Author: Andre Coleman

The concept of child abuse is historically, socially and culturally bound.

Critically discuss this statement with reference to the subject material and literature.

Introduction

This paper will look at child abuse, what that is in Australia today. Through reviewing literature on child abuse and child protection this paper aims to show that the concept of child abuse is dependent on social and cultural values. In order to discuss child abuse and its relationship to history and social and cultural values it is important to define the term ‘child abuse’ in the child protection field in Australia today. Zuchowski (2009: 30) cites Fernandez as recognizing that the importance of agreed and unambiguous definitions is central to identifying maltreatment and appropriate interventions and that child abuse is a socially constructed concept defined by social, cultural and economic conditions.

In Australian child protection work child abuse is defined in terms of physical, sexual and emotional abuse and in the more contentious area, child neglect. Physical and emotional abuses are defined as acts of commission or omission that cause harm or worse to children. Sexual abuse is defined as the child being used for the sexual gratification of the adult and involves the abuse of trust and power inherent in relationships between adults and children. Neglect is defined as a situation in which the parents/carers fail to provide for the basic essential needs that children require (Tilbury, Osmond, Wilson & Clark 2007:5; Tomison, 2001:48).

The term ‘neglect’ is contentious and implies judgement; Feminism and Post-Modernist theories challenge workers to be critically reflective on the ways in which language contributes to the construction of social values (Healy, 2005:194). Applied to child protection work Feminist, Structuralist and Critical social work theories focus on social and economic resources and recognize the impact that structural disadvantages have on families’ capacities to provide for children (Tilbury et al, 2007:29). Neglect of children was not recognized prior to the industrial revolution and children as young as five were treated as slave labour in orphanages, workhouses and factories, where they were starved, beaten and often kept in leg irons (Tomison, 2001:48). These conditions are illegal in Australia today and would be considered as child abuse by current social values.

History of Child Protection

In the 19th century children were essentially seen as economic units, large families were an investment and children’s’ input was considered essential to family survival (Sanson & Wise, 2001:5).By the turn of the 20th century changes in attitudes to child labour in Australia were reflected in laws such as the Factory Act of New South Wales and Victoria of 1896, compulsory education for all children in all Australian states by 1900 and the establishment of voluntary child rescue groups such as The Victorian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1894 which was concerned with child abuse and the effects of poverty and disadvantage on their living conditions (Sanson & Wise, 2001:5; Tomison, 2001:50).

However, widespread public concern regarding the maltreatment of children only emerged when child abuse was ‘rediscovered’ by Dr H Kempe and his colleagues in the United States in the 1960’s. They coined the term ‘battered baby syndrome’ and their work created interest in child maltreatment around the world. (Tomison , 2001:50; Parton, 2002:5). At the time child abuse was seen as a socio-medical problem, a disease which could be cured and prevented whereas today child abuse is currently framed as a socio-legal problem with the emphasis on gathering and assessing forensic evidence (Parton, 2002:11; Tomison, 2001:52). The professionalization of child protection services during the 1970’s and 1980’s saw the development of risk-assessment tools ; aids to assist workers in making the right decision and to help ensure accountability. These developments saw the worker as the expert; whereas current theories used in social work in Australia such as strengths- based approaches and narrative therapies emphasize a collaborative effort between families and child protection services (Kreuger, 2007:237; Tilbury et al, 2007:16).

The influence of the child rescue movement in the late 19th century on child protection in Australia has been profound, particularly influencing the history of social intervention and removal of Indigenous children from their families (Sanson & Wise, 2001:8.).Child protection in Australia was first provided by predominantly Christian church groups in the non-government sector and targeted abandoned, neglected children and those with families considered ‘socially inadequate’. Initially ‘rescued’ children were boarded with approved families until later years when orphanages were established. In the early days of settlement the deprivation that children suffered in institutions was recognized, leading to foster care or boarding out being the preferred placement for neglected children (Tomison, 2001:49).

Indigenous ‘Child Protection’

From the first white settlement of Australia colonial values and approaches saw the land being regarded as ‘Terra Nullius’, Indigenous people being treated as free labour at best and subsequent laws, policies and practices that forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families (HREOC, 1997:2). The Colonial response to the atrocities perpetrated on the Aboriginal people was to establish a protectorate system which would segregate and therefore supposedly protect Indigenous people. By 1911 most Australian states and territories had reserved land and assigned responsibility and therefore control of Aboriginal people’s lives to a Chief Protector or Protection Board. This power was used to remove Indigenous children from their families with a view to converting them to Christianity (HREOC, 1997). This policy approach would be considered racist by current social standards. Australia has been slow to recognize and respect the cultural values of the Indigenous people of Australia in every way, including child care and protection.

