Essay on "Lack of Policy Protecting Children From Abuse Neglect"

Quoted Instructions for "Lack of Policy Protecting Children From Abuse Neglect" Assignment:

Policy Analysis of the lack of exicting policy to ensure that children who are in abusive/neglectful homes are removed in timely fashion. My argument is that kids are kept in abusive/neglectful homes due to a lack of policy that exists to keep them safe. The following is the assignment description :

Analysis Paper

Analysis (8-10 pages): Given the definition of the *****problem,***** you need an analysis that includes relevant data and literature to back up your problem statement. This analysis must support your definition of the problem and provide an empirical, logical, or philosophical basis for the problem. Remember, you need to speak to the specific audience you seek to address. In some cases this might be a small group, but in many cases you will want to craft the statement to reflect the various interests of multiple stakeholders. Think clearly about the audience you are seeking to persuade when crafting the document. Keep in mind that this is NOT a discussion of the pros and cons of an issue ***** you are serving as an advocate and trying to convince people to accept you position. However, the way that you state the issue must be related to the data/literature for you to maintain credibility (i.e., statements that reflect values, but are not backed up by the data/literature might subject you to critique). Structurally, you want to make this document easy to read and follow. You can use tables, figures, and bullet points wherever relevant.

The goal of this paper is to provide the empirical evidence or logical reasoning the supports your problem statement. The paper can be organized in a variety of ways, but the key components include:

1) Evidence to support your definition of the problem. While it may appear obvious to you, it will not to others. So, your job in the paper is to provide the evidence to support your construction/definition of the problem. Do not take anything for granted. You want to provide a compelling argument to support your statement. The use of figures, tables, etc. is encouraged. If you pull a figure or table from another publication, you obviously need to cite it. You also need to explain it. Do not leave it to the reader to interpret a table or figure. You can also use cases or examples from your work. These *****stories***** can be quite compelling and provide a more vivid picture of the *****problem.***** Just make sure that a particular case or example you use is representative of other cases. Don*****t pick an extreme example or outlier.

2) A discussion of existing policy or the lack of existing policy. Talk about what is currently in place to address the problem you are concerned with. In large part, you need to pull out some of the elements of policy that we*****ve discussed in class ***** who gets what, what do they get, etc.

3) A critique of existing policy. After you talk about what is there, it is your job to tell the reader why it does not address the problem as you*****ve defined it. This is often the fun part but does require that you do a good job talking about what is currently in place.

4) Give some direction about where you want to go with your recommendations. What are you suggesting be done to address the problem? This should only be a small part of the paper but can be important to show the reader that you*****ve thought about what to do about the problem you have identified. It can also help bring people on board.

The next excerpt I am including is my Problem Statement:

In order to provide a best practice level of service here at Kid*****s Voice it is essential that there be a standard protocol by which CYFS caseworkers assess reported cases of neglect and or abuse. Furthermore CYFS caseworkers should be properly trained to assess and handle such cases so that we can provide our clients with quality legal representation as well as recommend services that best meet our clients***** needs.

Right now, many CYFS caseworkers are overloaded with cases resulting in a lack of attention to each individual client which often leads to prolonging the time children spend in abusive/neglectful situations. This prohibits our Child Advocacy Specialists and team of attorneys from carrying out our mission to ensure that perpetrations of abuse/neglect against persons under eighteen be addressed immediately and that these children be given their own legal representation.

If caseworkers continue to be overburdened with their caseload and no standard protocol is put into effect to assess cases of child abuse/neglect then the incidence of child abuse/neglect will continue to rise. Also, the length of time children remain in abusive/neglectful situations will increase.

The Violence Against Children Act of 2009 (VACA 2009), which is currently in the first step of the legislative process in congress, may be what is needed to help resolve issues relating to the above mentioned problems. This Act is meant to provide assistance to the legal process on state and local levels in regards to the investigation and/or prosecution of crimes against persons under the age of eighteen. It is also meant to award financial assistance to existing agencies that are involved in the investigation, education, prevention, and victims***** assistance services for such crimes. Furthermore, this Act would require that agencies receiving assistance, such as CYFS, use a standard set of guidelines and a model incident-based reporting system by which crimes committed against children be filed. I propose that Kid*****s Voice actively advocate on behalf of VACA 2009 so as to help ensure its passage in Congress. I will research in more detail the current deficits surrounding the assessment and referral for legal services of incidents of child abuse/neglect, as well as how the VACA of 2009 may in fact help to establish guidelines and protocol for the intake and assessment of crimes involving neglect/abuse perpetrated against children.

