Child Welfare Term Paper 18 pages
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Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2011). How the Child Welfare system works. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This article is accurate in that it gives a real life experience. It cites scenarios that occur in an everyday environment and situations that children encounter in their lives. The use of government organizations gives it the credibility to reference. It links various organizations closely examining the role played by both private and public institutions. It offers solutions to problems facing children by creating a channel where their oppressors are sued. Therefore, this is an advantage in identifying the government’s authority over children (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2011).
The content of this article mainly focus on issues surrounding the welfare of children thus depicts objectivity. Throughout the article prime focus is on the welfare of children, either directly or indirectly regarding the situation. In addition, its timeline examines the current situations affecting children in the society. For example, fostering children and the responsibility of the foster family is widely discussed in the article. Its coverage is all rounded and focusses on the children, government and the families. The article is not biased to only one part. In addition, it plays a vital role in informing readers about child welfare by outlining the strategies and the systems involved. This gives knowledge to the public who are enlightened on diverse issues such as the legal procedures towards attaining child justice (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2011).
References
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2011). How the Child Welfare system works. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The primary role of the child welfare system is to keep children safe and to find permanent homes for them. This mission involves protecting children from neglect and abuse. It also strives to provide children with permanent and stable living situations, life-long relationships with caregivers and family members. This discussion, however, documents one of the most important functions of the child welfare system: focusing on the child’s general well-being and ensuring they receive adequate services to meet their mental and physical health. Ensuring that the healthcare needs of children in the child welfare system are met is the responsibility of many, including child welfare agencies, the healthcare system, their out-of-home caregivers, and their families. Children’s health outcomes as well as their opportunities for having safe, permanent and secure homes can be improved with easy access to a comprehensive healthcare system and adequate support from their families. The term “comprehensive healthcare, “ as used in this discussion, refers to services and strategies for meeting physical, mental, dental, emotional and/or developmental needs of children (Bridgeman, 2007, pg 32). One theory that supports the health policy in child welfare is the reduction of health risks that children face for better living. Most children, according to the child welfare system, develop certain risks to their development and health by virtue of the conditions that brought them to the system’s attention. These conditions include sexual, physical or emotional abuse, prenatal drug exposure, neglect, unstable living conditions, domestic violence, and poverty. These risks have to be reduced as much as possible to ensure the children live a healthy and comfortable life: this is made possible through technological advances and general society responsibility.
References Bridgeman, J. (2007). Parental responsibility, young children and healthcare law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mallon, G. P., & Hess, P. M. (2005). Child welfare for the twenty-first century: a handbook of practices, policies, and programs. New York: Columbia University Press. Wulczyn, F. (2005). Beyond common sense: child welfare, child well-being, and the evidence for policy reform. New Brunswick, N.J.: AldineTransaction.
Article 1
In this paper the authors have emphasized the fact that the youth generally don’t want to have connection with their family for the reason that they were hurt by their parents and relatives. The foster care system sometimes creates a kind of bitterness in the children so when they reach the youth phase they start to make their own decision regarding their relationships such as love, friendship, etc. This suggests that during the fostering of young people, they should be provided with a comfortable atmosphere which enables them to overcome their complex life histories so that they can attain their peace of mind in the present. This will enable them to move ahead in their life and make decisions about their future including both permanency and transition planning. Here the author is basis of the practices done by the Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) on Independent Living Program Transformation in California. This fact was derived that at the age of 18 the children or you can say the youth want to live independently.
So they emphasized that the practitioners should provide them the care which can make them independent rather than making them dependent on others for small things. While making them independent the parents should build their skill upon a foundation of permanent connections to family and other supportive adults.
Sometimes during foster care the youth become lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning (LGBTQ). The article focus the age-linked requirements of LGBTQ youth in nurture care and outlines definite ways in which promising practices can be used to achieve better durability consequences with them.
Though the article reveals a nice concept in the nurturing of the youth but the families which are giving their children the comfortable atmosphere they are also suffering with same kind of issues like when the children grow up they want space or sometimes neglect their families, therefore more research need to be done to reveal the causes.
Article 2
The most difficult investigation on parenting education and skill-building interventions has primarily focused on parenting for children experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties in mental health situations. While these children represent a portion of the child welfare population and these programs are a valuable resource to meet the specific needs of those children, the majority of families involved in the child welfare system are facing allegations of parental neglect, and all victims are age 4 years.
The sample included 564 participants referred by OCS to the FRC who completed parent education and training related to their infant, toddler, or pre-school child. They were asked some questions about the child’s care. Specifically, the study examines the effectiveness of the Nurturing Parenting Program (NPP), a 16-week group and home-based program that targets parents and other caregivers of infants, toddlers, and pre-school children involved in the child welfare system.
For the better nurturing of the children it is necessary that the parents are well educated and concerned for their children so this article has proved this fact by their research but still it needs to be focused on the families which are not able to gather resources for the better nurturing of their wards.
Article 3
The intention of this book chapter is dual. First, it concisely evaluates the literature on racial and ethnic differences regarding the race in nurture care graduates consequences.
Second, the chapter condenses the results of an analysis of ethnic and racial differences in the consequences of nurture care graduates in two large-scale educations, the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (Midwest Education) and the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study (Northwest Education), this evaluated many of the same young adult consequences. The limitation of the study is that the research is limited to the specific area but the conditions are not same everywhere.
Ethnic Issue Regarding Child Welfare:
From the above information provided by the article we can conclude that there is so much research need to be done in the field of child welfare. There are several ethical issues associated with the children which need attention of the researchers. Like in many countries the female children do not get the equal love and attention as their brothers/sisters. Therefore the researchers should try to reveal this kind of discrimination prevailing in our society. They should suggest the correct nurturing of the female children so that they can become a confident and responsible citizen of our society. We should avoid the illegal practices like female feticides, and should provide them love, care, and attention to help in constituting the youth which has strength and enable them to serve their society and their country.