As the population of mixed descent people grew government officials responded by removing children and housing them away from their families with the aim of absorbing and merging them into the non-Indigenous population. The forcible removal of Indigenous children continued in many guises up until the 1960’s; – those people affected by this practice are now known as The Stolen Generation. In New South Wales after 1940, Indigenous and non-Indigenous children came under general child welfare legislation. The inherent racism in policy and practice and lack of recognition of cultural differences ensured that Indigenous families were more readily found to be neglectful. Poverty was equated with neglect and Indigenous families, ineligible for unrestricted welfare support until after 1966, were judged as failing to provide adequately by non-Indigenous standards (HREOC, 1997).

Attachment theory is based on the joint work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Attachment theory recognizes the importance of the early relationship between parent and child and its influence on children’s future ability to form healthy relationships. Bowlby’s work on maternal deprivation, based on the premise that attachment to a caregiver is essential for survival, was not applied to Indigenous families in the 1950’s and 60’s in Australia (Bretherton, 1995:759; Osmond & Darlington, 2002:1). This failure can be attributed to the same racist attitudes to Indigenous Australians that saw Australia declared an empty continent by the first settlers (HREOC, 1997). Looking through the lens of attachment theory at Australia’s history of forcible removal of Indigenous children, it is easy to see the legacy of intergenerational suffering and its ongoing impact on the wellbeing of Indigenous communities today (Sanson & Wise, 2001:39). From today’s perspective historic child protection practices imposed on Indigenous Australians are seen as child abuse and maltreatment. Prime Minister Rudd’s apology, in February 2008, for the damage done to Indigenous Australian’s through past policies of removal, evidences the change in Australian social values which are reflected in policy.

In the ‘Bringing them Home Report’ (HREOC, 1997:19), Sir William Deane acknowledges the extent to which present disadvantage flows from past injustices and oppression. The report recognizes the permanent wounding caused to the Stolen Generation by forcible removal and institutional abuse. All states and territories in Australia have accepted the Indigenous Placement Principle as law or policy (SNAIC, 2002:66.)This policy recognizes the importance of retaining Indigenous Australian children’s connections to their community and culture(Ban, 2005:388).

The Indigenous Placement Principle embeds Indigenous cultural values in social policy by seeking to place children within extended families and their communities. This principle is critical to addressing issues such as Indigenous children being six times more likely to be removed than any other Australian children and twenty times more likely to be in the juvenile justice system. This high rate of removal can be attributed to structural issues such as poverty, lack of adequate housing and the intergenerational effects of policies that forcibly and deliberately removed Indigenous children from culture and family (Zuchowski, 2009:76).

In fifty years, approaches to indigenous child protection in Australia have radically changed; they now reflect recognition of past injustices, respect for cultural differences and values and a commitment to partnership and collaboration between governments, services and Indigenous Australians to build capacities and resilience in communities to keep families and children safe (Calma, 2007).

Economic Impacts

Thomson (2003) suggests that there is an institutional blindness to the role that poverty plays in putting children at risk of harm. The rise of economic rationalism as the dominant philosophy through the 1990’s in Australian social policy has been twofold: under- resourcing of welfare services such as child protection and a user -pays approach which sees the poor and needy further disadvantaged. Economic rationalism is a potentially value laden approach where those who are socially and economically disadvantaged held responsible for their circumstances. As Tomison (2001:52) acknowledges the focus of economic rationalism on efficiency, effectiveness and accountability potentially conflicts with the ethical commitments made by social workers such as a commitment to achieving social justice (Tilbury et al 2007:10; AASW, 1999). Economic issues impact the reconciliation process with the Indigenous community as healing and reconciliation relies on redress of past wrongs (HREOC, 1997). Thorpe (2007) also notes that a disproportionate amount of resources in child protection are spent on investigation rather than care.

Current Social Policy Approaches:

Prevention and early intervention

The current discourse on child protection, influenced by strength based and evidence based approaches, ‘has shifted from talking about abuse to talking about harm’ (Zuchowski, 2009:33). Feminism and Post-modernism recognize language as a site which contributes to defining social value; these discourses have also contributed to the shift from talking about abuse to focussing on the harm done to children. ‘Harm’ is defined in The Child Protection Act (1999) as ‘any detrimental effect of a significant nature…on the child’s wellbeing’. This term allows for family and child to contribute to the assessment of what is considered ‘detrimental’ and ‘significant’ (Tilbury et al, 2007:4). The focus since the mid 1990’s in Australia has been on early intervention and prevention (Tomison, 2001:54-55).