- Basically my issue is that there is a LACK of policy in place to ensure that that children in the system are getting the best level of service they deserve. This includes a lack of policy which ensures that there is adequate staff to handle the number of cases. Lack of policy to establish a protocal for reporting and handling cases involving child abuse/neglect and lack of policy that ensures a child is being removed from a home when necessary. I would like some reference to the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) mentioned as it does have relevance as a policy in place that does aim to ensure children achieve permanancy, however there are downfalls to this as well that I would like pointed out. Also expansion on the VACA 2009 policy is relation to the topic would also be good. If you read the assignmnet description you*****'ll get a good overview of what is needed in the paper. I*****'m not sure what other details to include. In regards to reccomendations, I basically reccomend that there be policies in place that would ensure adequate staff, streamlines reporting, and assurance that something *****"bad*****" does not need to happen before action is taken - expanded upon of course. I know reference is also made to the *****"stakeholders*****". i am attaching my stakeholder analysis so that the ***** can see who I have already identified as usch although I am open to addtional stakeholders being named and addressed as well. The following is my stakeholder analysis.

In looking at who may support ***** or oppose- my proposal to advocate on behalf of the Violence Against Children Act of 2009 I have identified a number of groups that could be considered stakeholders. First, I believe I should go over our own agency and the various departments that would be involved. Within Kid*****s Voice there are two prominent groups that work together to accomplish the mission of representing children in a court of law either for dependency or delinquency matters. The one side is Child Advocacy Specialists. This group collects the background information, interviews clients and witnesses, and puts together a case summary which is given to their legal partner to help with the court side of our representation. I believe at least two or three Child Advocacy Specialists should be present at our stakeholders meeting to present how and why the passage of the VACA of 2009 would benefit not only our mission, but the overall societal issue of deterring crimes perpetrated against youth. Additionally, attorneys from our office should also be present so as to discuss the need for a standard protocol in assessing cases of delinquency and dependency in order to better serve our clients. While I do not think that individual CAS*****s or attorneys have much power in regards to the passage of this policy, I do believe Kid*****s Voice as an agency ***** with CAS and Attorney team leaders as our representation- would have a moderate amount of influence, if not directly on the policy then at the very least on other agencies and departments that do hold power in regards to the passage of policy. Our attorneys and child advocates can give an intimate description of the downfalls of not having a standard guideline in place when it comes to the assessment of a case of child abuse and/or neglect. They can also provide personal testimony as to how undertrained and/or overburdened case workers have led to many victims of abuse and/or neglect being left in hideous living situations for much longer than they should have. Furthermore, our CAS and attorney representatives can provide an overview of how cases of abuse and/or neglect reach us, what happens to the victims, and how a wide range of child social service agencies are interconnected in their effort to advocate for said victims.

That being said, I believe that former clients ***** former victims of abuse and/or neglect- should also be considered stakeholders. While they may or may not have interest in the passage of this policy, I think it would be foolish not to consider the level of influence, meaning power, they could potentially have. If we could get former clients who suffered due to a lack of standardization within abuse/neglect case assessment to attest to their former plight, it would collaborate with the stance of our CAS and attorney representatives that a lack of such protocol is in fact a disservice to child victims of abuse and/or neglect thus giving our stance much more credibility which in turn equals power. However, we must also consider the delicate nature of what many of our clients have been through and that asking them to speak publicly about the abuse and/or neglect they have suffered can be traumatic. I do believe that there are some former, or even current, clients that would be willing to overcome their hesitation in an effort to ensure that future victims will not have to go through what they have. Furthermore I believe that it would be empowering for former and/or current clients to represent a stakeholder position in regards to the passage of the VACA of 2009. This empowerment would not only be beneficial to the clients themselves, but could be a compelling source of influence over other groups that may be touched by the personal attestation towards the need to advocate on behalf of changes within the Child Welfare System.

