Week 2 Discussion 2 Role Play Which programs will we keep
Week 2 Discussion 2 Role Play Which programs will we keep
(i.e., to either keep or eliminate a specific program). In this discussion, you will continue examining child protection services by evaluating the effectiveness of child protection resources from organizations that provide information and support for at-risk families. Specifically, we assess the outcomes of parenting programs for at-risk families using role-play. To prepare for this discussion, review any of the various chapters from Rubin (2012) listed in the Recommended Resources for Week Two, as well as the Week Two Instructor Guidance. When responding to this discussion, depending on the first letter of your last name, you will select either the California Department of Health Care Services (Links to an external site.) website or the Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services (Links to an external site.) website and speak from a specific role about whether to keep or terminate a specific program that supports at-risk children and families.
· If your last name begins with A-M, speak from the role of a Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services official who wants to maintain an existing parenting program that supports at-risk children and families.
· If your last name begins with N-Z, speak from the role of a State of California Director of Health Services who wants to eliminate a specific parenting program that supports at-risk children and families to reduce costs for the state.
Initial Post: Speaking from the role you are assigned, write an initial post about whether to keep or eliminate a specific program that supports at-risk children and families. Use the two websites listed above, the recommended Rubin (2012) readings for Week Two, and at least one additional scholarly source to provide support for your argument. Be sure to state which role you are assuming in this role-play activity and the specific program you are discussing at the beginning of your initial post. Next, write your argument as a formal letter to the citizens of your assigned locality (i.e., either LA County or the State of California). Your letter should be written succinctly (i.e., it should not be lengthy) and persuasively and include a specific call to action
Guided Response: Respond to a minimum of two peers. In each response, assume the role of a press agent for a local newspaper and interview your peer. You can do so by asking questions about the ramifications of keeping or terminating the program. This will elicit further critical thought from peers about their arguments. Though personal opinions may be expressed in the replies, it is expected that you will write an objective response that is designed, again, to promote further critical thinking by peers about their arguments. Please keep personal opinions about the programs discussed to a minimum and focus on evidence-based responses. As with other discussions, though two replies is the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and learning you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have provided for you to further the conversation and demonstrate critical thinking on this topic.
Week Two Instructor Guidance Welcome to Week Two of EDU644: Child and Family Welfare! Please be sure to review the Week Two homepage for this course to see the specific learning outcomes for the week, the schedule overview, the required and recommended resources for the week, an introduction to the week, and a listing of the assessments for the week. Next, be sure to read this entire Instructor Guidance page.
Overview During Week One, you began to form your concept of the meaning of poverty and “at-risk” populations and shared ideas about child protection agencies and setting priorities for families and children at risk. You also contemplated design features of the resources you explored for the purpose of developing your website for families and children at risk using resources, programming, and strategies. You will notice during Week Two how local, state, and federal policies pertaining to child protection agencies differ among states. As you study and participate in this week’s assessments, continue to take note of the design of the websites you review as they can be sources of inspiration for the website you will begin to create this week and share in the first Discussion in Week Three. The assessments during Week Two regarding resources and support pertaining to the topic of child protection services and policies also prepare you for successful completion of the Final Project in Week Six. During the Post Your Introduction discussion last week, you were encouraged to review the weekly homepages for the course and take note of the assessments each week. Now is an effective time to review the Week Six final project to understand the scope of what you will do in that assessment and how your participation in Week Two supports your success in that final assessment.
Intellectual Elaboration
“If there is no struggle, then there is no progress.” (Frederick Douglass)
The quote by Douglass shown above, likely means different things to different people. Consider this as you expand your current knowledge of child protection agencies, programs, and resources designed to support children and families at risk. This week, you are asked how you can best target the programming and resources with a limited budget and personnel. You will also learn about philosophical tenets and why some are carried out in the programs when the underlying foundations are no longer valid.
Philosophical Tenets of Social Workers and Their Agencies A philosophical tenet refers to a principle, belief, or doctrine held true by a person or group. Chances are you have been asked to compose your philosophy related to your field of study (teaching, community service, etc.). A philosophy statement includes guidelines or principles that provide a framework supporting the overall philosophy. For example, when writing a teaching philosophy statement, a few fundamental questions are traditionally answered which serve as the writer’s principles. For example, teaching philosophies usually answer; a) why you teach; b) what you teach; c) how you teach; d) where you teach; and d) how you measure your effectiveness (Washington University in St. Louis, 2013; Oregon State University, n.d.). Social workers and their agencies have unique philosophical tenets. The Administration for Children and Families under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services follow the tenets set forth by the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). They include:
1. Prevention programs are necessary to strengthen families and reduce the likelihood of child abuse and neglect.
2. The responsibility for addressing child maltreatment is shared among community professionals and citizens.
3. A safe and permanent home is the best place for a child to grow up.
4. When parents (or caregivers) are unable or unwilling to fulfill their responsibilities to provide adequate care and to keep their children safe, CPS has the mandate to intervene.