“Resilience” has been recognized as a key protective factor in children surviving maltreatment and high risk situations and achieving healthy and adaptive outcomes. The growing recognition that enhancing protective factors to prevent maltreatment of children is cost effective, and provides both social and economic benefits, has seen an increasing focus on the delivery of early intervention and prevention services in Australia. These services are mostly delivered through non-government agencies such as Family Centres in New South Wales. Government policies now focus on ‘health and wellbeing’ through enhancing community, family and individual strengths. These current strengths-based family support approaches are a contrast to historic approaches that sought to place responsibility and blame solely with the parent. Children’s health and wellbeing is now seen as a community responsibility; the impact of the socio-economic environment in which the family lives is now taken into account (Tomison, 2002:7; 2001:55).

Conclusion

According to Tilbury et al “the ‘label’ child abuse changes according to social context and reflects public opinion and values as well as expert opinion” and reflects the degree to which society supports families to care for their children(2007:6). Furthermore understandings of child abuse and neglect ‘differ according to socio-economic status, culture and ethnic background’ (Bowes & Watson, 2004), as cited in Tilbury et al. (2007:6).

What constitutes child abuse is dependent on social and cultural values; this is clearly evidenced in the changes to the treatment and care of children throughout even the short history of Australia since white settlement. The increase in notification and substantiation of children at risk in the last decade is the outcome of a widening definition of what comprises child abuse (Scott, 2006, as cited in Thorpe, 2007:1). Australia’s history of forcible removal of Indigenous children, the disconnection of British migrant children from family, the abuse of children in institutional care and the ongoing social and mental damage that these practices caused is now well known (Thorpe, 2007:1). These historic practices are unacceptable and considered abuse and maltreatment in Australia today. When compared with Australia’s current collaborative and culturally sensitive approach to child protection it is clear that child abuse, and community perception and response to it, reflect the dominant cultural and social values of the day.

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Catriona Robertson, Student No. 0718540740, Assignment 1, WS3027: Child and Family Welfare, 10th January 2010.

In the words of Thompson we live in a complex society where diversity is the order of the day. This indeed can result into conflict of interest and discrimination. To narrow this down, discrimination borne out of Cultural Diversity in the social care practice is a very pertinent issue in care delivery especially between the service giver and the client alike. This can be explained as the reflection of the differences that comes through their, languages, values, beliefs, thoughts, behavioural action, ideas and reaction.

Basically, is a pointer to the sensitivity nature of the profession and the approaches needed to provide culturally appropriate care that will accommodate and embrace individual’s beliefs, values and culture incorporates individual’s cultural values, beliefs, and practices including sensitive and of course practitioners among others must take cognisance of individual background to facilitate antidiscriminatory practice in service delivery.

When implementing prevention programs to curb any form of discriminatory attitude ,some of the cogent factors that should be considered as sub set of cultural diversity are, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexuality, spirituality, and some other areas. Both the internal and external parts of human life can be considered as the understanding of culture. Among diverse of lots of ways to define culture, it can be viewed from the angle of experience, values, knowledge, attitudes, skills, ideas, tastes, and techniques which are transfer from one experienced person in the community to others.

Transmitters of culture are now families both immediate and nuclear, religious group, peer groups social groups, neighbours and professional organisations. Essentially it should be noted that element of culture and diversity are numerous, some cultural experiences could be are biological related factors, like physical stature and colour of skin, whereas others could be sociological related factors, like socioeconomic status and religious connection. Based on these variables it will be wrong and illogical to draw a conclusion regarding people based on the way they appear externally.

It has become imperative for social care practitioners to be very competent cultural, apart from the fact that this could improve the service delivery standard it will help immensely to help in the quest for antidiscriminatory practice in this profession. Some of the importance of this antidiscriminatory practice in this regards is that it will help to facilitate a serene atmosphere whereby social workers will be able to see it as a matter of responsibility to engage in proper conduct, effective ethical services and decision making. This will enable them to be more conscious about the value base of their service users and of course it will help to maintain an ethical standard that could ultimately serve as a platform on which a professional relationship that can facilitate and improve service delivery can be attained in the long run.

Civilization according to Obama can be described as a method of living and an attitude of equal respect for all and sundry. Obama B. (2006).In a similar vein, a speech was delivered by M. Martin in Dublin (2001) in regards to solving the challenges of cultural diversity in the health care Sector in republic of Ireland. Martin stated in his speech that, diversity gives social care practitioners the privilege to develop their knowledge, mental know-how and the understanding of the problems associated with issues cultural diversity in the health care sector from the twin perspectives of both clients and staff. He also identify awareness and sensitivity training workshop for staff as a key requirement for adapting to a diverse population issue. He suggested that such training should be projected towards enhancement of knowledge based development and skills in other to render effective services that are sensitive to cultural diversity.

