Public Child Welfare Social Worker

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

Child abuse has an impact on the many crimes America faces. Child abuse is not always easy to distinguish at a quick glance and can go on for years without someone knowing. Many criminal justice practitioners are involved in these cases. Between psychologist that help the children recover ,and find out their stories to the police officers who arrests the offenders, Child abuse is a delicate situation and takes the upmost care.

Advocacy is a fundamental responsibility in nursing because patients are inherently vulnerable (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). The scenario presented is challenging because, although the nurse suspects child abuse, there is a lack of explicit evidence. Reporting suspected child abuse is a legal obligation for nurses, but the result may have devastating effects for the family. To prevent inaccurate conclusions, a professional nurse should question the mother and child separately and attempt to uncover the

Child abuse is epidemic in many countries as well as the United States. It is estimated that every thirteen seconds a child is abused in some manner: physically, sexually, emotionally or by neglect (Friedman). Each year, there are over 3 million reports of child abuse in the United States involving more than 6 million children. Child abuse can be reduced with proper education of the parents and with greater public awareness.

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..

When a child is suspected of being abused, neglected or placed at imminent risk of serious harm by a member of the staff of a private or public school or an institution that cares for the child, the person in charge of the school or facility must notify the child’s parent or other person responsible for the child’s care that a report has been made. The state’s department of child abuse responsibility is to notify the head of a facility, school or establishment that a report has been made.

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.

investigate concerns that a child or young person has been harmed or is at risk of significant harm

For 30 years, advocates, program administrators, and politicians have joined to encourage even more reports of suspected child abuse and neglect. Their efforts have been successful, with about three million cases of suspected child abuse having been reported in 1993. Large numbers of endangered children still go unreported, but a serious problem had developed: Upon investigation, as many as 65 percent or the reports now being made are determined to be "unsubstantiated", raising serious civil liberties concerns and placing a huge burden on investigative staffs.

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.

Each week Child Protective Services receives more than 50,000 allegations of child abuse. Two-thirds of the allegations have enough evidence to start investigations. The results of these investigations showed 2,450 children are abused everyday (Ianelli, 2006). In 1999, CPS, nearly four, confirmed an estimated 1,401 child abuse and neglect fatalities every day. (Child Abuse Statistics, nd).

Child maltreatment is a widespread issue that affects thousands of children every year. There are four common types of child maltreatment; sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect. All of these types of abuse are very serious and can have many consequences for the children and families. The most common consequence of severe child maltreatment is the removal of that child from their home (Benbenishty, Segev, Surkis, and Elias, 2002). Most social workers trying to determine the likelihood of removal evaluate the type and severity of abuse, as well as the child’s relationship with their parents (Benbenishty et al., 2002). When children are removed from their homes there are many options of alternative housing. The

The course provides has provided me with a great understanding and knowledge a social workers role and a families function, the

     The maltreatment and neglect of children and youth has increasingly come to be perceived as a social blight. As with most social problems, child abuse influences our school systems. Children that are being emotionally, physically and sexually abused often use school as a cop out. These children spend around thirty hours a week in a safe, enjoyable and carefree environment, however within these thirty hours teachers must be taking the time to make observations. Teachers have the ability to compare current behaviors with peers, norms and past behaviors of their students. Therefore, teachers are an important role in reporting cases of child abuse or maltreatment.