References
Article 1 refers to Ganzert R. Robin, Hanson Stacie, GreenblattB. Sarah, AgostiJen, WilmotLeslie ,McGinley R. Julie , Hardman Amanda , Elias Nick, Love and Belonging for a Lifetime: Youth Permanency in Child Welfare, Protecting Children A Professional Publication ofAmerican Humane Association, Volume 26, Number 1, 2011
Article 2 refers to Maher, E. J., Marcynyszyn, L. A., Corwin, T., &Hodnett, R. (2011). Dosage matters: The relationship between participation in the Nurturing Parenting Program for infant, toddlers, and preschoolers and subsequent child maltreatment. Children and Youth Services Review, 33(8), 1426-1434.
Article 3 refers to Dworsky, A., White, C. R., O’Brien, K., Pecora, P. J., Courtney, M., Kessler, R. C., Sampson, N., & Hwang, I. (2011). Beyond disproportionality: Are there racial or ethnic differences in foster care alumni outcomes? In D. Green, K. Belanger, R. McRoy, & L. Bullard (Eds.) Challenging racial disproportionality in child welfare: Research, policy, and practice. (pp. 219-229). Washington, DC: CWLA Press.
Child welfare is a set of government run services created to protect underage children from violence exploitation, trafficking, sexual exploitation and harmful traditional practices such as early marriages. (Zuckerman, E. 1983 pg 2 ). Among the first child protection agencies in the world include ‘the children's aid society’ formed in 1853 in response to orphaned children in New York. The children were placed in foster homes and worked on these family farms. (Lindsey, D. 1994 pg 45). According to (UNICEF), violations of children’s right to protection take place every day in most countries worldwide. In light of this, it thus becomes necessary to create a protective environment for children that will offer assistance to prevent exploitation, violence and abuse of the children. There are a few theoretical underpinnings that constitute child welfare. They include:
(1) Encouraging the open discussion of child welfare issues in the media so as to inform the young ones of their rights. (Roberts, D. E. 2002 pg 9). (2.) Inclusion of child welfare issues in national development plans and strengthening the government’s capacity and commitment in order to fulfill the children's welfare (3.) The enforcement of appropriate laws that address harmful practices, customs and attitudes (4.) implementing effective, oversight monitoring and reporting on health, education and protection (5.) Encouraging community based approaches that strengthen and promote the capacity of families to address child welfare issues.
(2) Despite the large strides in improved child welfare, some of institutions are under scrutiny for causing harm in the name of protection. Due to this, the courts order emergency removal of a child from a foster home or institution where a clear evidence of physical danger is noted. (Wulczyn, F. 2005 pg 67 ). In conclusion, all the children have the right to protection by law and appropriate measures should be implemented to safeguard their welfare.
References: Lindsey, D. (1994). The welfare of children. New York: Oxford University Press. Roberts, D. E. (2002). Shattered bonds: the color of child welfare. New York: Basic Books. Wulczyn, F. (2005). Beyond common sense: child welfare, child well-being, and the evidence for policy reform. New Brunswick, N.J.: Aldine Transaction. Zuckerman, E. (1983). Child welfare. New York: Free Press.
In “parental substance use and the child welfare system” the Child Welfare Information Gateway (CWIG, 2009) asserts that substance abuse by parents was and is still a serious issue grappling the child welfare system. The article goes on to claim that children whose parents abuse drugs remain for a long time in the child welfare system. Although the article provides strong points to support its assertions, it has some gaps in credibility. For an article to be credible, it should always provide evidence of its assertions. Although the article by the CWIG tries to provide evidence for its assertions, some of its claims are not supported. The lack of evidence decreases the credibility of the article. For example, the article asserts that parents who abuse substances may be ineffective in performing their roles, it fails to support its assertion with citation from credible sources. Apart from failing to support its assertions, the lack of credibility of the article is demonstrated by the fact that the authors use outdated information. By the fact that the article was written in 2009, one would expect it to use articles written in the period 2003-2008 as references. However, this has not happened. For example, one of the articles used as a reference was written in 1999. For instance, the CWIG quotes an article written by the HHS in 1999 to support its assertions that two-thirds of child maltreatment instances entail the misuse of drugs (CWIG, 2009). Although the information being cited is correct, it is not up-to-date. Therefore, an article written in 1999 cannot be used to give a clear presentation of the actual events in 2009. This represents a difference of 10 years. After 10 years, one expects the facts to have changed. Although the article by the CWIG provides important information about the state of the child welfare system, it lacks credibility. The lack of credibility is demonstrated by the fact that it fails to provide evidence of its assertions. Whenever, the article provides evidence, it is often outdated. Using an article written in 1999 makes the article by CWIG to lack credibility.
Reference CWIG. (2009). Parental substance use and the child welfare system. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/parentalsubabuse.pdf
My research focuses on various challenges that are faced by children in the child welfare system. These challenges include racial discrimination, poverty, and child neglect. The African and the Latino children happen to be the most victims of these challenges. This is attributed to the fact that their poverty levels exceed 40% (Dworsky, 2011). The research is based on the information obtained from the children who were in the foster homes. The first theme that comes out of this research is discrimination. The children in the foster homes receive unequal treatment. One descrepancy found in treatments given to the children was that it depended on their origin, race, and ethnic background. This information was obtained from the children who previously were in the foster homes. It is established that the treatments received by children depends on the current cultural and ethnic practices in the concerned foster homes (Dworsky, 2011). The black children always fall a victim of racial injustice, which creates a wound that takes a long time to heal. The children thus remain unstable for a long period of their life. The second theme is poverty. The level of poverty in United States is highest among the industrialized states. The most vulnerable children are those belong to the African and Latino races. This is indicated by a poverty level exceeding 40% registered by them. The children always fall victims to the effects of poverty (Lindsey, 2004). This American situation has prompted child molestation, which has seen children subjected to violence and abuse. The child welfare system in response to this has embarked on children protection measures.
The last theme is that of child neglect. This has been established in several homes where parents do not give the required attention to their children. The children are not given the right medical prescriptions as directed, thus affecting them. The adolescents live in unstable families. This makes them lack parental support and guidance as they grow up (Robin, 2011). Measures aiming at protecting children from such conditions should be put in place to enable them live a normal life.