Diversity according to Thompson, (2001: 34), is a term hugely being used to lay emphasis on the differences between individuals and across groups, and the fact that such differences are best seen as an assets to be valued and affirmed, rather than as problems to be solved. Diversity and difference could result to discrimination and thus oppression can take place.

Moreover, social care workers do encounter many problems and obstacles in attending the elderly, the young and the physically challenged as well. Ireland as a country is fast becoming a much more multi-cultural society where people are coming from diverse cultural and ethnical background obviously people’s ideas thought and expectations based on service delivery will definitely be conflicted , but it is expected that social care practitioners will manage all these issues as a matter of cultural competency. In recent times, it is now not unusual for a practitioner to work with a black or coloured person or a person from an Eastern European country. Nor is it unusual to work with a child from an ethnic minority in residential care.

Another important of antidiscriminatory practice is that it will enable practitioners to have an insight to how human life and experience is characterise by diversity and how is germane to identity formations. Diversity as it may, can be viewed from intersectionality of different dimensions, these factors consist of gender, age, colour, religion, sexual orientation, class differences, culture, sex, physically challenged, immigration status, ethnic background, political ideology and national origin.

Social workers need to understand and placed ultimate premium of the fact that as a rerult of individual differences, somebody somehow might have experience or suffred from exploitation, maginalisation, oppression, poverty, exclusion and stigmatisation. Understandind this fact will not only help a practitioner to manage and deliver good servive but will greatly assist to be able to deal effectively in handling individual’s need individually. According to Worman, (2005) diversity can best be described as, the the disparities that exist between people that ranges from both visible and non-visible. He identifies three different types of diversity: Social diversity which includes age, race, ethnicity and gender, Value diversity such as psychological differences based on personality and attitudes and Informational diversity which includes organisational differences in education, tenure and function. Rather than seeing this as the beginning and end of one the greatest challenges been faced by this profession it should be seen as a means to an end towards achieving a better service delivery.

Perhaps, one of the possible fruits of the challenges of cultural diversity is that it could chrysalises to discrimination talking about the client and the service deliverer . According to Laird, (2008) concerns with racism first emerged in the social-work profession back in the 1970s and during the 1980s major social-work texts appeared to guide practice (Payne, 2005: 277). The new Diploma in Social Work was introduced in 1990 and it made it compulsory for anti-racist practice to be part of the prospectus.

Thompson’s advanced work on the ‘PCS analysis’, (1998, 2006) refers to the personal, cultural and structural levels at which discrimination can occur, as a means of identifying and combating oppression against ethnic service users. As a result of his research Thompson would say that the combination of personal and cultural predispositions can create an ethnocentric outlook. Ethnocentrism results in judging other distinctive groups of people according to the norms of one’s own group. This of course can create more problems rather than solution that ought to be the central major target of the carer and invariably it can lead to frustration on the part of the carer.

Practically, over time it has been proven that problems that arises from discrimination in service delivery if properly addressed and managed will ultimately enhance performance and this to a large extent will help to improve the lives of the clients. Some the discriminatory acts from recent research have their source from language and culture. Ireland for instance is now a cross multicultural country whereby we have huge number of people from Africa and Eastern block. This factor can make or mar service delivery effectiveness depending on how is applied. “Practitioners and service users recognise that language and cultural barriers can limit the provision of effective and meaningful social care.” (Share et al 2009: 423).

Also, antidiscriminatory practice can necessitate the quest for knowledge and information to improve learning. To be effective at their job, Social Care Workers need to acquire the skills in dealing with culturally different co-workers, subordinates peers and clients. Powell (2004) points out those organisations are becoming increasingly aware of the need to understand and respond to demographic trends in the modern employment force. Carer need to gain an awareness and understanding of the environment around them in order to provide effective supports to service users and their individual needs. A lack of knowledge and/or a lack of understanding can lead to discriminatory practice.

Lack of knowledge can simply mean not being aware of the needs and choices of an individual this can lead to complications and frustration on parties. This information may include dietary requirements, religious practices, cultural differences, language barriers or personal rituals.

Thomas (1991), observed that workplace diversity transcend beyond gender and race. It cut across people lifestyle, age, sexual preference, functional speciality and geographical location. Communities and organisations are becoming extremely diverse and are being challenged to manage diversity. Wilson (1997) describes the ‘changing workforce’ as the ‘new workforce’. For example, today’s workforce includes more dual earner families, an older work force, more people of colour and ethnic minorities, more people with disabilities and more homosexual practitioners.

