...needs to families and individuals within the community. The Department of Human Services serves El Paso County with adoption, child and adult protective services, substance abuse, and mental health services through referrals within community resources. Resources that are more accessible and available in the community deal with child welfare issues such as abuse and neglect. Child Protective Services goes through a process after an individual reports any abuse or neglect. Child Protective Services can get referrals from doctors, hospitals, police, and schools in regards to abuse and neglect which then the intake unit at the department checks into each report. The adoption unit strives in helping children without a home find permanent placing within a foster family. The unit also works closely with foster care agencies in the community to match and place children in the right adoptive family and provide resources for foster families as they transition with these children. A Kidz Hope Homes assists children from birth until the age of 21 years’ old towards stability and family support when they don’t have any. Bethany Christian Services...
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...bi-racial (African American and White) young boy whose family came to the attention of Child Protective Services and the Wayne County Family Court due to allegations of improper supervision and physical neglect as the mother, Diana Parks, admitted ongoing drug usage. Drug paraphernalia including a glass tube that was burned on both ends was observed in an ash tray on a table when Child Protective Services investigated. Ms. Parks is in a relationship with Michael’s father, Jeremy Jones, and there are allegations of domestic violence within the relationship. The children reported that they have witnessed their father physically abusing their mother. Mr. Jones has been in and out of jail due to...
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...Aaliyah report not knowing the reason for being in foster care. Aaliyah explain being in foster care and no one explained why she is in foster care. The referring agency referral did not state how Aaliyah entered care. Aaliyah entered SAFY care from Palmetto County Behavioral Health. Per referring agency report, Aaliyah met the goals set for her and the facility has to offer. The referring agency did not report any behavioral problems; however, Aaliyah has a history of running away to meet adult men to have sex. PRS: Aaliyah has a history of displaying depression symptoms as deflated self-esteem, sadness and worthlessness. Aaliyah displays argumentative behaviors with peers and adults, resentful, blames others, deliberately ignores authority figures. Aaliyah lack coping skills to maintain healthy relationships, manage...
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...to help individuals and families with temporary services in their time of need. The mission statement is: “Improving the quality of life in Michigan by providing services to vulnerable children and adults 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...
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...with many diverse children and families, who all have different and special needs. Working with children from ages 0-18 years of age and sometimes young adults up to the age of 21 should there be special circumstances. KRNCS works to reunify children in a safe and stable family environment. Should a child be unable to return to their biological family, KRNCS helps to locate and finalize a permanent placement. In addition to foster/adoptive success, the site also provides a wide variety of community services such as: CFI/mediation, therapy (individual, family, couples), home studies, contractual adoptive services inner and out of state, family preservation, supervised parenting time, classes such as CPR, first aid, and parenting classes, parent child interactional, and life skills. Rashida Gordon is a case worker for the Kids Resource Network of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Rashida is a therapist, who uses client centered therapy as her approach. She believes in order to assist in behavioral changes; one must have emphasis in that one person to focus. KRNCS main population is foster kids ages 0-18 years of age and biological parents of all ages Majority of KRNCS clients are Caucasian females with barely a high school education, income below poverty or on welfare and alcohol or drug dependency. Usually there are not very men if any since most of the males abandon their children or do not comply with court orders. The biological parents of the foster...
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...Reactive Attachment Disorder in Children and Adolescents in Institutionalized and in Foster Care, and Adoptive Families Lisa W. Marshall Liberty University Abstract It is believed children exposed to early institutional rearing are at risk for developing psychopathology (McGoron, et. al., 2012). Comparisons were made to discover if Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) was more prevalent in children raised institutions, foster care or adoptive families. Measurements included the Observational Record of the Caregiving Environment, Strange Situation Procedure, Disturbances of Attachment Interview, and the Preschool Aged Psychiatric Assessment (Smyke, et. al. 2012), the Reynolds Adolescent Adjustment Screening Interview (Cone, et. al., 2009) in addition to the Reactive Affective Disorder Checklist (RAD-C) and the Relationships Problem Questionnaire (RPQ), in the diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder (Thrall, et al., 2009). These measurements were not only utilized to discover the existence of RAD, but to test the validity of the methods. Additionally, treatment studies including holding, narrative therapy, parenting skills training, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, psychodrama, and/or neurofeedback (Wimmer, et. al.,2009) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (Cone, et. al.,2009) are examined. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) lists Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) as a serious, directly linked...
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...8th grade health project By: Gracie Hicks This assignment was to pick a health career and write about it. I chose foster care counselor. Foster care counselors deal with and care for the mental health of children living in a foster care environment. The counselor usually serves the whole family instead of just one child and will often have more than one case at a time. These counselors have extremely busy schedules but have a lot of flexibility. Foster care counselors meet with children and families in-home or anywhere else at the client’s convenience. Usually they have to assess a child’s needs and problems before and after placement and working with children who need intensive intervention...
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...In California, which has the largest foster care population than any other state, the number of foster youth has tripled in the last 20 years” (Foster Care Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web). In my interview I spoke with Dena Price a long time foster parent in California. She talked about the different kinds of care they provided and the numerous children that have been taken into their home. We discussed the challenges in the foster care system and how it accounts for the instability to a child’s life. When I asked Dena about the training she received she stated, “I had to have 32 hours of training, fingerprinted for background check, TB test, physical, and yearly we need 8 hours of continuing training.” (Price, personal interview 2015). When I asked if she felt that was adequate training for what she has to deal with she said, “Yes we have more training/ongoing classes than we had as new parents with our biological sons” (Price, personal interview 2015). During the interview I found out that some of the negatives to being a foster parent is that the children often show up with just the clothes on their backs, sometimes just in a shirt and diaper. They usually have no other personal belongings so it falls on the foster family to provide clothes, personal care items, and toys. The final question I ended the interview with was what she felt needed to be changed about the foster care system. Her reply was “Communication...
