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171_6.pptxSWU 171 Intro to Social Work
Dr. hilary Haseley, phd, msw, acue
Overview
Chapter 6 Family and Child Welfare
Today’s Diverse Family
Family: A social unit where people form relationships and make a commitment to live together as a defined family group and provide for the group’s social, emotional, and economic needs, including care of children
Families may or may not be based on kinship
Kinship: Common ancestry, marriage, or adoption
Today’s Diverse Family
Traditional image of a family is changing.
Nuclear family: One or more parents living with their dependent children, apart from other relatives
Extended family: Relatives beyond the nuclear family live together
Families may now live in multiple dwellings
Transnational migration- family members maintaining lifestyles across separate countries and cultures
Certain family types face unique scrutiny and disproportionate judgment:
Transgender, lesbian, and gay parents
Today’s Diverse Family
Divorce:
Stigma has been decreasing
Many reasons for divorce.
Irreconcilable differences- Disagreements and differences between spouses that cannot be resolved; neither spouse is blamed for the breakdown of the relationship
Not necessarily negative event
Divorce rates have held steady between 40% and 50%; lower for college graduates
Today’s Diverse Family
Separation
Legal separations may or may not lead to divorce
Remain legally married and can retain legal and economic benefits of marriage
Some states mandate a period of separation before divorce
Blended families
Partners in a committed relationship with children from previous relationships and possibly children together
Defining relationships with new parental figures and various siblings can be a challenge
Children may be splitting time between multiple homes as well
Social workers may help families define roles for both parents and kids
Today’s Diverse Family
Single-parent households
Traditionally, these are single-mother households
Often a challenge to care for and financially support children
Today’s Diverse Family
Same-sex marriage and parenting
The United States recognizes marriage equality; 2015 Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges
Need for social workers to openly recognize and appreciate same-sex marriages and parenting
Gay parents can raise very healthy kids; the quality of a family unit has nothing to do with the parents’ sexual orientation
Today’s Diverse Family
Many couples live together before (or in lieu of) marriage
Cohabitation has been very popular in recent history in the United States
Many reasons for this choice (lack of commitment, finances, legal issues, conflicting responsibilities)
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
Predominantly committed by men.
Usually an issue of power and control.
Domestic violence or intimate partner violence (IPV) is viewed by many professionals as a public health crisis in the United States
IPV has been shown to impact women of reproductive age and to have both short-term and long-term traumatic effects on female sexual and reproductive health
https://aaswsw.org/member/jill-messing-phd-msw/
Child Trafficking
Subset of human trafficking, a global problem involving the exploitation of humans through the threat or use of mistreatment, force, coercion, abduction, fraud, and/or deception
Children facing vulnerabilities are particularly at risk
Women and girls constitute a major target group
Difficult to collect data concerning human and child trafficking
Efforts from UNICEF to protect the lives of exploited children across the globe
1 (888) 373-7888 National Human Trafficking Hotline
Child Welfare
Public child welfare agencies are funded by tax revenue and run by federal/state governments
Often include services such as adoption, family life education, child protective services, in-home family-centered intervention, and residential services
Private child welfare agencies rely on pay for service, serve smaller populations, and are less bureaucratic and may be more specialized
Public agencies may pay more, while private agencies offer smaller caseloads, more autonomy, and less bureaucracy
Child Maltreatment
Child protective services programs respond to reports of child maltreatment
Varying names for agencies by states and counties
Child welfare policies promote well-being and safety of children
Child protective services workers are trained to look for signs of abuse and to identify suspicious or illogical explanations for injuries
Child Welfare History
1800s- concern about treatment of children led to the first public child welfare institutions
1900s- child abuse became criminal; states began to recognize their duty to protect children
1960s- battered child syndrome was identified by Dr. C. Henry Kempe, who advocated for doctors reporting child abuse suspicions
The syndrome can be physical or psychological in nature and involves persistent injuries usually caused by a caregiver