Stakeholders outside of our agency are not individuals, but rather groups of people or agencies that are interconnected with us in the process of representing and/or caring for children that have been determined to be victims of abuse/neglect. Foster care agencies such as Aurberle, Presley Ridge, and Second Chance would be able to speak on behalf of the effects of abuse/neglect on the children that come into their Residential Treatment Facilities, Group Homes, and even foster homes. That said it may be beneficial to ask foster parents who have taken in adjudicated youth to attest to the effects of abuse/neglect they have experienced working with and living with the victims of child abuse and/or neglect. Similar to my stance that as individuals we at Kid*****s Voice have little power, but as a collaborative whole working with staff and clients we have the potential to have major influence, I believe that child welfare social services and those in the community that support them can play a major role in regards to advocating for the passage of VACA of 2009 as a stakeholder.

Going along the lines of services that help place children that have been removed from homes where they have suffered abuse and/or neglect as stakeholders, mental and physical health service agencies could also have potential influence as stakeholders in the advocacy of this policy. Many of our clients require mental and physical health services due to the abuse and/or neglect perpetrated against them. Clinicians involved with the evaluation and dispersement of services to child victims of abuse and/or neglect would most likely have a high interest in advocating for anything that may deter the continued perpetration of such crimes. They would also have a moderate to high level of power as clinical professionals in attesting to the harmful effects of abuse and neglect upon children as well as the potential long-term effects on individuals who suffer childhood abuse and/or neglect.

While I have named a number of groups that would be in support of advocating on behalf of the Violence Against Children Act of 2009, it would be naïve of me to think that there would be no opposition to the passage of this policy when speaking of stakeholders. If that was the case than there would already be a standard protocol in place for assessing potential child victims of abuse and/or neglect and we at Kid*****s Voice would not face the daily challenge of convincing Child Youth and Family Services (CYFS) that referrals to us do not mean failure on their part. While I think that there are many individual CYFS caseworkers that would support our advocacy on behalf of the VACA of 2009 as stakeholders, I believe CYFS as an agency may oppose this policy. The VACA of 2009 would hold CYFS accountable for every child they investigate, would make them responsible for employing qualified caseworkers, and would require them to hire additional qualified caseworkers to handle their case overload. It would also enforce that CYFS caseworkers be trained on and use the National Incident-Reporting System and encourage caseworkers to refer cases deemed abuse and/or neglect immediately to agencies such as ours so as to enforce the legal consequences of perpetration of abuse and/or neglect against children. While these are all reasons why we at Kid*****s Voice, as well as other stakeholders I mention above, would support advocating the passage of VACA of 2009, they are reasons CYFS would most likely oppose its passage. I see them as an oppositional stakeholder because all of the reasons I mentioned would mean more effort, hence more money, on their part. I can see their position being that hiring and training new caseworkers, as well as training existing caseworkers, on a new reporting system would be time-consuming and costly. Perhaps they would be right; however I would argue that their purpose is not one of financial management, but rather service to children and families. A downfall of their potential opposition is not only the impediment it causes our agency*****s mission, but the amount of power and influence they hold in these types of matters. Children Youth and Family Services are a government run program. There is a long chain of command and many powerful people within the administration. With that in mind I have to question whether there are ulterior motives for the lack of change and progress within the agency beyond their increased efforts to not refer cases outside of their agency. I personally believe it*****s a matter of hidden agenda. CYFS feels that if they refer cases outside of their agency then it will be assumed that they cannot handle the work. I would agree and in fact believe this is the case. However rather than take the steps necessary to improve their current structure, CYFS has decided to hide their downfalls by encouraging caseworkers to not remove children from homes where there is abuse and/or neglect. We at Kid*****s Voice are able to see this trend only when we do finally receive a case referral and conduct a CYFS file review on the client. More and more of our recent clients have numerous reports in their files, some with incidents dating back for years on a regular basis. My point is that if the agency is able to keep these cases from reaching us- or ever more so the media- until they have resulted in injury, truancy, or severe neglect, then the amount of power and influence they have must be considerable. Although this may pose an obstacle, my hope is that by bringing together a high-quality troop of stakeholders who will advocate on behalf of the Violence Against Children Act of 2009 and its many necessary provisions, we will not just overcome opposition, we will convert it into cooperation.