5. Most parents want to be good parents and have the strength and capacity, when adequately supported, to care for their children and keep them safe.
6. To help families protect their children and meet their basic needs, the community's response must demonstrate respect for every person involved.
7. Services must be individualized and tailored.
8. Child protection and service delivery approaches should be family centered.
9. Interventions need to be sensitive to the cultures, beliefs, and customs of all families.
10. To best protect a child's overall well-being, agencies must assure that children move to permanency as quickly as possible (Child Welfare Information Gateway, n.d.).
To learn more about philosophical tenets, view the Frontline (2014) Social Work Short Film (Links to an external site.). The video is approximately three-minutes long and explores the philosophical tenets of social workers and their agencies. Additionally, view the video from the NASWMAchapter (2010) (Links to an external site.). This approximately six-minute video explores the careers of social workers in the United States. Child Protection Agencies Child protection agencies provide support and services for children and families at risk. Each agency develops their programming for their philosophical tenets about the best approaches towards assisting children and families at risk as part of their organizational mission. While you might perceive that one approach or resource can meet the needs of families at risk, the variety of philosophical tenets vary to a large extent. Programs are ways of assisting families and children at risk such as healthy meals or truancy prevention that enhances their lives. Resources include financial assistance, housing, counseling, and referrals to other agencies that might be of assistance. Another key element for guiding families towards success involves the usage of parenting programs. The purpose is to develop intrinsic skills and confidence for families to move from the crises mode towards stability. Depending on the philosophical tenet of the agency, the family programs can include workshops, mentors, and hands-on training opportunities to improve the children’s lives. The recommended chapters from the text by Rubin offer numerous model parenting programs for you to review and expand your understanding.
Assessment Guidance This section includes additional specific assistance for excelling in the discussions for Week Two beyond what is given with the instructions for the assessments. If you have questions about what is expected on any assessment for Week Two, contact your instructor using the Ask Your Instructor discussion before the due date. Discussion 1: Child Protection Agencies Infographic This discussion is an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of the course learning outcome “Evaluate various resources and organizations that provide information and support for families at risk.” Recall from the videos previously listed that child protection agencies operate with specific philosophical tenets in regards to their work with populations at risk. The concept behind their programs and policies involves the specific goals and philosophies associated with the actions of child protection agencies. The philosophy also leads to specific approaches for effectively working with families and children at risk that can vary by local, state, and federal policies/programming. For this discussion you will create an infographic. If you are new to the concept of an infographic, be sure to review these examples from the Daily Infographic website (Links to an external site.). The purpose of an infographic is to effectively communicate important information visually. Review the example infographic from the Pew Research Center (2011) on this page as one model of a simple infographic. Notice how this infographic makes use of a scholarly source and provides rich insight as to the data from that source in a visual format. Pay attention to the different design features as you explore a variety of examples. You may use virtually any type of software to prepare your infographic such as PowerPoint or Microsoft Publisher.
Pew Research Center (2011) infographic example, College: The cost, the payoff, the big picture.
Discussion 2: Role Play! Which Programs Will We Keep? This discussion is another opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of the course learning outcome “Evaluate various resources and organizations that provide information and support for families at risk.” For Discussion 2, we extend the topic of child protection services by assessing the effectiveness of a child protection resource with an organization that supports families at risk. Evaluate the outcomes of parenting programs for families at risk using role-play and select various chapters from Rubin (2012) listed in the Recommended Resources for Week Two and the Week Two Instructor Guidance. The chapters to select from in the text by Rubin offer numerous examples of parental support programs from which to inform your response as you assume a particular role and make tough decisions. You are asked to post your response to this discussion in the format of a persuasive letter. This letter should be professionally written and not more than a 2-3 succinct paragraphs that offer sound reasoning and examples to support your argument. According to OWL Purdue, persuasive writing “seeks to convince its readers to embrace the point-of-view presented by appealing to the audience’s reason and understanding through argument and/or entreaty.” (OWL, Purdue University, n.d.). Be sure to use the steps for effective persuasion shared in the presentation shared in the list of resources. Assignment: Supporting Families at Risk: Website Construction This assignment is an opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of the course learning outcome “Evaluate various resources and organizations that provide information and support for families at risk.” As you have noticed from our course assessments and readings thus far, and you may know also from personal experiences, the types of programs and resources that support families at risk at the state and federal levels vary significantly in terms of budgets and availability. Additionally, the level and depth of programs and resources at the state-level can be uneven in their ability to provide for the needs of families at risk. This assignment is an opportunity for you to further demonstrate your knowledge of programs and resources designed to support families at risk. The focus of this assignment is to analyze programs and resources designed to support families at risk and share what you’ve learned thus far in your own website. The purpose of constructing your own website is to feature information and resources designed to support children and families at risk. The most essential aspect of this and any website is to share what is provided in an effort to reach those in need. In this case, your website can benefit people currently considered at-risk as well as practitioners in a variety of related fields geared at supporting populations at risk. Start the project by reviewing the website creation options listed in the Recommended Resources for Week Two and the here in the Instructor Guidance. Next, begin creation of your website using the content and written communication instructions outlined in the Week Two Assignment instructions.