Shaken baby syndrome: Serious brain injury to infants and toddlers as a result of being physically shaken
By the end of the 1960s, child abuse became a mandated reporting situation for professionals working with children
Child Maltreatment
Child physical abuse: Deliberate use of physical force that injures or could injure a child June 2022, 943
Child sexual abuse: Engaging (or attempting to engage) sexually with a child or exploiting a child for sexual purposes June 2022 121
Child Maltreatment
Child neglect: Failing to meet a child’s basic needs June 2022- 1840
Child psychological maltreatment includes public embarrassment, verbal cruelty, intimidation, threats, and deprivation of love June 2022- 21
Parental vs Child Rights
Family service agencies aim to protect and aid families in difficult situations and transitions
Parents have wide allowance to discipline children as they see fit
Discipline that harms children becomes a violation of their rights
Child welfare agencies promote children’s needs, safety, and rights
The best interests of families may at times be in conflict with the best interests of children
Child Protective Services
Child protective services investigate and adjudicate reports of child maltreatment
Family-based services
include counseling, therapy, skill building, advocacy, educational, and other services
Common areas examined: Parental conflict, loss of family members, mental health issues, substance use, domestic violence, development of gender, race, ethnic, and/or sexual orientation identity, transgender issues, and challenges for same-sex and single parenting
Child Protective Services
Family preservation services
Family preservation services aim to help at-risk families prevent child removal through comprehensive aid and services
Family foster care
Family foster care: Trained and licensed parents can provide homes for children removed from their homes
Child Protective Services
Family reunification services
Family reunification services aim to reunite children in the system with their families
Adoption services
Adoption services: Permanent rendering of parental rights to a new set of parents
https://www.childrensheartgallery.org/
Child Protective Services
Residential care
Residential care: Group homes that serve as alternative placements for children removed from their families
Independent living services
Independent living services help children who are “aging out” of the system to transition to living on their own
Attitudes
Public Attitudes Toward Services for Children and Families
Institutional/Primary view: Humans generally try to succeed but may struggle to do so in the face of challenges and negative factors outside their control; communities should help whenever possible
Residual/Secondary view: People are responsible for their own situation and should escape problematic circumstances through their own efforts without government intervention whenever possible
Attitudes
Social Workers’ Attitudes Toward Child and Family Services
Services help children move toward positive lives
Diversity factors contribute to risks
Right to self-determination
Hope that services and programs will help children move toward more positive lives overall, rather than being temporary fixes
Recognition that diversity factors contribute to increased risks for family health and mental health
Belief in the family’s and child’s right to self-determination and their inherent dignity and worth
Intersection of Diversity
Class
Poorer children have limited access to resources
Gender and sexual orientation
Children raised by same-sex parents do just as well as other children
Same-sex parents my face oppression and discrimination
Women continue to be seen as primary caretakers of children
Ethnicity
Different cultures have different attitudes about education and work
Age
Young children may struggle to express and pursue their needs
Current Trends in Advocacy for Child and Family Services
Children’s advocacy centers (CACs)
Improve coordination of services for families with children, and for children themselves
May employ/coordinate a wide range of professionals for this purpose
Assist in investigations of child maltreatment
https://www.childhelp.org/advocacy-centers/childhelp-childrens-center-of-arizona/
Dynamic Advocacy
Economic and social justice
Children’s perspectives often unheard and undervalued
Guardian ad litem: Court-appointed lawyers who act on children’s behalf
Social workers can seek to improve services for children and make sure their voices are heard
Supportive environment
Location of home impacts many aspects of a child’s life
Human needs and rights
Social workers need to speak on behalf of children who cannot adequately describe or pursue their needs
Social workers must be well versed in human development
Political access
Politicians’ view of social welfare policy depends on their overall perspective
Social workers advocate for a voice for the disenfranchised and increased funding for child and family services
Social workers may also serve as elected officials themselves
