What is the child welfare field?
All children should have a home where they experience a sense of belonging, security, and continuous and permanent membership
What are the three ways of thinking about child welfare that we have discussed in class?
1. A philosophy or value system which recognizes and acknowledges the special vulnerabilities of children.
2. Any formal course of action that addresses the physical, social, and emotional needs of ALL children, regardless to their social status. (for exa
What does the child welfare field attempt to accomplish?
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Why does it pursue this mission?
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How does it perform its mission (i.e., what kinds of services are offered)?
1. Child Protective Services (CPS): Prevention, Investigation, and Case Management.
2. Mental Health and Counseling services
3. Public health initiatives focused on children
4. Programs for children with disabilities
5. Residential treatment and respite c
How many referrals are made each year to child welfare authorities?
In 2012, there were about 3.4 million referrals state child protective service agencies involving about 6.3 million children.
What happens to these referrals?
Approximately 62% of these reports were "screened in" for an investigation. In other words, over a third were "screened out" and never actually became an official assessment case.
Screened in reports: enough information to initiate an investigation.
Upon which early laws and principles was our child welfare system based?
Early precursors:
1. English common law, the "custody concept"
2. Parens Patriae
3. The Protestant Ethic
4. Enlightened Conservatism.
1. Custody concept
Who has the legal control over the child within reasonable limits? Children were employed (in the family farm, after the age of 6.), generated resources, and were financial assets if they survived to the age of 12. The question was who has the right to th
2. Parens Patriae
It was created after the bubonic plague that killed a lot of people and made people poor. Parents have the right to control their children but there are certain stances. The state has the right to step in, and overwhelm the parent's rights, to take care o
3. Protestant Ethic
If you behave a certain way, live a moral code, God will "smile" on you. This concept is similar to the puritan beliefs. But, they stigmatize the poor; "God frowns upon the poor". Blame the poor for being poor.
4. Enlightened Conservatism
The community feels "called" to help. Also, they believe if the community doesn't help, there will be consequences. Provide help not to benefit the children but society as a whole.
What were the major services provided in colonial America? What worked, what didn't, and why
Early forms of intervention:
1. Outdoor relief
2. Farming/ Binding out
3. Alms Houses
4. Indenturing/ Apprenticeship
5. Slavery
1. Outdoor relief
Aid for the family so they will remain together, for instance if the father dies, the state financially supports the family for them to stay together instead of separating the kids from the unemployed mother.
2. Farming
Similar to foster care. The state pays a family to take care of a child/ infant with no family. This concept didn't work, because it didn't create any incentive for the family to take good care of the child/ infant
3. Alms Houses
A place where anyone who has a disability can go to live at, for instance blind, deaf, any kind of disability, homeless!, and kids with no families. This concept didn't work for the kids because they were more likely to get victimized.
4. Indenturing/ Apprenticeship
A silversmith will take a child, raise the kid and teach him the trade, and let him work for him for years. It worked relatively well.
What major social changes occurred in the 19th century and how did they affect the child welfare system?
1. Influential Shifts: Migration, Immigration, Industrialization, and Urbanization; conceptions of children and childhood.
2. The Rise of the Specialty Institutions: Asylums, Reformatories, Houses of Refuge, and Orphanages (support and segregation).
3. Th
1. Influential shifts: Migration
after civil war and because of industrialization and urbanization (moving to big cities) a lot of health problems with immigration and there was a lot of children
2. Rise of specialty institutions:
1. Orphanages: support from church organizations, also called houses of refuge ( in large cities)
2. Reformatories: for kids who had problems with the law
3. Asylums: Institutionalization was a way to deal with kids and people who don't fit in society, to
3. The free foster care movement:
Charles loring brase: a protestant minister, the one who developed a new system, the foster care, and hes the one who sent the kids west. For many kids it was helpful but for others it wasn't.
Catholic church also contributed, because they didn't want cat
4. Little Mary Ellen and the ASPCA: Expanding Services.
Friendly visitors learned that Little Mary Ellen was abused, and at that time there were no laws to help and support the children, but Henry Burge brought ASPCA (American Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals) to introduce it to the city. When brought to
5. The charity Organization Societies: "United Way
mechanisms of dividing for the poor wasn't that good, so the U.S created organizations to divide and provide services to the poor.
6. The Juvenile Court
Kids who go to court (0-18 years old) are not small adults with their own needs. Kid problems are family problems. Instead of treating a kid as a criminal, a juvenile court was created, in some places like SC is called family court.
What major social changes occurred in the 20th century and how did they affect the child welfare system?
