...America was undergoing issues with the foster care system. The problem was that there was too many children in the foster care system for an extended period of time. The president at the time, Bill Clinton, signed into law The Adoption and Safe Families Act (1997) (social work). This act was created because of the dramatic increase in the number of children in the foster care system. In spite of the number of placements for the children where drastically decreasing (hard knock life pg 376). The reason for the growth in quantity for children in the system was because of the rise of abuse in home (Illinois welfare). For the reasons illustrated above, the purpose of this policy was to keep children safe. Also, to move children through foster care more quickly. This will allow them to get a permanent home. Another purpose of this act was to provide services that are more effective for children. (Hard knock life 382). There were new provisions created to insure that the purpose of the act was followed through. Some provisions are to find an adoptive family or permanent home, the termination parents’ rights for circumstances, and providing states financial incentives for escalation of the...
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...The safety of children should be one of the main goals throughout the world. Foster care is something that can help children stay safety. In the 1800s, people started to do something about children who were not taken care of. It started when children were told to work in the fields and in the house with their parents instead of getting an education. The children, therefore, set off to New York City. When they reached New York, they were taken by families that were going to help and not force them to work at such a young age. The main issue that raised awareness were cases involving parents harming their children. Some cases the children would pass away because of health issues. In the first article, Amy L. Ai et. al. (2013), writes about...
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...Foster Care In the United States the homeless is on the rise. Much of this can be attributed to not only the lack of jobs, but also the improper care provided in critical developmental stages of one's life. Much of this improper care comes from our foster care system. A government run program is very corrupt not to mention inefficient. The foster care system is broken leaving 18 year olds helpless, on the streets, and drugs or prison. All of this could be prevented if these children were properly placed and if more funding went into it. Many children do not get adopted in the foster care system. In most states when a child turns 18 they are no longer able to remain in the foster care system. Some states have extended time where a child can...
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...“Eighty percent of adolescents entering the foster care system have severe mental health problems” (Source E). Children in the foster care system have experienced trauma, abuse and neglect, and counseling is an effective non-drug solution. However the majority of these children are misdiagnosed; foster children are prescribed psychiatric drugs instead of counseling or other non-drug alternatives. These misdiagnoses are then added to a child’s medical history, which lacks consistency from constantly being transferred to different homes. Overhauling America’s foster care system will be challenging and strenuous, but is a necessary step in improving the welfare of foster children, who spend on average over two years in purported temporary placement...
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...that will strengthen the community and enable families and individuals to move toward independence.” (Michigan.gov) DHS provides an array of services to individuals and families, these include: food assistance, cash assistance, health care assistance, children services, adult services, and many more. Since there are so many services under the umbrella of DHS, I will focus on a part of the organization that I am familiar with, Foster care services. Approximately 14,000 Michigan children are in foster care at any given time (Michigan.gov). Foster cares mission statement is “Families first”, meaning the goal is for children to have reunification with their families. So when children cannot be returned to their homes, relatives or foster parents are often asked to provide permanent homes. Foster families provide children in this situation with the consistency and support they need to successfully transition to adulthood (Michigan.gov). In terms of operative goals, there are seven that encompass DHS and represent what the organizations day-to day goals are. The operative goals include: Safety, children’s needs, family’s needs, communities, placement, reunification and permanence, and services. Let me expand on each of these goals. Foster cares first priority is to keep children safe. So when parents/families can’t or do not fulfill this necessity, DHS has been delegated the authority to intervene on behalf of the child. Children’s needs:...
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...pack. There are many different types of care provided for looked after children and young people, ensuring that young children are provided with the right quality care. Contact the school There is many ways to get help, if Tina is concerned about their behaviour then she can always contact the school and enquiry about their behaviour and the progress of the education. There has to be a planned meeting that needs to take place in order to give the children additional help if they’re struggling. The school can give mentor support in order for the children to have someone to communicate with. GP Tina can go to the GP and ask for some kind of therapy for her children, even family therapy in order to solve the problem with the children’s father. They can have a family therapy where the children having supervised contact with their father. Social workers Social workers can be involved as they can support the family if situations with the partner gets any worse. Trained and qualified social workers can support families with children who face problems and difficulties in different areas. The social workers often work in teams to provide support framework. If Tina doesn’t want the partner to know, then the place she’s staying can be kept confidential. The social services could also help Tina to apply for all the benefits such as housing and children tax credit. Foster Care Foster care is an arrangement used to provide quality care for looked after children and young...