References Child Welfare Information Gateway (n.d.). Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/foundation/foundationb.cfm Effective Persuasion Presentation (n.d.). OWL English. Purdue University. Retrieved from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/696/1/ Frontline. (2014, March 18). Frontline: Social work short film 2014 [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/84bE1M6Usz0 NASWMAchapter. (2010, July 23). This could be you: The many faces of social work [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/77UGDj48oHs Oregon State University (n.d.). Suggestions for writing an educational philosophy statement. Retrieved from http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/suggestions.html Pew Research Center. (2011). College: The cost, the payoff, the big picture [Image file]. Retrieved from http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2011/1105/college_graphic.jpg Writing a teaching philosophy statement (2013). The Teaching Center. Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved from http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/About/ProgramsforGraduateStudentsandPostdocs/resources/Pages/Writing-a-Teaching-Philosophy-Statement.aspx
Required Resources
Text
Rubin, A. (2012). Clinician’s guide to evidence-based practice: Programs and interventions for maltreated children and families at risk. Retrieved from https://redshelf.com
· Chapter 1: Introduction: Overview of Child Welfare Services and Empirical Support. (Pages 3-7). This chapter supports your response to Week Two Discussion 1.
Websites
California Department of Health Care Services. (2014). Services (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/services/Pages/default.aspx
· This website from the State of California’s Department of Health Care Services provides links to a variety of services available for families and children. This website is a required resource for the Week Two Discussion 2.
Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services (Links to an external site.). (http://lacdcfs.org/index.html)
· This comprehensive website provides tabs by which to navigate to services provided for a variety of groups at risk (e.g., parents, youth) and categories of services (e.g., health, careers). Browse the various tabs as you use this required resource to prepare for the Week Two Discussion 2.
National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA). (2014). Principles and philosophy (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.nicwa.org/technical_assistance/taphilosophy/
· This NICWA website explains this organization’s principles and philosophy. This resource is required for the Week Two assignment and may also be of use to you for completion of the Week Two Discussion 1 where you will create an infographic about philosophical tenets of a child protection agency.
Recommended Resources
Text
Rubin, A. (2012). Clinician’s guide to evidence-based practice: Programs and interventions for maltreated children and families at risk . Retrieved from https://redshelf.com
· Chapter 2: The incredible years: Evidence-based parenting and child programs for families involved in the child welfare system.
· Chapter 5: Parent-child interaction therapy: Implementing and sustaining a treatment program for families of young children with disruptive behavior disorders.
· Chapter 11: Project support: Reducing conduct problems of children in violent families.
· Chapter 13: Global goals and specific skills; Integrating motivational interviewing into child welfare practice.
· Chapter 19: The Nurturing parenting programs; Preventing and treating child abuse and neglect.
Article
Community Toolbox. (2014). Chapter 1 section 6: Some core principles, assumptions, and values to guide the work (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/overview/model-for-community-change-and-improvement/core-principles-and-values/main
· A service of the Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas, this Community Toolbox website provides a wealth of information about the Community Toolbox service and provides a thoughtful discussion of what guiding principles, assumptions, and values mean in the context of this organization’s mission. This resource might be useful for students while completing the Week Two Discussion 1 infographic activity as well as for the Week Two Assignment.
Multimedia
Johnson, L. (2012, October 12). Teaching with infographics (Links to an external site.) [Presentation slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/lisamariejohnson/teaching-with-infographics-14705260
· This presentation provides a definition of what an infographic is and explores strategies and tools for creating effective infographics including links to other sources of information about infographics. This presentation is a recommended resource for the Week Two Discussion 1.
Websites
Daily Inforgraphic (Links to an external site.). (http://dailyinfographic.com)
· This website provides example infographics on a variety of topics ranging from healthcare to zombies! Use this recommended resource to gather inspiration for the infographic you will create in the Week Two Discussion 1.
GoogleSites.com (Links to an external site.). (https://sites.google.com)
· This website creator tool is an option for creating your website for this course. Review the Google Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.) before deciding whether to use this resource for your website.
Weebly.com (Links to an external site.). (http://www.weebly.com)
· This website creator tool is an option for creating your website for this course. Review the Weebly Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.) before deciding whether to use this resource for your website.
Wix.com (Links to an external site.). (http://www.wix.com)
· This website creator tool is an option for creating your website for this course. Review the Wix Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.) before deciding whether to use this resource for your website.