Special Populations

Child abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.

It is a reasonable argument that child welfare service entities are necessary as it is all too frequent that child abuse/neglect cases are heard all over the nation and is ultimately a world health issues.  Increasing social issues such as unstable families, poverty, crime, poor education, lack of access to health care and mental health services are some of the factors that contribute to this continuous epidemic that affects many people from various socio-economic classes. Many nations have taken steps to enhance and improve efforts in the fight against the mistreatment of 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,

When children come into the custody of DCFS and are placed into Foster Care they are scared, confused, lonely, and usually conditioned not to tell when they are being mistreated. Most of the children that come into “the system” have learned to accept abuse as normal or natural and are unaware that they are even being mistreated. Therefore, when they are placed in homes where this is occurring it is not in their nature to speak up. Once they are removed from their parents, they are solely reliant on the department for their protection and it is the department’s responsibility to provide that protection which has not always been fulfilled by the department or the foster care agencies. The department should be making reasonable efforts to provide proper services

The National Children 's Alliance reported that the number of unique cases of abused and neglected children in the United States stands at an annual rate of 700,000 and rising (as cited in ?U.S. Department of Health & Human Services,? 2016, p. ii). Sadly, this means that more than 1,900 new children become victims of abuse and neglect with each passing day. Neglect was the type of

Westat found that professionals failed to report many of the children they saw who had signs of child abuse and neglect. It found that in 1986, 56 percent of apparently abused or neglected children, or about 500,000 children, were not reported to the authorities. This figure, however, seems more alarming than it is: Basically, the more serious the case, the more likely the report. For example, the surveyed professionals reported over 85 percent of the fatal or serious physical abuse cases they saw, 72 percent of the sexual abuse cases, and 60 percent of the moderate physical abuse cases. They only reported 15 percent of the educational neglect cases they saw, 24 percent of the emotional neglect cases, and 25 percent of the moderate physical neglect cases.

Foster care is a place for vacated or neglected children to go as a safe place. This system was made in hopes of reuniting families and the occasional adoption. Child welfare systems are responsible for locating abusive, neglectful situations and getting the child out. They provide services that arranges

The foster care systems lie under the jurisdiction of the Department of Human Services/Child Welfare. Legislation and funding are provided under the “Safe and Stable Families Act,” which is the primary responsibility of child welfare services. In each state there is an entity for child protection, in the State of Rhode Island it is the department of Children, Youth and Families. According to the Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse RI, the money is funded from the federal government with the guidelines that each state must abide by. This funding allows the state the ability to do their job and provide services to protect and reunify children who are in out of home placements by providing services. Under the “Safe and Stable

In the United States there are over a half a million children in the foster care system. (AFCARS Report, 2015) The foster care system is a temporary arrangement for children whose parents are not able to care for them. (adopt.org) Foster care can be arranged through the courts or a social service agency. The goal for a child in the foster care system is usually reunification with the birth family, but may be changed to adoption when this is seen as in the child's best interest.

The limitation I had when I start working with this population was I did not understand the diagnoses of what the client had. I went to some workshop that the job was offering and was able to understand the different developmentally disalbit that the client have. The strength I do have to work with this population is I am a people person. I enjoy meet new people and it helped me understand this population much better.

A caseworker’s main job is to advocate for our client population which is children and youth. OCY workers go into the home and investigate to see the extent of the maltreatment. We are to protect children and youth from abuse in all forms. Social Justice is used when parents are being neglectful, and not meeting the basic needs for their child. Caseworkers complete home assessments, and advocate for the child’s needs so the child can thrive. Children and youth are either too young, or afraid to speak up against the maltreatment inflicted upon them. OCY steps in and speaks up for the children and youth. Caseworkers make safety and risk assessments to determine if the child could be maltreated and advocates for change on the youth’s

Court Appointed Special Advocates and Guardian Ad Litem’s are just regular people who are doing their best to make a difference in the life of a child who is involved in the court system because they have been declared by the court to be neglected, abused or dependent. The CASA/GAL volunteer is required to go through extensive training before they are ever given a case to handle. They are expected to commit to at least 15 hours a month per a case and to handle 1-2 cases at a time. The cases can last up to two years and sometimes can last longer than that. In the beginning they may put in more hours because of all the court hearings and meeting they need to attend.

Special populations are people who are highly vulnerable to drug use or are in situations that make them vulnerable to using drugs. This group of people often require more attention and highly specialized treatment. Drugs do not discriminate, they are in every race, culture, and sexual orientation. They cross social and economic boundaries just as easily as they cross geographic ones. There are however populations of users that are considered special populations. These populations are both at a higher risk for addiction and need specialized treatment for their

A child advocacy center basically provides all the assistance needed by an abused child/children in all aspects – physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, even spiritually, that would give them a new hope including their non-offending parents or caregivers. We provide them an opportunity for a good education that could better integrate them to the community.

Child abuse in the United States is a growing epidemic. Every year the number of reported cases, and missing children go up. This is caused mostly by lack of education about the different types of child abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Communities need to provide more resources to better educate the public about the types of abuse, and the signs that go along with it. Child abuse and neglect can be lessened by more resources, more education and to reach out to others.