References
Dworsky, A., White, C. R., O'Brien, K., Pecora, P. J., Courtney, M., Kessler, R. C., Hwang, I. (2011). Beyond disproportionality: Are there racial or ethnic differences in foster care alumni outcomes? In D. Green, K. Belanger,
R. McRoy, & L. Bullard, Challenging racial disproportionality in child welfare: Research, policy, and practice (pp. 219-229). Washington, DC: C
Lindsey, D. (1994). The welfare of children. New York: Oxford University Press.
Robin, G. R., Stacie, H., Sarah, G., Jen, A., Leslie, W., Julie, M., Nick, E. (2011). Love and Belonging for a Lifetime: Youth Permanency in Child Welfare. Protecting Children A Professional Publication of American Humane Association, 1-75.
Wulczyn, F. (2005). Beyond common sense: child welfare, child well-being, and the evidence for policy reform. New Brunswick, N.J.:
Aldine Transaction.
Zuckerman, E. (1983). Child Welfare. New York: Free Press.
Since time immemorial children have been part and parcel a pillar in the continuity of a generation. They represent the untapped resources that are yet to be realized, a gold mine of intellect and opportunity that if nurtured well will ensure prosperity in the future (Child Welfare League of America, 1948). Children’s welfare is of utmost importance as it ensures that the human resource is well nurtured and utilized in a manner that safeguards respect for the children’s basic rights. In many societies, regardless of where, children may be most vulnerable to abuse and to exposure of hard labor (exploitation), this is deteriorating to the child’s well-being as well as the improvement of the human skill.
Child welfare cannot be confined in any boundaries whatsoever as it is a broad subject that requires thorough scrutiny as well as care. It aims at the protecting of a child’s basic rights as well as enabling the child access various utilities that may be deemed appropriate for a proper childhood. Children who are in dire need of welfare are those exposed to violence/physical abuse, sexual exploitation, psychological abuse as well as neglect.
In areas where child welfare is upheld there are reduced instances of poverty and extensive economic disparities among the rich and the poor. There is a well balanced economy due to the fact that the human resource is well tapped and its potential is realized in various ways (Cohen, 2000).
Many ways have been used to ensure that children are brought up in safety zones and caring homes. Various Laws and Bills of Rights have been put in place to safeguard the rights of children. These rules and guidelines safeguard the core values of raising children in a proper mechanism. Of these some are internationally recognized and accepted by member states while others are localized to suit a customized local scenario. By setting these standards, parents and the government alike are forced to adhere to and respect individual rights of children as well as abide by them (Hill, & Aldgate, 1996).
Though as important as it is, child welfare faces some challenges that may be difficult to address. An example is where foster care is involved, children who have been parented in foster homes have an experience that is not parallel to their alignments whether ethnic cultural or specialty case of home values. They report different treatment maybe due to the ages, ethnicity, and other home factors in the homes that have taken them into care (Roberts, 2002). Another challenge is reaching out to all children and availing the best child care and ensuring protection of their basic rights, especially in poverty hit areas where child labor and abuse may be rampant; the child labor may be consented by the parents as a means of food and amenities provision in the homes. It may be overlooked in the poor regions and consequentially abused. Whereas some homes may provide all the basic rights to a child passive neglect may be an experienced factor to this children such as non participation of a parent in the child’s upbringing, “non parent like” behaviors, and “absenteeism” in parenting from the parent and such other may cause discordance to the child and may affect them negatively and prove a challenge in the expansion of a child’s potential (Child Welfare League of America, 1948).
There is a great need for Child welfare and the ensuring that it is in the best interest to children hence governments and other stakeholders as well the need to protect the basic rights of a child in the best way possible.
References
Cohen, N. A. (2000). Child welfare: A multicultural focus. Boston u.a.: Allyn and Bacon.
Child Welfare League of America. (1948). Child welfare. New York: Child Welfare League of America.
Hill, M., & Aldgate, J. (1996). Child care in the United Kingdom and Ireland: Developments in law, policy, and practice. Bristol, Penn: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Roberts, D. E. (2002). Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare. New York: Basic Books. Structural functional theory tries to explain expectations of members of society, and the inability of members not to avoid the expectations(John and Feldman, 2009). According to the theory, corporations, factories, universities and communities are groups that make organizations in the society. Early academicians, Strauss, Malinowski and others developed the theory in early 1800s. Their formulation was comprehensible because they relied on their perception towards the people. Structure functional theory explains how the society functions by observing an individual or a group of people that has some limitations. The theory can easily explain the existence of any behaviour in the society.
Critical theory is one of the sociological theories that deal with social work practice. Public work and social work benefit society as a whole. Therefore, critical theory can create a clear picture concerning child welfare in the human service field. The theory mainly focuses on the social and political context of people’s lives. Public work agencies constitute a social group that aims at achieving its goals. In the course of achieving the set goals, people have to interact because human beings are social in nature. The theory has evolved from other theories, but later on, school of Western Maxism explained critical theory in relation to the earlier theories(June & Briskman, 2009). The critical theorist emphasized the importance of people’s agencies. In other words, they emphasized the capacity of people to participate in the process of social change(June & Briskman, 2009).
References
John, J, & Feldman. (2009). Five major theories. Family Crisis, 4-9.
June, A, & Briskman, B. (2009). Critical social work. Singapore: Allen and Unwun.
The most talented and skilful people should work for public health services. Weaker families and children need sympathetic and considerate individual to help them improve their lives. Research and field experience in child welfare services has proved that caseworkers who are responsive, tenacious and able to form personal relationships with family and children can help achieving successful outcome.
Attracting peoples to work for public human services is very difficult. Retaining such talented peoples is a serious problem. It requires sufficient reimbursement, practical routine expectations, suitable workloads, effective inspiration, training and development opportunities, and a helpful labour atmosphere. On the contrary, most of the public service agencies do not seem to provide the perfect perspectives of its staff.
Public service field is a social unit because it consists of the group of people who have a common goal of delivering services to their clients. Structural functional theory tries to explain expectations of members of society, and the inability of members not to avoid the expectations (John and Feldman, 2009). According to the theory, corporations, factories, universities and communities are groups that make organizations in the society. In the early 1800’s academicians, Strauss, Malinowski and others developed the theory. Their formulation was logical because they relied on their insight towards the people.