These set of new workers that falls within the groups earlier mentioned are more demanding and their expectation about the employee’s involvement is so great, Provision has to be made for better work and family balance and access to more vital information, legal frameworks should be in force in order to encourage the Irish workforce to acknowledge and appreciate diversity.

The Employment Equality Act 2004 and the Equal Status Act 2000forbid by law on different nine grounds the act of discrimination including race and membership of the travelling community. Section 24 of the Employment Equality Act 2004, states that it is aimed to: ‘Implement the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin…..establishing a general framework for equal employment and occupation and equal treatment for men and women in regards to employment, vocational training and promotion.’

As a social care worker, in a diverse workforce, there is a need to recognise and respect such differences. Ethnic and cultural diversity are not a new occurrence in Ireland. The Irish Travelling Community is synonymous with a long history of an indigenous minority group with a strong culture and identity of their own. Only when these differences are acknowledged in a respectable manners and informing ourselves with regard to them can we be rest assured that these differences has been addressed.

Equality and diversity are about the understanding and valuing of difference. It is about creating a working environment that recognises respects and harnesses difference. A fair environment allows everyone to contribute and gives the opportunity to all to fulfil their potential. Practitioners face many challenges in their everyday work environment. In stressful situations it is important to have support, for example, from the team a carer work with, the supervisor or even an individual co-worker.

Consistency is an important tool for any practitioner so as to provide the best service for the people that they work with. Powell (2004) explains that ignoring diversity may limit a team in its work to reach a required goal.

According to Powell, practitioners benefit from working in a multicultural environment as it teaches them a culture of inclusion and they can benefit from the range of skills and values that are present in the team. This leads to the absence of discrimination and prejudice and ultimately both the staff and clients benefit from this environment.” “Effective social work education and practice in the increasingly mobile and diverse modern European society requires and understanding of minority ethnic cultures and sensitivity to inter-cultural perspectives.”

The National Association of Social Workers (N.A.S.W) describes the responsibilities of social workers as to ‘act to expand choice and opportunity for all persons, with special regard for vulnerable, disadvantaged, oppressed and exploited people and groups.’ These standards heighten the acceptance and respect for diversity as a fundamental social work value. Share et al (2009) points out that many third level institutions providing social care courses integrate inter-cultural training as part of the prospectus.

Many organisations adopt diversity programmes to combat exclusion in the work place. “Social workers have a professional mandate to identify and challenge organisational systems and individual practices that compromise client service, choice and general well-being.” (Maidment et al, 2002: 399).

Constant rising in Ethnicity and social heterogeneity has been identified as one of the greatest and essential challenges militating against modern societies, and in the same way, one of the most significant opportunities in almost all the advanced countries of the world. One thing that is very certain that can be said about virtually all the modern societies is that is generations are going to be more diverse than ever in a foreseeable future.

According to Putnam (2007). He described in the theoretical tool kit of social science two diametrically opposed perspectives about the effects of diversity on social connections. One of those, he labelled the contact hypotheses which argues that diversity fosters interethnic tolerance and social solidarity.

The more we associate and make more contact with people who are different from us, it will enable us to overcome our initial hesitation and ignorance and come to trust them more. This is true in social care an example been the first time a service user would have had a black worker as a carer there could or would have being name calling because they did not know any better. In some cases this has improved as the client and carer have gotten to know each other and come to realise that the only difference is their culture and not what colour they are.

CONCLUSION

This essay has been able to observe and established that in order for social care work to be effective and fair, social care workers need to acknowledge difference and embrace it so as to reap the benefits of a diverse workforce. Racism has no place for the social care worker in the work place. Working with clients who have diverse needs can only serve to further teach a social care worker and enrich their practice, which in turn promotes their standard of professionalism and experience.

What is recommendable is that there are two sides to a coin, diversity as it may, in totality could be a blessing in disguise because it can propel a society towards achieving or providing the best and the most effective service delivery in the context of social care practice through all the possible learning and training processes that ranges from competency to ethical conducts for all the social care workers.

This essay has shown just what diversity is and what types of diversity challenge social care workers on a daily basis. It has also emphasised how important training and development is in order to give potential social care workers a prepared insight into how diversity can be managed and respected.

The world is a small place and social care workers need to recognise and embrace all cultures and their respective differences in order to further enhance their ability to help all service users in multicultural society. Emphasis has been laid on some the importance of antidiscriminatory practice in the context of this profession like better service delivery, enhancing good relationship, improve professionalism and help to facilitate cultural competence and ethical standard amongst others. All this factors put together will ultimately underpinned the future and best practice for this profession.