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...One of the most comprehensive surveys of abuse in foster care was conducted in conjunction with a Baltimore lawsuit. Trudy Festinger, head of the Department of Research at the New York University School of Social Work, determined that over 28 per cent of the children in state care had been abused while in the system. Reviewed cases depicted "a pattern of physical, sexual and emotional abuses" inflicted upon children in the custody of the Baltimore Department. Cases reviewed as the trial progressed revealed children who had suffered continuous sexual and physical abuse or neglect in foster homes known to be inadequate by the Department. Cases included that of sexual abuse of young girls by their foster fathers, and that of a young girl who contracted gonorrhea of the throat as a result of sexual abuse in an unlicenced foster home.[1] In Louisiana, a study conducted in conjunction with a civil suit found that 21 percent of abuse or neglect cases involved foster homes.[2] In another Louisiana case, one in which thousands of pages of evidence were reviewed, and extensive testimony and depositions were taken, it was discovered that hundreds of foster children had been shipped out of the state to Texas. Stephen Berzon of the Children's Defense Fund explained the shocking findings of the court before a Congressional subcommitte, saying: "children were physically abused, handcuffed, beaten, chained, and tied up, kept in cages, and overdrugged with psychotropic medication for institutional...
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...the cost of international adoption is almost twice the amount of domestic adoption and a number of families do not meet the requirement of salary income many couples choose to either not adopt or adopt elsewhere. Several groups of adoption officials are worried about what children a child's living condition is before they are adopted. In almost every country besides the United States orphaned children get sent to orphanages. In the United States the majority of orphans is adopted by some type of kin; however, the ones who are not put into the foster care system. The foster care system is defined as ¨a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent" (Oxford Dictionary). In contrast to the United States, many other countries have stuck with the traditional orphanage, which defined by the Oxford dictionary as ¨a residential institution for the care and education of orphans.¨ As it is expected, during international adoption less than one percent of children adopted are related to the family adopting them. An estimated eight to ten million orphans are living in orphanages around the world today. Despite the amount of children that occupy them orphanage cause more damage than good to the orphaned children. According to recent studies owning and running an orphanage has become a profitable business in many countries. For many orphanages the owners source of income is the foreign donations...
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...Government has an obligation to protect this valuable natural resource. This report will attempt to explore “state care” in a few countries across the globe. “State care” for all intents and purposes will be defined in relation to the child who has been removed from the care of their biological parent(s) and includes institutions in France and foster care in Japan and the U.S. In order to illuminate my concerns it is necessary to first look at some evidence of the outcomes and well-being of children who grew up in “state care” exclusively. Foster care is intended to be a safe and temporary placement for children removed from their homes. Yet there is ample proof that once a child enters into the foster care system their quality of life is almost always compromised. Worldwide caring for abused and neglected children varies greatly. France historically uses institutions to care for their removed children. The prevalence of children placed into state care are removed from one parent families. It was the feeling that institutions were more convenient for the health and safety of the children especially those under three years of age. Another reason was to comfort the parent to foster a feeling that reunification was still possible. Over time the institutions in France reduced their size and increased staff to help facilitate the much needed attachment between care taker and child. Attachment is the need to establish...
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...(Julian, 2016). In general, the older the child is at the time of adoption, the more severe are the child’s special needs including those who experienced neglect, abuse, or multiple caretakers before being adopted (Research synthesis, 2010). By the time the child is around 5 to 7 years of age, he or she will become increasingly sensitive to adoption-related stigma and loss (Brodzinsky, 1993). The first and foremost mental and emotional effects of adoption on the adopted children are the heavy feelings of grief and loss (AdoptOntario, 2017). Adoption is a drastic life event. The adopted children are minors and usually have no say in their adoption. To these children, adoption incurs a tremendous loss - the loss of their birth parents, their extended family, their home, their pets, the neighbourhoods they lived in, their old schools, their friends, their treasured belongings and in some cases, their culture. For young children who cannot express their feelings with words, they show their reaction to grief through behaviours such as sadness, hyperactivity, changes in appetite, hoarding food, inappropriate emotional response, headaches, difficulty making decisions, regressive behaviours and clinginess are all typical behaviours (AdoptOntario, 2017). To a severe extent, the children may have depression, anger, anxiety, numbness or fear due to the feelings of loss (Ajmera, 2013). As adoptees grow into adolescence, the teenager goes through identity issues. In a study about how often adopted...
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...KEEP THIS BOOKLET FOR YOUR RECORDS Assistance Application Information Booklet Welcome to the State of Michigan Department of Human Services (DHS) We have programs to help you and/or your household (everyone living in your home) with food, medical care, child care, cash and emergencies. We can also tell you about other programs and resources that may help meet your needs. We look forward to helping you and your household. If you need help with reading, writing, hearing, etc., please tell us. If you need an interpreter, we will provide one or you may bring your own. Steps to Assistance - Apply online for assistance programs at www.michigan.gov/mibridges. You may bring, mail or fax your assistance application to the DHS office in your area. You can find the address and phone number to the office in your area in your phone book under the state government section, or online at www.michigan.gov/dhs-countyoffices. 2 - Read this booklet and keep it. It tells you about our programs and has important information. When you sign the assistance application, you agree to the rules in this booklet. 3 - Answer the questions on the assistance application. We need your answers to decide what help you may receive. You can apply for all or some of our programs. 4 - For some programs we may need to ask for more information (proof). We will let you know what we need. 5 - We will send you a letter in the mail telling you if you are approved or denied. Keep this letter. It has important information...