The base of the theory was the observation of group behaviour and individual behaviour severally. The group’s behaviour and the individual behaviour acted as samples that generalized the behaviour of all the society (John & Feldman, 2009). In 1950, Talcott Parsons and other social philosophers combine the functional norms of the society and ultimately the theory became paradigm of theory in sociology. The theory can without difficulty explain the continuation of any behaviour in the society.
In line with this, public service agencies are social units that can influence the behaviour of the society. From such units, people develop behaviours that function as the generalized behaviour of the society. If the public service agencies do not treat its staff according to their expectations, it is likely that the staff will develop a negative attitude towards the organization. Negative attitude develop into a behaviour that reflects the society. Staffs may prefer to treat their siblings the way their organisations treats them directly or indirectly. The direct treatment may involve mistreatment of children in different ways. For instance, the staff members may engage their siblings in tedious work or forced child labour. Public service agencies may fail to pay its staff adequately. As a result, the staff members fail to cater for their family basic needs thus affecting their family financially and socially. The direct and indirect effects violate child rights thus affecting child welfare as a whole.
Although, structure functional theory explains how the society functions by observing an individual or a group of people it has a number of restrictions. Human beings are dynamic in nature, and it is not a guarantee that if one behaves in a particular way the whole society will adopt the same behaviour (Croskey, 2003). Every individual or a group of people have their likes and dislike that are different from each other. The same applies to behaviour of an individual or a group of people. Social and physical environment affect the behaviour of persons differently.
Critical theory is one of the sociological theories that deal with the practice of social work. Public work and social work benefit society as a whole. Therefore, critical theory can generate a lucid image regarding child welfare in the human service field. The theory primarily focuses on the social and political perspective of people’s lives. Public work agencies comprise a societal group that aims at achieving its goals. In the line of achieving the set goals, people have to work together because human beings are social in natural history. The theory has evolved from other theories, but later on, the school of Western Maxism explained critical theory in relation to the earlier theories (June & Briskman, 2009). The critical theorist emphasized the importance of people’s agencies. In other words, they emphasized the capacity of people to participate in the process of social change (June & Briskman, 2009).
From Alvesson point of view, the objective of critical theory is to prevent the development of organisations or institutions that are oppressive to the society. If an organization or an institution is cruel to the society, the people should complain and try to prevent further oppression. In this case, the public agencies should address complains rose by staff amicably. Public service agency acts as an institutions or organisation in the society. Therefore, it should ensure that their staffs have sufficient resources. This will minimise child abuse that arises due to lack of enough resources in the society. Moreover, their parents will be able to provide basic needs.
However, the theory assumes that everybody in the society is willing to cooperate in fighting injustice. This is not always the case because people working in those institutions are part of the society and they do not leave in isolation. People who compromise child welfare are in the same society.
References
Croskey, M. (2003). Future of children. Family centered service, 3-9.
John, J, & Feldman. (2009). Five major theories. Familly Crisis, 4-9.
June, A, & Briskman, B. (2009). Critical social work. Singapore: Allen and Unwun.
Child welfare is a set of rights, treaties and services usually run by the government designed to safeguard the rights of children and young pre adult people and also encourages family stability. Child welfare agencies came about after the realization that many children all over the world were being denied their basic rights. Some of the problems that were encountered include child labor, where children are denied their right to learning. Child abuse is also a major problem. It encompasses sexual, physical and psychological abuse and child neglect. The above problems led to the formation of child welfare services by governments all over the world (Crosson-Tower, 1999).
One area in child welfare that has brought about controversy is the Baby Moses law or the Safe Haven law. The law was first enacted in the state of Texas in 1999. The law decriminalizes the leaving of unharmed infants with private people who are statutorily designated as guardians, so that the child is under the care of the state. Police stations, medical clinics, hospitals and fire stations are places where infants are left and the safe-haven law applies (Pecora, Whittaker & Maluccio, 2000). Those who support the safe-haven laws claim that children’s lives are saved by giving parents a way to surrender infants in a safe manner instead of aborting, killing, or discarding the infants.
Those who oppose the laws claim that, since the parents do not need to be under any kind of stress under the safe-haven laws, parents will misuse the laws and therefore avoid giving notice to the statutorily appointed guardians such a police officers and hospital staff. That is, they are not required to notify them that they are going to leave the child. The opposers have also made claims that the safe-haven laws circumvent temporary laws of child surrender, which were enacted to address parents who were not sure whether to surrender the child or to keep it. Supporters of this law counter this point of view by stating that the anonymity to the surrendering parent is sometimes the only way that certain parents are convinced not to harm their infants. They state that the benefits of the safe haven laws outweigh any detrimental effects. The law is a double edged sword. While it is enacted to safeguard the rights of children, many parents take advantage of it and leave their children to the state. However, the detractors of this law are focused more on the legalities and moralities of parents abandoning their children perfunctorily. It is however, important to note that these laws are there to protect the rights of the children, not the parents. The best interest of the infant is to keep it alive, and if these laws open another avenue for parents and keep them from committing abortion or infanticide, then the laws should be dubbed a success.
References
Bryan Samuels, B. (2011). Strengthening families and communities. Retrieved on January 15, 2013 from: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/guide2011/guide.pdf#page=56.
Crosson-Tower, Cynthia (1999). Understanding child abuse and neglect (4th Ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Pecora, P. J., Whittaker, J., Maluccio, A., & Barth, R. (2009). The child welfare challenge: Policy, practice, and research. Aldine de Gruyter.
Introduction
Child Welfare is an important area of research these days comprising child protection, racial disproportionality, serious behavioral and/or emotional disturbances in children and youth, juvenile crimes, fostering security etc. All of these areas need to be considered for the better future and welfare of the children.
Racial disproportionality
Racism is very common and serious topic in the United States, which brings a great influence of racism in the society. It is relevant among the adults as well as children. In schools and colleges, there are many children who face unclear or problematic strategies related to engaging kinsfolks, the impenetrable role of poverty and racial inequalities in the availability of services to ameliorate family problems (Harris, Hackett, February 2008). A new finding suggested by their searches was that lack of professional awareness of the influence of bias is in and of itself a barrier. Professionals who believe the court system is fair and rational will not be vigilant in seeking out checks and balances to racial bias and may also be less likely to seek training or consciousness-raising experiences to address their own bias.