The Common Assessment Framework is used by various professionals and agencies to use one process of sharing information and integrate working on a young person (revise & re-word more info) The CAF process is seen as a core element in integrated working and promotes more effective use of time used to assess young people, seen by many as a universal and neutral system used by all agencies. The CAF emerged from the 2003 Green Paper ‘Every Child Matters’ which marked a policy of the integration of practitioners and services. (Wise, C, & Harrison, R, 2005)

Requirements before starting the CAF

As undertaken the role of a youth worker I chose Candi (my 16 year old daughter who lives with her mother from a previous marriage) as the young person I would like to help fill in the CAF form. In the case of the assessment undertaken for the assignment, it was explained to Candi the purpose and outcome of the assessment and she was not being formally assessed, and that the process was to critically evaluate the CAF and set out the module guide and shown to Candi, although unsure at first, Candi was happy to proceed. I choose Candi as the candidate because of the fact of the young people who I practice with are young offenders and because of their court orders, they identities need to be guarded and a majority of the young people flatly refused to take part.

The question is asked of what led to the assessment of the young person which has to clear and an agreed statement by all involved and if any other agencies that are involved with the young person including the young person and families/carers.

Key areas of the CAF is to try and engage the young person with families in the process and try and develop a better understanding of the process and indentify the young person’s ‘needs’ at the earliest perceivable stage, however, with most agencies and services, a majority of families are reluctant and wary of sharing information especially if persons have been involved with any agencies and services in the past. This reluctance is why the young person and family must have the full understanding of the whole process and the benefits so the training of the practitioner must be full and up-to-date (revise) however as a youth worker and assessing the young person, the practitioner has to keep own values and standards apart “if I’m talking to a particular person, it is not a question of trying to lead to my values, but often to try express some different values” (Smith, M, 1994)

Candi has never been involved with any agencies before or assessed officially by any services before, when asked how she would feel about being formally assessed she said she would feel frightened and very nervous of the process and even with her mother present she would be frightened to say the wrong thing in case of herself or parents into trouble.

If there is two or more services involved with the young person, a team would be arranged around the child meeting and then the lead professional would be identified, (reword) however there is a reluctance to become the lead practitioner in the CAF process as that practitioner becomes the bench mark for any further action taken by future agency’s or professionals, the reluctance is out of fear of making mistakes from the pressure of lead practitioner. (revise)

Current family and home situation

While filling this section, Candi felt unsure how to answer the question and looked towards her mother for approval, before giving any personal details about family. This section can difficult for the young person if under 16 and a parent or carer is present, before the assessment is carried out, there are no details of the present family situation whether problems are evident or not, Candi lives as part of a one parent family with her younger sister who is 11 years old and times can difficult with looking after her while her mother works, however some young children come from broken homes with various amount of difficulties or living in children’s home, or with friends which only can build as the young person’s anxiety.

Agency involvement with young person

The assessment process used when carrying out can be very intimidating and very personal, however family or carer support is crucial throughout as personal and private information is obtain, plus information of any agency involvement, doctors, health visitors, connexions and any educational provision and so-forth can to hard to ascertain at the time of the assessment with the young person. Candi found personal details

The process of the CAF tries to consider a Varity of ethical issues with over 30 answers to the question of ethnicity which can be a personal and confusing question to ask to ask a young person. So it is preferred to ask the family or young person to self define their ethnicity and no assumptions should be made by the practitioner. (revise)

Development of the young person

To try and ascertain the development of the young person with worries/needs and strengths/resources a variety of information (revise) involving health, emotional and self esteem with among others which can be difficult to try and collect information about unless if in close contact through personal contact through different circumstances with a more impersonal atmosphere to get to know the young person has a more trusting surrounding. Candi found this section hard to explain, especially about her emotions. Candi did not understand why these questions needed to be asked and their purpose. It was explained emotion needs are important part of a young person’s development and any worries or needs had to be ascertained in order to help the young person and not (revise)

A majority of young people when asked about the Common Assessment framework and what the process was used for would be unsure unless the young person has been explained what the process can be used to try improve areas of life improvement (revise) and improve personal development, however if explained how it may involve a child protection or safeguarding procedures if certain aspects should arise during the assessment process, which could cause concern to the young person, the young person could not be as forth-coming with personal information about family life in general, and especially if the parent or carer is involved in the process. However, the whole process is for the positive aspiration welfare of the young person. (revise)

Parents and carers

Information gathered in the section entitled ‘Parents and carers’ involving information including basic care, emotion warm and boundaries for example can be very personal to the young person and the parent/carer could interfere with any question asked. As with most young people, personal information including emotions can be quite hard to divulge especially if the young person is experiencing life stages including puberty and adolescence. (revise)