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...Improving Academic Performance and Achievement of children and youth in foster care Joanna Bermudez Mercy College Summer 2013 Introduction and Problem Statement Approximately fifty percent of adolescents in this country’s foster care system are graduating from high school each year. In NYS, less than forty-four percent of adolescent’s in the foster care system graduate from high school yearly. The outcomes of youth who leave the foster care system between the ages of 18 and 21 are statistically grim; less than 50% of these youth are equipped with a high school diploma (Scannapeieco, Connel-Carrick, and Pinter, 2007), and with-in two years of leaving the system, 25% of them face unemployment, homelessness, and/or incarceration (Krinsky, 2007). For all children, especially children in foster care, having the proper advocacy, stability, educational coordination and guidance are vital in ensuring their academic success. Unfortunately, children in foster care are less likely to receive these components to assist them in becoming successful in academia, which in turn affects their chances to live a productive adult life. The needs of the children and youth in foster care are in need of reformation across each state throughout the nation. Since the development of foster care, the focus of intervention has and continues to be a reactive approach, instead of a tactical approach. The intervention of foster care seeks to ensure the physical safety and well-being of each child and...
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...resource agency that I chose is Project KEEP (SAY). The reason why I chose this agency is because I absolutely admire foster families that provide a safe home for children in need and it breaks my heart knowing that some families struggle with behavioral issues from the foster child. Project KEEP helps foster parents and foster children with many issues and allows...
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...As previously mentioned, for foster youth, having access to programs and supportive adults who impart and teach the skills necessary for adulthood is crucial in a successful transition from childhood to adulthood. Studies show that one of the prevailing factors associated with a successful transition from foster care to adulthood are the youth's acquisition of independent living skills while the youth is still in foster care (Lemon, Hines & Merdinger, 2005; Casey Family Programs, 2001; Pecora, Williams, Kessler, Downs, O'Brien, Hiripi, & Morello, 2003; Georgiades, 2005). Youth who participate in programs that assist with learning skills such as how to find housing, how to balance a checkbook or open a bank account, and how to obtain and keep employment, have higher success...
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...The Impact of Foster Care on Child Development Demeka F. Gaddy Liberty University Abstract The foster care system was designed to provide a safe temporary placement for children who can no longer stay in the care of their parents or guardian. The overall goal of foster care is for the children to return home to their caregiver. If the caregiver fails to regain custody the child is placed in other living arrangements, to include foster homes. However there is a controversy over the effectiveness of the foster care system in regards to child development. Foster care has been linked to negative impacts in child development to include; physical and sexual abuse, attachment disorders, and behavioral problems that eventually lead to children being placed in multiple placements and in some cases the juvenile justice system,. Children who are in foster care are a vulnerable group due to the being removed from their home, in some cases abruptly. It has been proven that the longer children living in foster care are subject to negative development more than children who do not live in foster care. Based on these factors the foster care system needs to focus more on the needs of the child so that positive development can occur. Keywords: child welfare, abuse, child development The Negative Impacts of Foster Care on Child Development The foster care system was designed to provide a safety net for children and families and to reunite children with their biological parents if possible...
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...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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...This happens when they start missing work, run out of paid time off and eventually are fired. Losing employment due to an illness or injury can lead to losing workplace benefits, such as insurance. With the lack of income coupled with the loss of insurance benefits, a person is quickly overwhelmed financially leading them to lose their housing, forcing the family on the street. After being forced to live in the streets, it becomes difficult to recover from the initial illness or injury and it can create new problems causing a domino effect making it impossible for one to recover fully. However, the loss of a job is not why families continue to live on the street. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, 44 percent of the homeless have a job. “More than four decades ago in 1967, a year round worker earning the minimum wage was paid enough to raise a family of three above the poverty line” (Employment and Homelessness). However, since then minimum wage has not increased enough to cover inflation. “In today’s current market, a full-time minimum wage worker working 40 hours a week and 52 weeks per year would earn $13,624, nearly 25 percent below poverty level” (Employment and...
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...Evidence Based Intervention Report for (Child Neglect) Risk and protective factors for trauma survivors * Risk factors (Child Welfare Information Gateway) * Individual: life stress, acute mental and physical health crises, school problems, family relationship problems, isolation, induced stress, anxiety, fear * Microsystemic: abusive parents, parents with mental or physical health problems, family conflict, bullies, single parent, inappropriate caregivers, antisocial peer groups, domestic violence, parental substance abuse, shuttling from home to foster care, lack of money, power issues in house hold * Mesosystemic: Lack of communication between family and school, parent isn’t involved in child education, lack of friends, lack of supervision from parents and community members, lack of religious community * Exosystemic: Medical neglect, less social contact and support, lack of societal/professional knowledge around neglect, low-income neighborhoods, dangerous neighborhoods, lack of resources, lack of childcare, lack of transportation * Macrosystemic: lack of requirement to register sex offenders, lack of social norms around neglect, fear of reporting abuse * https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/factors/protective_factors.cfm * Protective factors * Individual: low stress, coping strategies, positive self-image, sense of purpose, academic skills, involvement in activities, problem solving skills. * Microsystemic:...
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