Child Care
The upbringing and the care of the children play a very important role in the child welfare so the parents need to be guided on how to take care of their wards for their better development. Residential child and youth care is a radical intervention that in many countries is perceived as a last solution that should be avoided if at all possible - not least because of scepticism about its efficacy. In contrast to this, there is the view that a residential placement can contribute to the positive development of some youth with serious behavioral and/or emotional disturbances. Many researches have proved that residential programs applying behavior-therapeutic methods and focusing on family involvement show the most promising outcomes (Bess, K. D., Prilleltensky I., Perkins D. D., & Collins L. V., 2009).
In the field of child protection and mental health care, social workers influences and responsibilities involves them in limiting liberties in response to vulnerability and dangerousness. Thus, social work has required intervening with health and welfare concerns by promoting individual adaptation to society whereas also seeking to address the links between these private troubles and public issues such as social inequalities. (Barnes H., Green L., &Hopton J., (2007).)
Juvenile delinquency
When it comes to security, the broad category of residential care including half-way hospices, campus based hotels, emergency housing, self-contained locale sand staff secured setting need to be considered to avoid juvenile crimes. It has been found through researches that the relative risk of delinquency is approximately two and one half times greater for adolescents with at least one group home placement as compared with youth in foster care settings. This suggests that there is the need of foster care for the children and youth to overcome the juvenile crimes. A proper secure atmosphere is required to be provided to the children and youth so that juvenile delinquency can be reduced.
Out-of-home care
The published research on the academic and school functioning behaviors of students in out-of-home care demonstrated several academic risks across placement settings and academic areas. Despite an increase in attention to the academic functioning of this population, there are many significant limitations that exist. The incomplete reporting of student info, insufficient research on specific academic skill groups, and inadequate numbers of studies reporting school functioning behavior narrow our understanding of the specific academic strengths and limitations of this populace and further hinder our abilities to develop targeted intervention programs. The education system needs to be improved to provide better care to the children outside their homes and to make them independent, confident, and bright citizens of the society.
Adopted Children
There are many children who are adopted from different organization by people of different societies. These adoptees show more disorganized attachments compared to their non-adopted peers. Adopted children are hypothesized to be at risk of insecure attachment relationships because of their background of institutional attention, mistreatment and abandonment (Van Den Dries L., Juffer F.,VanIJzendoorn M.H., March 2009). The research suggests that the guardian of the adoptees to provide them foster security to help the adoptees to overcome their sufferings and attachments.
Conclusion
The children and the youth constitute an important part of the society. The future of any country depends on the development of the children, so proper care is a must for their welfare. Child welfare departments have the duty to provide care, security, education, and health facilities to the children. Apart from these there is a very important issue, that is parenting, which is an important area of study for most of the researchers. Many counselors use this to guide the parents in appropriate child care. The child welfare departments also organize seminars for the parent and display social messages through posters and advertisements to promote effective child care.
In the above categories, the information discussed is the result of continuous research that has been done in order to enhance child care. In child care, security is the most important part which researchers have considered. Security is required to provide the protection to the children as well as to reduce juvenile crimes. Then the education which is gained becomes a very significant part in the child care. The education system must involve the broad minded professionals which do not practice racial disproportionality, so that the children can have a better environment to reside.
References
Article: Barnes, H., Green, L., &Hopton, J. (2007). Guest editorial: Social work theory, research, policy and practice challenges and opportunities in health and social care integration in the UK. Health & Social Care in the Community, 15(3), 191194.
Article: Bess, K. D., Prilleltensky, I., Perkins, D. D., & Collins, L. V. (2009). Participatory organizational change in community-based health and human services: From tokenism to political engagement. American Journal of Community Psychology, 43(1/2), 134148.
Harris, Hackett, Decision points in child welfare: An action research model to address disproportionality, Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 30, Issue 2, February 2008, Pages 199-215.
Knorth E.J., Harder A.T., Zandberg T., Kendrick A.J., Under one roof: A review and selective meta-analysis on the outcomes of residential child and youth care, Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 30, Issue 2, February 2008, Pages 123-140.
Ryan J.P.Marshall J.M.Herz, D., Hernandez P.M., Juvenile delinquency in child welfare: Investigating group home effects, Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 30, Issue 9, September 2008, Pages 1088-1099.
Van Den Dries L., Juffer F. , Van IJzendoorn M.H., Bakermans-Kranenburg M.J., Fostering security? A meta-analysis of attachment in adopted children, Children and Youth Services Review, Volume 31, Issue 3, March 2009, Pages 410-421.
According to (Zuckerman, 1983) the most integral part in of any project is research and data collection. This process involves all the techniques used in gathering and collecting information based on the topic at hand. Zuckerman also argues that the main goals for research and collecting data are; for record keeping, decision making purposes and also to pass the information to others. Reoccurring methods of data collection are some of the techniques employed in research. These techniques involve strategies like focus groups and also surveys.
First, a focus group is data collection strategy in which a group of people is asked about their opinions, beliefs, perceptions and also attitude towards an issue, product or idea (Lindsey, 1994). This is achieved through asking questions interactively and allowing participants to talk freely with other group members. On the other hand, a survey is a strategy used in gathering quantifiable information about issues or items in a population (Lindsey, 1994). This information deals with the quantities, for instance, how many incidences of juvenile delinquency have been reported this year?
Lastly, reoccurring methods of data collection have both merits and demerits. This means that these strategies are not perfect; they are only suitable for certain instances while in others they do not provide required results (Zuckerman, 1983). For example the major advantage of a focus group is that the participants have the ability to interact with each other. This enables the generation of new and various ideas. However, it can result in the collection of biased information. This is because the members may agree with other people in the group instead of their own opinion. On the other hand a survey is suitable in collecting information from a large geographical area. However, the answers provided may not be the accurate reflection of how the respondents feel.
References
Zuckerman, E. (1983). Child Welfare. New York: Free Press.