1. Progressive Era and Positivism: A lot of changes are happening in the physical world (inventing cars..), so why not fix the social world?
A. Positivism: No problem that can be solved unless you spend time and effort ( intellectualism). Introduction of
Fundamental changes in the field (20th century):
1. Federalization: 1909 first conference about kids issues, at a federal level. 1912 created the Children's Bureau
2. Sheppard-Towner Act, 1921: related to infant- maternal mortality. Created well-baby clinics
3. Keating-Owens Act, 1916: (It was appealed)
Post WWII (20th century): WWII ended great depression
In the 60s
1."The Battered Child Syndrome" and the Medicalization of the Field: Pediatric radiologists... 1) X-rays showed many previous injuries ( not the current) 2) doctors will easily find out that stories are not consistent with the evidence.
2. The
What have been the key issues during different eras?
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What kinds of resistance have social reformers experienced as they have at attempted to strengthen the protections for children?
Resistance came from the industry first! and then from the parents.
What are the five major parenting styles we have been reviewed? What are the major characteristics of each? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each? What kinds of children does each approach "create?" Which styles are least likely to result in maltr
1. Authoritative: Clear about what's acceptable and what is not. Authoritative parents "hear" their children's views, but create security by actively being in charge. Not likely to abuse
2. Authoritarian: High involvement and high expectations. More likel
Other parenting styles:
1. Tiger mothers: Tiger mothers: high involvement and high structure (no discussion! Do as I say kind of parent). Will not use corporate punishment
2. Concerted cultivators: days filled with activities. Will not use corporate punishment.
b. What are the major attachment styles we reviewed? What are the most and least healthy forms of attachment? How has attachment style been assessed? How do attachment styles relate to parenting styles?
*Trauma bond: which contains a lot of neglect and events of abuse (under stimulation and over stimulation )
*Stockholm syndrome: Role reversal: the boy is worried about his father abusive, doing the adult thing. Such as a woman grew up in an abusive envir
What are the ultimate goals for child and family law? What kind of dilemmas does this create?
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Why are there multiple levels of proof?
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What kind and levels of "proof" would one need: to make a referral; to remove a child; to make a finding of abuse or neglect; to terminate parental rights; or to have criminal prosecution?
1. Probable cause: 25% sure, must have reasonable suspicion from a reasonable person (lowest level) the minimum evidence to make a report, to encourage people to report.
2. Preponderance: more than 50%, just enough information (judge judy)
3. Clear and co
What safeguards are provided for the child?
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What safeguards are provided for caretakers?
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Who are the major actors in the family court and criminal court systems? What is the role of each? How do family and criminal courts differ?
1. Purpose. ("legislating from the bench")
2. Levels of Evidence:
3. Finder of fact.
4. Child witnesses: Family: no witness. Criminal: Yes
5. Attorneys and Guardians Ad Litem (CASA): volunteers who go through training for the best of the child, to represe
What kinds of discretion do child welfare authorities have?
1.Federal Law.
2.State Law.
3.Administrative Policies.
4.Judicial Decisions.
5.Practitioner and Supervisory Judgment.
Who has the authority to remove a child from his or her parents?
Law enforcement
Timeline & process of investigations of abuse and neglect:
-begin investigation within 24 hours
If there is a referral and investigation, 45 days to determine if there is abuse, there can be an extension of 15 days. After the 60 days and there was no information the case will be dismissed. if a child is emergency removed, hearing within 72 hours wit
What is the difference between causality and cumulative risk?
Causality: everything has a cause
Cumulative: a lot of factors influence together
What are the principal "risk" factors associated with physical abuse and neglect (i.e., the multiplicity of "causes" at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community and societal levels)?
Clumpers vs splitters
Sociological vs psychological
What is the intergenerational transmission process? How empirically valid is this concept?
1. Personal History of Maltreatment. (30% abuse your kids)
2. Violence Modeled:
A. Learned abuse: father abused mother > the mother screams> the child's anxiety increases> father hits mother> she stops screaming>child's anxiety stops. So he learns that as
What is the "empty vessel hypothesis?
I can't give love and affection to my children if it wasn't given to me as a child
What is the difference between "cold abuse" and "hot abuse?
Hot abuse: He provokes me so i hit him
Cold abuse: from people who are rigid and compulsive. Low levels of empathy. will feel depressed and after abusing the kid will change his mood.
What is the "myth of classlessness?
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What is "encounter theory?
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What is the relative contribution of significant mental illness to issues of child maltreatment?
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Abused Dichotomy:
Its easier for a kid to feel that he's the problem and not his parents because if they did then to them the whole world will be the problem! The kids who think this way are resilient kids