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...Forgotten Australians, and those who were sent to our shores as children without your consent, that we are sorry. Sorry – that as children you were taken from your families and placed in institutions where so often you were abused. Sorry – for the physical suffering, the emotional starvation and the cold absence of love, of tenderness, of care. Sorry – for the tragedy, the absolute tragedy, of childhoods lost,– childhoods spent instead in austere and authoritarian places, where names were replaced by numbers, spontaneous play by regimented routine, the joy of learning by the repetitive drudgery of menial work. Sorry – for all these injustices to you, as children, who were placed in our care. As a nation, we must now reflect on those who did not receive proper care. We look back with shame that many of you were left cold, hungry and alone and with nowhere to hide and nobody to whom to turn. We look back with shame that so many of you were left cold, hungry and alone and with nowhere to hide and with nobody, absolutely nobody, to whom to turn. We look back with shame that many these little ones who were entrusted to institutions and foster homes instead, were abused physically, humiliated cruelly, violated sexually. And we look back with shame at how those with power were allowed to abuse those who had none. And how then, as if this was not injury enough, you were left ill-prepared for life outside – left to fend for yourselves; often unable...
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...nation’s child protection system (CPS) has historically focused on preventing maltreatment in high-risk families, whose children have already been maltreated. But, as Jane Waldfogel explains, it has also begun developing prevention procedures for children at lower risk—those who are referred to CPS but whose cases do not meet the criteria for ongoing services. Preventive services delivered by CPS to high-risk families, says Waldfogel, typically include case management and supervision. The families may also receive one or more other preventive services, including individual and family counseling, respite care, parenting education, housing assistance, substance abuse treatment, child care, and home visits. Researchers generally find little evidence, however, that these services reduce the risk of subsequent maltreatment, although there is some promising evidence on the role of child care. Many families receive few services beyond periodic visits by usually overburdened caseworkers, and the services they do receive are often poor in quality. Preventive services for lower-risk families often focus on increasing parents’ understanding of the developmental stages of childhood and on improving their child-rearing competencies. The evidence base on the effectiveness of these services remains thin. Most research focuses on home-visiting and parent education programs. Studies of home...
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...WORKSHOP REPORT ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF FUNCTIONS TO MUNICIPALITIES CONTENTS Acronyms 4 Session1: Introduction 5 1.1 Introduction 5 1.2 Rationale behind the Workshop 6 1.3 Workshop Objectives 7 Session 2: Workshop Papers 9 2.1 Opening Remarks 9 Ms Margot Davids - Chief Director – Children 2.2 Devolution of Legislative Powers to Municipalities: 10 Prof Jaap de Visser - Community Law Centre – UWC 2.3 Local Government, The South Africa Constitution and Child Rights 13 Andre Viviers - UNICEF SA 2.4 S.A. Law Reform Commission- Position Paper: Local Government and the Implementation of the Children’s Act 15 Dr Jackie Loffell - Johannesburg Child Welfare 2.5 Local Government and the Implementation of the Children’s Act: Framework on Assignment of Functions 18 Ms Matlogonolo Sebopela - National Department of Social Development 2.6 EPWP Social Sector (ECD) and Local Government 22 Ms Pearl Mugerwa - Department of Public Works 2.7 Situational Analysis of Children with Disabilities in South Africa 26 Ms Manthipi Molamu-Rahloa - National Dept of Social Development 2.8 Services needed by Children with Disabilities from Local Government 30 Mr Danie Botha-Marais - National Council for Persons with Disabilities (NCPPDSA) 2.9 ...
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...I am a qualified play therapist having received a Diploma in Non-Directive Play Therapy and I hold a Masters in Therapeutic Child Care. LG was referred to me by her social worker, after her foster carer had reported that LG had displayed some worrying and confusing behaviours. In September 2007 LG and her younger sister were accommodated. They have remained in foster care since then and have lived with the same foster carers. The referral informed me that LG had witnessed domestic violence between her parents and excessive use of alcohol. It was thought that she may also have witnessed adults using drugs. The referral described occasions when LG’s carer found her very upset and crying silently. At these times it would take her foster carer a long time to soothe LG. LG has suffered from traumatic losses in her first five years. Consequently her sense of trust has been severely shaken, as was her sense of a secure base. I hypothesised that LG would not only have suffered from the experiences of loss, domestic violence, physical abuse and neglect, but from emotional neglect and broken attachments. After meeting with LG at her foster carer’s house 5 months ago, weekly play therapy sessions began. Throughout this time I have reviewed the therapy regularly with LG’s foster carer and regularly discussed the therapy with LG’s social worker. LG uses every session to its fullest extent. There have been occasions when she found it very difficult to leave the...
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