Lindsey, D. (1994). The welfare of children. New York: Oxford University Press.
Child welfare is regarded as one of the sociological areas that require attention in restoring the values of a community. As a part of the project that am currently, relevant literature review is important in gaining an understanding of various views of different authors regarding child welfare. This literature review will give an insight on various issues surrounding child welfare and what is underway in improving child`s welfare.
American Bar Association, (2009). Child custody and support: setting guidelines for child support. Retrieved from http://www.abanet.org/publiced/practical/childsupport.html .
The article provides insightful information on the legalities surrounding raising of children between men and women. The article has provided guidelines on whose responsibility it is to take care of the child`s welfare incase a couple files for a divorce. The article has provided clear and succinct information on all the procedures that ought to be followed in taking care of child`s welfare and has provided not even the fathers should neglect their duties in raising a child. This is an informative piece of an article that can heavily be relied on in providing recent and up to date information on whose responsibility child`s welfare is bestowed on even in a divorce situation.
Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, (2009). Identifying, interviewing and intervening: fathers and the Illinois child welfare system. Retrieved from http://www.chapinhall.org.
This article is from a department at the University of Chicago and tries to outline the role that fathers should play in raising their children. The article purports that fathers are the pillars of their families and should therefore be actively involved in their children`s welfare. Taking the Illinois child welfare system as an example, the article documents on the responsibilities of fathers in their children`s welfare.
Childwelfare, (2013). Children`s Bureau Demonstration Initiative: Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/reform/soc/communicate/initiative/
This article from the U.S. Department of Health & Human services outlines the initiative that will improve child welfare through a system of care. The article speculates that the system of care is one of the effective methods that will improve child welfare in the U.S. Through the system of care, there is likelihood that child welfare will be improved in order to improve care and service in all states. This is an important article that has outlined the efforts of the government on increasing its influence even to the children through provision of systems of care.
Childwelfare, (2013). Differential Response to Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue_briefs/differential_response/differential_responsee.cfm
This is an article still from an arm of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services that outlines an official report on how to handle matters of child abuse and neglect. According to this article, child abuse and neglect has been noted in some areas and there is the need to have several practices that will increase child welfare in the society. This is an up-to-date article that informs the reader on the latest research that has been conducted on child welfare and the measures that need to be taken on improving child welfare.
Testa, M., & Poertner, J. (2010). Fostering accountability: Using evidence to guide and improve child welfare policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The book on fostering accountability is a book whose authors are dedicated towards reaping the best from the providers of child welfare. The book requires that these individuals’ performance should be gauged based on the real evidence on how they have improved child welfare in the society. The book blows the whistle to various organizations that they should be liable for their campaigns and provide real evidence on the goals that they have achieved in the field regarding child welfare. This is an interesting book that sparks ideas on what we ought to do in ensuring that organizations providing child welfare provide the best to the society.
Sheehan, R., Rhoades, H., & Stanley, N. (2012). Vulnerable children and the law: International evidence for improving child welfare, child protection and children's rights. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
This is an informative book whose authors concentrate more on the legal stipulations guiding child welfare. The book has presented that dire consequences exist for the individuals who are found mistreating children and depriving them their welfare. The book has excellently articulated law and sociology in trying to bring a larger picture of why child welfare is an essential component of the society.
DeCarolis, G., Southern, L., Blake, F., & United States. (2009). Improving child welfare outcomes through systems of care: Building the infrastructure : a guide for communities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Children's Bureau.
This book has been authored under the U.S. department of Health and tries to provide the importance of improving child welfare in the society. This book has not only advocated for child welfare but has also provided a coherent framework that ought to be followed in ensuring child welfare in the society. Through the book, the reader will not only understand the importance of promoting child welfare but will also understand the ways through which child welfare can be realized within a community.
Tassoni, P. (2008). Children's care, learning & development. Oxford: Heinemann.
This is one of the most recommended books in the field of child welfare. This book unveils a chronological order of ideologies presented by the authors on the importance of child welfare. The book outlines the importance of caring for children and its eventual effect in learning and development of the child. It is one of the most interesting books I have read during my project and anyone reading it will appreciate the beauty and relevance in elevating child welfare.
Briar-Lawson, K., & Zlotnik, J. L. (2012). Evaluation research in child welfare: Improving outcomes through university-public agency partnerships. New York: Haworth Press.
This book is in form of a research document that gives empirical results on research conducted on child welfare. This book recommends that better methods of doing research should be established in creating a better understanding of child welfare. However, the information in that book is not worth taking since it gives better ways of doing research other than providing the reader on findings based on child welfare.
Child Welfare League of America. (2009). Child welfare: Special issue : behavior modification. New York: Child Welfare League of America.
This book has been provided by the Children Welfare League of America and treats child welfare as an issue that requires an in-depth discussion. From the nature of its content, the book has been written by a bunch of professionals who enrich the reader on the importance of child welfare in the society. The book has opened up new ideas on the matter and has provided that behavior modification is one of the key factors that make parents develop child welfare in their families. It is such a promising book whose content is unfathomable and is worth reading to all members of the society.
References
American Bar Association, (2009). Child custody and support: setting guidelines for child support. Retrieved from http://www.abanet.org/publiced/practical/childsupport.html .
Briar-Lawson, K., & Zlotnik, J. L. (2002). Evaluation research in child welfare: Improving outcomes through university-public agency partnerships. New York: Haworth Press.
Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, (2009). Identifying, interviewing and intervening: fathers and the Illinois child welfare system. Retrieved from http://www.chapinhall.org .
Child Welfare League of America. (2009). Child welfare: Special issue : behavior modification. New York: Child Welfare League of America.
Childwelfare, (2013). Children`s Bureau Demonstration Initiative: Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/reform/soc/communicate/initiative/
Childwelfare, (2013). Differential Response to Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue_briefs/differential_response/differential_responsee.cfm
DeCarolis, G., Southern, L., Blake, F., & United States. (2007). Improving child welfare outcomes through systems of care: Building the infrastructure : a guide for communities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Children's Bureau.
