have been charged as an accessory to the crime. This case did lead to outrage and sweeping legislation in the state of Washington was enacted. Most of the legislation was aimed at allowing and even mandating that child protective services make protecting the child a higher priority than keeping the family together.

The children should be seen as equal no child or group of children should be treated differently because of their gender, religion, disability ect. All children have the right to be protected from abuse. The children’s parents are informed because they are aware of the policies and procedures. All concerns and allegations should be taken seriously because this could lead to a referral to the child’s social care services, Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) if the allegation is against a staff member.

Effective protection of children relies on concerned community members reporting their concerns. This needs to occur in a timely way to prevent concerns becoming more serious.

Effective information sharing by professionals is central to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This sharing of information makes an important contribution to the shift to addressing children’s needs at an early stage rather than when serious problems have developed. In order to safeguard and promote children’s welfare, arrangements should ensure that:

Each of these professionals may have one snapshot and a concern that may, on its own, not necessary need intervention. Question: Question 9 Answer: Every agency that has contact with children must share any concerns that a child is being abused with other professionals and with the Local Safeguarding Children Board

This memorandum recommends that the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-MI) use its resources to support House Bill 4298. This bill, which was passed for re-review by the Committee on Judiciary, addresses the Michigan Child Protection Law regarding the process of electronic recordings of child interviews involved in child abuse and neglect. It would require that the electronic recordings be stored in a central location, via the Department of Health and Human Services. I recommend that Michigan Senators and the NASW-MI Chapter support HB 4298 now, because it proposes a solution to the ongoing social problem of added trauma caused by children being subjected to multiple or ineffective forensic

In circumstances where a child has a health issue such as asthma or allergies then all staff should be made aware, so to keep the child safe.