Social Policies In Social Work

Under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, the fifty states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia received funding to investigate the number and the needs of homeless children, to identify obstacles that would prevent them from receiving an education and to develop a plan to overcome these problems (Pawlas, 1996). The McKinney Act also provides emergency food assistance, adult literacy instruction, job training, health services and other programs. Under this act, homeless children are ensured access to the same, free appropriate public education other children in the state receive.

Social workers’ commitment to social justice means they want everyone to have a fair and equal opportunity to an assessment. In line with fairness, social workers should tell carers about their right to refuse an assessment as their permission, and not the person receiving care, is needed before the carer’s assessment can commence. In addition, social workers, bound by legislation regarding confidentiality and information sharing, must reserve the carer’s right to privacy whilst uphold their right to a fair hearing. This is achieved by only disclosing carer’s personal details to 3rd parties with consent, unless a safeguarding concern arises.

Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. An incredibly vulnerable group is the homeless youth due to their young age and lack of education. According to Edidin, Ganim, Hunter, & Karnik (2012) on any particular night in the United States there are ~2 million homeless youth living on the streets, in shelters, or in other temporary accommodation. Youth become homeless for multiple reasons whether it be because they have aged out of foster care, ran from home, were kicked out of their home, or because they have become homeless along with their family members. Within the umbrella categorization of homeless youth there are high at risk subgroups, common misconceptions, and a serious concern of lack of support and medical services.

Fifteen items were listed and the survey asked how much the social worker, on a scale from one to five, saw the given item as a barrier. The fifteen items included but are not limited to: transience, identification, attendance, communication, personal resources, school administration, community resources, and embarrassment. Other information was gathered such as the level of licensure held, the location the social worker works at, the number of years they have practiced, and their level of awareness about homelessness. The results show that each of the fifteen items was seen as a barrier when dealing with homeless children by the participants of the study. The most widely seen barrier was transience, meaning the students have had to frequently move around a lot, which has hindered their ability to learn. Transience leads to low attendance and is correlated with poor academic performance. (Canfield, 2014) School administration was the closest to being perceived as a facilitator and not a barrier, but was still viewed as a barrier by the

Giffords, E., Alonso, C., & Bell, R. (2007). A Transitional Living Program for Homeless Adolescents: A Case Study. Child & Youth Care Forum, 36(4), 141-151. doi:10.1007/s10566-007-9036-0

The McKinney-Vento Act not only provides immediate shelter and food to the homeless, but it also guarantees a homeless child’s right to an education. McKinney-Vento assures that homeless students who struggle attending school have access to a proper education and gain other necessary services necessary (Katel). The McKinney-Vento Act recognizes the importance of an education by providing homeless students with basic educational rights, transportation and other basic school necessities. Although there are still major complications in educating homeless students, this act

The Transitional Living Program was designed to promote a transition for these clients to self sufficient living and prevent long-term dependency on social services. Another strength of this policy both micro and macro is that in 2008 when changes were occurring to the preliminaries of the act, the length of stay was increased in the shelters from 14-21 days and in the Transitional Housing Program from 18-21 months. This amount of time stated in the RHYA for an individual’s stay originally worried me only because what if the client’s needs were not met by this deadline what happens next? On the macro level this extension of time gives the agencies more time for implementation of services and programs. Agencies must try there hardest to not turn away any clients, because it could possibly come across as discrimination. It was rewarding to learn that these agencies are well equipped with information and techniques for the various people inquiring about services. As the National Alliance to End Homelessness states the United States served over 500,000 homeless youth in 2005. But the Department of Human Health Services reported that 2,500 people were turned away from agencies and shelters due to the lack of bed space. If I were a major stakeholder or beneficiary of this Act, I would be concerned that not all people in need are getting what they deserve. Although this number is relatively low compared to how many served this shows some changes

The bill S1680 relates to school placement and stability for homeless children. The purpose of the bill is to amend the social service law and the education law, in relations to children that are homeless are in out of home care. The bill also creates a process in which New York State is in compliance with the federal fostering connections to the success act. It also clarifies the rights afforded to homeless children in choosing the school and school district they will attend, by changing the language to 3209 of the education law with subtitle B of title VII of the federal McKinney-Vento homeless education assistance act, 42 D.S.C.11431 et seq (NY senate). The purpose of this paper is to get a better understand and illustrate the processes

The McKinney Vento policy was designed to assist homeless children and youth by providing an equal educational service to those who are at risk of being homeless. This policy has enforced individuals who are homeless will have the same right as other students. It is significant to note that this policy was created and designed to disregard any possible barriers and help the student achieve student success. (Barrow County School System, n.d.)

Youth homelessness can be define as young individuals, ranging from age 12 to around 25, who are without any support from their families, and are either living on the streets or at a shelter. There are often “referred to as “unaccompanied” youth.” (National Coalition for Homelessness (NCH), 2007). Unaccompanied youths can be categorized as runaway-homeless youths, throwaways, and independent youths. Runaway- homeless youths are youths that leave home without any parental permission. Youths that leave their homes because parents encourage them to leave are categorize as throwaways. The final classified as independent youths who leave home because of family conflicts or other issues. (Aratani, 2009).

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.

Follow-up and after care services will be formulated on a case by case basis while keeping the client’s self-determination and safety in mind. The Tarrant County Homeless Youth Program (TCHYP) will be providing three months of aftercare and wrap-around services while the clients acclimate to their new living arrangements. Case managers will be conducting one home visit or phone interview per month to ensure that the clients are staying on track and to offer additional service the clients may need. Transportation will also be provided and the participating clients who resided at the (TCHYP) will be able to return back and be part of any classes/curriculum, such as, computer labs, life skills, spiritual enrichment, and any other program available

As a social worker it is important to engage in policy practice. It is a part of the profession, whether you like it or not. It is an aspect that can change the way things are done for clients in a good way or bad. If you want to be more affective in practice, advocating for policies is one way of making sure your clients receive what they deserve. Chapin (2011) talks about how as a social worker you cannot take on every social policy issue, but it is important to consider the policies that affect your client population.

Imagine a young child growing up, learning, and trying to further his or her life to obtain success in the future. For an “everyday” child this can be challenging, however “everyday” obstacles can be overcome. For thousands of children in the United States, this dream is almost impossible to achieve. These children are a part of the homeless population that is spread throughout the United States. Many times these individuals try to hide this major secret from the rest of the world, but homelessness is very prevalent among these youths today. Various problems occur in these peoples’ lives that others could not even begin to understand. Homelessness affects children in every stage of life physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Social Work’s core philosophy and values are centered around social justice and social well-being. Oppression, injustice, discrimination, and violence are antithetical to the social work profession. Social Work believes in strength-based approaches and the person-in-environment perspective to cater the needs and welfare of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society at large. Generally, the target populations for social work are vulnerable, marginalized, and oppressed people; however, social workers provide services to people with a wide range of problems, such as poverty, addiction, mental illness, etc. to empower them to meet their own needs. Historically, the social work profession started its operation by providing neighborhood