What is Child Welfare  Involves providing social services to children and young people whose parents are not able to adequately fulfill their child-rearing responsibilities, or whose communities fail to provide resources and protection that families and children require (Child Welfare League of America).

Child Welfare Services

The Case of Mary Ellen  Before and After

Primary Goal of Child welfare  Promotion of the physical, social, and mental well-being of children and their families

Issues and Challenges Confronting Children  Poverty  Child care  Health care  Single-parent household  Teenage pregnancy  Child abuse and neglect

Child Maltreatment- National Year 2000 Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Information  3 Million cases reported 63 % screened in 63 % screened in Received investigations or assessmentsReceived investigations or assessments Who reported Who reported TeachersTeachers PolicePolice Social workersSocial workers PhysiciansPhysicians Family membersFamily members NeighborsNeighbors Community membersCommunity members 32% of investigations resulted in findings that the child or children were abused or neglected 32% of investigations resulted in findings that the child or children were abused or neglected  879,000 children maltreated Neglect (63%) Medical neglect Physical abuse (19%) Sexual abuse (10%) Psychological maltreatment

Perpetrators  Parents  Relatives  Babysitters  Foster parents  Fatalities 1,200 children annually Youngest children most vulnerable 85% under 6

Reasons Why Parents/ Caregivers Maltreat Children  Individual parent factors  Family factors  Environmental factors

Individual Parent Factors  These are personality traits and social attributes frequently found among abusive parents.

Specific Individual Parent Factors  Feeling of low self-esteem  Excessive dependency (look to others to fulfill needs)  Serious difficulty coping with the demands of parenting  Impulsivity  Rigid personalities  Deficient consciences (inability to sympathize with their children).  Childhood deprivation (repeating child-rearing patterns they experienced).  Social isolation (cut off from their social environment).

Family Factors  Parental collusion  Scapegoating  Single parent status  Adolescent parents  Factors related to the child

Environmental Factors  Chronic stressors Long-term problematic conditions with which a family must cope Long-term problematic conditions with which a family must cope  Situational stressors Changes in a family’s social situation. Changes in a family’s social situation.  Precipitating stressors Incidents immediately triggering an incident of maltreatmentIncidents immediately triggering an incident of maltreatment perceived child behavior is the most common. perceived child behavior is the most common. Source: Faller & Ziefert (1981). Source: Faller & Ziefert (1981).

Scope and Functions of Child Welfare Services  Supportive service  Substitute services  Supplemental services

Supportive Services  Are those directed toward the maintenance of children in their homes.  The services are directed toward strengthening the parents in performing in a manner consistent with social expectations.  These services are directed towards supporting the family in time of trouble.  They are viewed as the first line of defense for families that are encountering.

Supportive Services: Child Protective Services  Those activities concerned “with preventing neglect, abuse and sexual exploitation of children by reaching out with social services to stabilize family life”.  An array of services designed to protect children who are neglected, abused or exploited (American Humane Association).

Goals of Child Protective Services  To safeguard the rights and protect the welfare of children.  To see that neglected and abused children are protected against further experiences and conditions detrimental to healthy growth and development.  To ensure that children receive the kind of care that will provide the essentials for their well-being and development at home or in appropriate substitute care.

Supportive: Pregnancy Counseling  Provides a broad array of services to unmarried parents.  This may include family planning, abortion counseling and other alternatives to out-of-wedlock pregnancy.

Supportive: Daycare  Provides care for the child outside of the home.  Service is usually directed toward cognitive, social, and physical growth of the child.

Supportive: Homemaker services  This is to sustain the family at a troubled time.  Services may be needed due to illness, the absence of a family member, or inadequate parenting skills.

Substitute Services  Are those designed to substitute for parental care when parents are not able to carry out their functions and the child must be removed from the home.

Substitute Services: Foster Care  Full-time, substitute care of children outside their own homes.  It is an alternative care for children whose parents are unable to care for them.  It is a primary service for victims of child abuse.  Foster care of children occurs in family homes, group homes, and institutions.  Foster parents receive board payments.

Reasons For Entry Into Foster Care  Protective service reasons (most cases)  Status offenders  Disabilities or handicaps  Parental condition or absence  Relinquishment of parental rights

Kinship Care  It is also called relative foster care, home of relative care, or relative family care.  This is where family members within the community provide the care, rather than “strangers”.

Adoption  This is "the method provided by law to establish the legal relationship of parent and child between persons who are not related by birth" (Child Welfare League of America).  The goal of adoption is to provide children with permanent homes.

Types of adoption  Agency adoption Those arranged through private or public child welfare agencies. It offers the best safeguards for all concerned in the process. Those arranged through private or public child welfare agencies. It offers the best safeguards for all concerned in the process.

Non-agency adoption/Independent Adoption  Relative adoption Is the largest category of independent adoptions. It involves a stepparent who adopts a spouse's child. Is the largest category of independent adoptions. It involves a stepparent who adopts a spouse's child.  Direct placement Is the second largest category of independent adoptions. Is the second largest category of independent adoptions. It involves an arrangement made by the legal parents to someone known to them. It involves an arrangement made by the legal parents to someone known to them.  Non-for profit intermediary placement This is where biological parents and prospective adoptive parents arrange the adoption through an intermediary who is not profiting financially from the placement. This is where biological parents and prospective adoptive parents arrange the adoption through an intermediary who is not profiting financially from the placement.  For-profit intermediary placement This is where an intermediary charges a high fee for arranging the adoption. This is where an intermediary charges a high fee for arranging the adoption. This type of adoption is against the law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This type of adoption is against the law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Issues in Adoption  Transracial/transcultural adoption  Hard-to-place children  Right of access to information about the heritage of adopted children

Group Homes  Provide a form of congregate living for children who have special needs which make other types of placement difficult.

Guardianship  Services provided for children whose parents are unavailable to assume their responsibilities.  A court may appoint a social worker as a “guardian ad litem” (or next friend).

Supplemental Services  They are those directed toward supplementing the family in its functioning due to a deficit existing within the home.  Services are tangible in nature, usually financial, resulting from social insurance and public assistance programs.

Source of these slides  Child Welfare Policies and Services powerpoint presentation  Dr. Osei Darkwa  University of Illinois at Chicago