Family and environmental

Family and environmental functions including the well-being of the young person plus resources including education but financial consideration can a delicate subject however can give a valuable insight to family matters. Financial difficulty can cause an array of problems which influence social and personal development of the young person either by not enrolling into further education or by ascendance of parents/carers working unsociable and unpractical hours causing family disruption in the family home.(revise) Candi found this part difficult to fill in considering the relationship with ourselves and her mother being there during the assessment. I felt Candi did not answer the questions totally honestly and to her fullest (revise)

Well-being scale

Well-being scale of the child/person by the assessor and the well-being scale 0-10 given by the parent/carer is also used too which can regarded as a redundant tool as a number of different factors can influence the scale however a general indication by the parent/carer on their opinion of the young person’s well-being however it can never give a true reflection (revise)

Improvement and review

Improvement and review which includes the views of the parent/carer/young person (revise)

Young person’s goals

Young person’s personal goals and general view of assessment (revise)

Practitioners goals

Practitioner’s goals and view of assessment (revise)

Conclusions, solutions and actions

Conclusions, solutions and actions is the table or a chance to indentify key areas for change with recommended actions by the whom and estimated time of action which should have all those involved working towards the same agenda and encourage families to what is happening as easier progress is to be made. Specific goals are to be made either short or long term but still be specific in the review time.

The view and thoughts of the young person should be evident throughout the process and capture any comments which are relevant and helpful, “adolescence is therefore seen, as youth workers, as a moment of questioning – a moment in which young people reflect critically in their sense of self, their beliefs and values” (Young, K, 1999 p.28)

The CAF process can help identify needs at an early stage and help education authorities achieve better engagement with young person and with school attendance; future academic aspiration and help the young person improve health and family relationships with siblings and parents/carers.

Noted on bottom of CAF form is a note of exceptional circumstances and significant harm to the young person which asks the question of following safeguard procedures if at any time the practitioner feels that there is an issue. “Those who work with young people have a responsibility to safeguard and promote their welfare” (C. Wise & Harrison. R, 2005 p33), this is an important issue for any practitioner or person who works with a young and is an important responsibility and requires vigilance (reword) and attention to the young person who may not be fulfilling the needs and development potential. (C. Wise & Harrison, R, 2005)

The following are the skills needed in order to work with parents and with the family as a whole: ability to work in partnership with parents; ability to be honest and open even when the information you have to share is unpleasant or painful; ability to communicate with adults; ability to negotiate; ability to provide counselling, warmth, empathy, understanding; ability to tolerate people’s pain and anger; ability to work effectively with groups.

Two skills will be explained further. Starting with the ability to provide empathic understanding, this relies on the ability of the worker to imagine what the service user may be experiencing, relating it to his/hers experience. Empathy also draws on the ability of the worker to be an active listener.

As for the ability to be honest, it is known that some parents are not always honest with social workers, particularly when there are issues of abuse (Department of Health, 1991a; Reder et al; 1993), but it is important for social workers to honest in all dealings with parents. Sometimes this is difficult particularly when sharing difficult decisions with the parents, such as the decision to hold a child protection conference.

The “process” of child protection work is set out in the Working Together guidance (HM Government, 2006a), which is to be followed in conjunction with the Assessment Framework and any local procedures and protocols. Under s47 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities have a duty to make enquiries when there is reason to believe that a child is suffering or is likely to suffer, significant harm

In the case of Bethany where a section 47 enquiry is being considered, a strategy meeting should be held immediately, involving social workers, police, and any other relevant personnel such as referring professionals or when necessary those with medical or legal expertise. Apart from sharing information, the principle focus of the strategy meeting is on planning. This might include coordinating with the enquiry with any criminal investigation, dealing with any immediate issues of safety, deciding what information may be shared with parents and whether any medical examination are required.

When a child’s name is placed on the child protection register, the conference will appoint a lead professional (usually a local authority social worker) and a core group, comprising family members and relevant professionals who have the responsibility for developing and implementing the child protection plan. This plan will be reviewed at further conferences, initially within three months and six months thereafter. Depending on the degree of risk reduction, these subsequent meetings may decide to remove the child’s name from the register. Research on core groups has identified challenges very similar to those facing conferences, especially in ensuring meaningful participation (Harlow and Shardlow, 2006.)

From their study of a hundred and twenty conferences, Farmer and Owen (1995) argued that the dominant focus was on assessing risk, with minimal time devoted to planning and little subsequent reappraisal. They expressed concern that plans often failed to offer therapeutic help to children or to address the needs of parents (including women subjected to domestic violence). More recent research has suggested that, although practical and therapeutic services are generally appreciated by parents, they are often not forthcoming (CSCI, 2006). In this respect, Scourfield and Welsh (2003) argue that child protection work is dominated by a neo-liberal emphasis on monitoring and exhorting parents to change or face losing their children. Despite these difficulties, and re-abuse rates of 25-30%, studies in 1990s found that in roughly two thirds of cases, children’s wellbeing improved while on the child protection register (DH, 1995).