Sheehan, R., Rhoades, H., & Stanley, N. (2012). Vulnerable children and the law: International evidence for improving child welfare, child protection and children's rights. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Tassoni, P. (2005). Children's care, learning & development. Oxford: Heinemann.
Testa, M., & Poertner, J. (2010). Fostering accountability: Using evidence to guide and improve child welfare policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
With the research findings from the research project on child welfare, the sources provide a limelight on the subject, giving some relevant information that can create positive social change. Through such an analysis, it will be possible to identify how we can utilize available literature in drawing important conclusion on child welfare.
Children's care, learning & development is one of the findings on child welfare that have given insightful information on child welfare. The book views child welfare from a strategic point of view, drawing important conclusions on the subject matter. It starts with prerequisite information on child welfare and the various legal issues attached to child welfare. As the book continues to expound on how important child welfare is, it acts as an eye opener to issues that even those who do not mistreat children face. Having had provided some rich thoughts on child welfare, the book goes ahead in giving the importance of child welfare on learning and development. According to the book, a child up brought in a friendly environment has better chances of developing to being an intelligent adult in the future. This is due to the fact that a child up brought with love and care becomes responsible and is likely to transfer the love and care to fellow human beings as compared to children up brought in a rowdy environment (Tassoni, 2008).
The information provided in the books and articles throughout my research largely portrays the potentiality of the book in creating a positive change in the society. Much of the information has been provided on the importance of child welfare in the development of a brighter generation. It has postulated that upbringing of a child determines who the child will grow into being in the future. For example, if a child grows up in a rowdy environment, he/she will grow up to be rowdy and this will be a negative attribute in the society. On the other hand, if a child is shown love and care at early stages, the likelihood is that he/she will grow up to be a responsible and caring adult in the future. The book therefore draws the conclusion that if child welfare is considered during early stages of child development among all the children, the chances are that we will have a positive living in the society in the successive generations (Tassoni, 2008).
Improving child welfare outcomes through systems of care: Building the infrastructure is also an informative and enlightening piece of literature on child welfare. Authored under the U.S. department of Health, the book provides the importance of improving child welfare in the society. The book has provided a coherent framework that ought to be followed in ensuring child welfare in the society. Throughout the book, systems of care have been advocated for as one of the major strategies that can have an impact not only to the children but also to the community. A system of care ensures that an environment for showing love and care has been provided in the community for improving child welfare (DeCarolis, 2009).
This book has had a great impact on not only children but also on the society. This is due to the fact that it provides options on how child welfare can be improved in the society. For example, the book has provided that improvement of infrastructure as one of the factors that improves child welfare. Looking at it from a societal angle, it is easy to see that improvement of infrastructure will not only improve child welfare but will also improve the living conditions of the general society. The book has therefore provided that the conditions set for improving child welfare will not only set the right pace for child welfare but will also be of importance to the society in general (DeCarolis, 2009).
In summation, analysis of the research materials tries to give the positive societal impact of improving child welfare to the society. This therefore means that child welfare should be viewed as a subject whose implications will not only affect the children in question but also to the society and the future generations.
References
DeCarolis, G., Southern, L., Blake, F., & United States. (2009). Improving child welfare outcomes through systems of care: Building the infrastructure : a guide for communities. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Children's Bureau.
Tassoni, P. (2008). Children's care, learning & development. Oxford: Heinemann.
For any project to be considered as having been successful, it must show its practicality in the society and the ability to create a positive change. The project on child welfare has derived several important ideologies that can create a positive change in the society. With its intuitive and thought provoking nature, the project has illuminated on certain areas that need to be checked in order to improve child welfare. This paper gathers up the various issues that have been pointed out in the project in bid to give a practical approach that can be followed in the society in order to improve child welfare.
Research has indicated that very few families consider child welfare as one of the important factors that determines how a child grows. Many families feel that when a child has been provided with everything, then child welfare has been catered for. However, research has revealed that this is not the case and that there is much more to be expected other than provision of material things for a child. Child welfare is a much broader term that encompasses love, care, and the ability of a parent or a guardian to stand by the child at all times. Standing by the child means that the parent of the guardian will need to be by the child and show concern about the welfare of the child (Childwelfare, 2013). This way, a child will feel appreciated in the family and is likely to grow up being a responsible and successful.
With the illumination of the constituents and what is expected of a guardian or parent in providing effective child welfare, the project drops a tip of the ice berg on how parents can improve on child welfare. Since parents and guardians have identified on the particular areas that they have been neglecting in child welfare, they can start on implementing on what the project has required them to. Parents and guardians can now start implementing the recommendations that have been presented in the project.
According to research, child welfare is a great determinant of the future of a child. The project has postulated that a great number of students who perform well in learning must have experienced child welfare back in their families at its full potential. Majority of children who grow up in noisy, rowdy, and unfriendly environments are likely to grow up to being unsocial and may not even perform well in their academics. The research has therefore shown how significant it is to improve on child welfare if a parent or guardian is interested in his/her child performing in class work (Testa, 2010). Since we are all interested in having a brighter future for our nation, the information tries to gesture on how important it is to invest in our children. The research has therefore tried to depict how the public is usually kept aloof of the various strategies that should improve child welfare. To step up public education on child welfare, the government can come up with a program that will be meant to educate the public on the various ways through which parents and guardians can improve on matters pertaining child welfare. Through such programs, it will be possible to beef up public education on child welfare and it will be possible to increase the grades of our children for a brighter future of our nation.
Research conducted on child welfare has also provided the legal framework behind child welfare and what the law expects on matters regarding child welfare in the society. The research has derived the acts of parliament that have been passed for the past 60 years on child welfare and what each parent or guardian is expected to comply to in child welfare. Additionally, the information researched has provided pragmatic examples of what befell parents or guardians who were found practicing child abuse (Childwelfare, 2013). Through such, it becomes easy to see how our government has been working hard in ensuring that child welfare has been provided to all children. Through analysis, it becomes easy to see that the government needs to improve on its performance in legal provisions on child welfare. It is clear to see that some important areas have been neglected or need clarification. With such information, it is possible to approach the relevant individuals who can table the issues in parliament where they can be ironed out in helping to improve general child welfare.
In conclusion, the project has tried to illuminate on the current state of child welfare in our nation and the various areas of weakness that need to be checked on. With the clearly exhausted information on the current status of child welfare, it remains inevitable for parents and guardians to also see the areas that they have not been performing well in child welfare. Most importantly, the project gives a rough outline on various programs that the public and the government can undertake in bid to improve status quo of child welfare.
References
Childwelfare, (2013). Children`s Bureau Demonstration Initiative: Improving Child Welfare Outcomes Through Systems of Care. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/reform/soc/communicate/initiative/
Childwelfare, (2013). Differential Response to Reports of Child Abuse and Neglect. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue_briefs/differential_response/differential_responsee.cfm
Testa, M., & Poertner, J. (2010). Fostering accountability: Using evidence to guide and improve child welfare policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Provide a description of a social policy
Considering how children`s rights have been at stake for the past decades, the federal government has had to introduce and implement social policies aimed at improving child welfare. Through the dire efforts of President Obama, the federal government has been working on the zero to five plan helped to improve on early childhood education (Education.com, 2013). Through this policy, the federal government has been working hard in ensuring that each child has acquired basic education during their early ages. The policy creates a framework for provision of grants for children from low income families in helping them access early childhood education. This policy is of great impact to the individuals, more so who cannot afford the cost of early childhood education. Through the provision of grants, this policy eases the burden of early childhood education to single parents and families whose level of income is way too low for quality early childhood education. This policy has also created a positive impact to the community. Through the provision of quality early childhood education, the children are provided with a firm foundation for their education, an aspect that ensures that a bright future lies ahead of our children. Through this policy therefore, it is needless to say that our government has really been working hard in ensuring that child welfare has been elevated to a higher status. Social policy is for the betterment of individuals and communities
I believe that this policy is aimed at improving the lives of individuals and the community at large. The main objective of the policy is not only to make early childhood education available to each family but also to ensure that quality early childhood education has been provided. With the provision of a quality form of early childhood education, the children will have a rich educational background that will help them grow into being important personalities in the future (Grotewell, 2008). Through provision of a quality early childhood education, more people will invest in education leading to increased professionalism in the government, business, and various sector of importance to all members of the society.
References
Education.com, (2013). Obama on Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Obama_Early_Childhood_Education/
Grotewell, P. G., & Burton, Y. R. (2008). Early childhood education: Issues and developments. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
The federal government has been working hard in ensuring that the rights of the children have not been compromised. Through the enactment of policies and stipulations on child welfare, any American child has the right to enjoy the right form of treatment from their parents and guardians. These policies have been aimed at creating a legal framework that ensures that child welfare in America is one that other nations can emulate. Through its efforts in providing child welfare to each American child, the Obama care has come up with the zero to five plan that aimed at improving child welfare to all children within our boundaries. This paper evaluates the relevance 2of the zero to five plan to the child welfare project and its relevance to human welfare.
The zero to five plan was introduced by Obama in 2009 in his quest for improvement of child welfare in America. For a long period of time, child welfare in America has been underrated and only few organizations have been aiming at providing child welfare to the American children. With the zero to five plan, the federal government is aiming at improving early childhood education for all the children. Before the federal government came up with this policy, the quality of education for the children had been compromised and only the children from the well off families had the access to quality childhood education (Education.com, 2013). With the different upbringings in terms of early childhood education, the children from the not so rich families have been affected and their future also affected.
The major aim of the zero to five plan was to provide quality form of education to all children. Obama provided that all children would be able to receive a high quality early childhood education regardless of their financial background. The policy was also aimed at equating the quality of early childhood education in order to ensure that all children are in a position to utilize their full potential at an early stage. According to the federal government, grants would be provided to early childhood education centers and that no child was to be deprived of quality early childhood education. With the current need of quality education, the policy will lead to an improvement in our current political, social, and educational systems.
According to Obama, bringing reforms to our nation can never be achieved while leaving our children behind. This policy has been inarguably one of the best social policies that have been enacted by the federal government. According to a speech made by Obama in 2007, every $1 that is invested in early childhood we get a $10 payoff with a reduced crime rate, reduced costs of health, and welfare rolls. This policy is a much effective policy since states are expected to match the federal funds with the programs that are required in their states. This means that depending on the poverty levels and the level of quality for early childhood education in these states, the federal government will be in a position to allocate the said funds (Grotewell, 2008). This factor will greatly enhance human welfare since the provision of quality early childhood education will be a mark in ensuring a better generation with reduced crime rates and improved standards of living just like how Obama states in his speech. With such, the human welfare will have been improved and everyone will stand a better chance to utilize fully their potential (Lavalette, 2012).
The social policy has had such a great impact in my project on child welfare. As I have been tackling different learning sources on my project on child welfare, I have realized that child welfare has much been underestimated in our society. This does not mean that we have been mistreating our children but it means that we have not been taking the right and recommended measures in ensuring effective child welfare. This means that we have only been providing education to our children regardless of its quality. May be due to their financial background, many parents have not been considerate of the quality of childhood education that their children have been receiving. As I gained a deeper insight into the policy by Obama on provision quality early childhood education, I realized that the policy was of much importance to my final project on child welfare. I realized that early childhood education was one area that was overlooked by parents and guardians. However, the information from the policy has been informative on the relevance of early childhood in child welfare. Through the policy, I have therefore gained important knowledge on the areas that require emphasis in ensuring effective child welfare in the society.
In conclusion, the zero to five plan on early childhood education by the federal government has proven to be of importance to human welfare. This is due to its ability to reduce crime rate and increase welfare rolls in the society, factors necessary for human welfare. Additionally, the policy has proven to be effective in my project on child welfare since it provides information on the most critical area that should be checked in order to improve child welfare. Through such, the policy by the federal government can be counted as one of the most important policies that the federal government has enacted since it came into pow
References
Education.com, (2013). Obama on Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Obama_Early_Childhood_Education/
Grotewell, P. G., & Burton, Y. R. (2008). Early childhood education: Issues and developments.
Lavalette, M., Ferguson, I., & Mooney, G. (2012). Radical social welfare. London: SAGE. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