Failures of communication and co-ordination between professionals have been a recurring theme in child maltreatment “scandals”, but eliminating them has proved a daunting challenge.

One major concern has been to strike a balance between spreading responsibility for child protection as widely as possible while ensuring there are clear lines of accountability. For example, there have been moves to make child protection “everyone’s business” (Scottish Executive,2002; HM Government,2006b). In England and Wales, s11 of theChildren Act 2004 and s175 of the Education Act 2002 created a general duty for a range of public bodies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Working Together (HM Government, 2006a: 39-73) sets out various requirements for organisations to nominate key professionals to co-ordinate child protection work at their particular level (Murphy,2004), while the Children Act 2004, s12, creates a duty on professionals to notify any cause for concern to the information-sharing index. Training, especially on an inter-professional basis, has also been recognised as crucial to facilitating communication and co-ordination (Glennie,2007).

Yet, despite the many positive developments in relation to co-ordination, the challenges remain significant (Murphy,2004). Different professional roles and training generate particular “ways of seeing” in respect of assessment and these are likely to be reinforced by agency cultures (Birchall and Hallett,1995). In practice, this often means different thresholds for assessing significant harm and consequent tensions when these views are not shared by others (Stanley et al;2003). Duties to co-operate have co-existed with increasing pressures on individual professionals and agencies and unsurprisingly, it has often proved difficult to engage those for whom child protection is not regarded as part of their “core business” (Francis et al; 2006). Responsibilities have thus tended to remain with social workers, with some evidence that other professionals may seek to avoid involvement in child protection work (Harlow and Shardlow, 2006). Inter-professional relationships are also affected by issues of power and status and may be based on generalised or even stereotypical views of others.

In relation to communication, there are two related challenges to be faced. The first is that confidentiality, which has both interpersonal and professional dimensions. Thus, individual practitioners must address issues of confidentiality in light of their relationship with service users, but professional cultures and agency rules will also shape what information must (not) be kept confidential. A second, broader challenge is to decide from the massive volume of information gleaned which items are to be exchanged, with whom, and in what form, something that ultimately relies on professional judgement but is also influenced by inter personal processes (Reder and Duncan, 2003). Finally, it should be recognised that all the above challenges can be exacerbated by staff turnover and by agency reorganisations.

Reflecting the growing concern not only that resources were directed more to child protection services than to preventive and support services but also that there were weaknesses at strategic and operational levels about how professionals jointly supported children and their families, the government established requirements for inter-agency collaboration in the 2004 Children Act. Under sections 10 and 11 of this Act, the Director of Children’s Services is accountable for collaborative partnerships across agencies involved with the wellbeing of children to assist professionals to coordinate services focused on prevention and early intervention and, where appropriate, to plan and develop joint services.

In March 2007, the government published a review of family policy resulting from an extensive consultation with providers of services, young people and parents to lay the foundation for government spending over a three-year cycle from 2008 (HM Treasury and DFES, 2007). As part of the Every Child Matters agenda, the government is aiming to address the imbalance in the allocation of resources between prevention services and protection services and also to develop a more effective multidisciplinary framework of professional skills to enhance the effectiveness of prevention services.

Two broad aims are to develop the resilience of children to adverse factors in their family and social circumstances and also to address the needs of families “caught in a cycle of low attainment”. The goal is to increase the provision of “preventive” services but where necessary to require resistant families to use the services by setting consequences for parents through forms of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders and Parenting Orders. The intention is to enable local authorities to use additional funding flexibly to develop services provided either directly by the local authority or through multidisciplinary settings such as “extended school” services or children’s centres for younger children. The policy review commissioned four areas of “sub-review”: developing preventive approaches, children and families at risk through “low attainment”; needs of disabled children; needs of young people.

These policy aims will inform not only funding streams to local authorities, child health and education but also expectations about workforce skills developments (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk)

Families say that they value the social worker who helps them find their solutions to family problems. This approach takes into account service users’ anxieties about sharing family information with professionals and harnesses the family’s strengths to build self-confidence and more sustained solutions. The whole family approach, family focused and child centred is central to working with children and their families in a multi-agency setting. Social workers bring a broad knowledge and skills base and are able to move beyond functions into solutions. They need to influence those other agencies surrounding the child to adopt a more collaborative strength-based approach.

An approach that respects the family but does not condone the behaviour towards the child or the child’s behaviour is likely to enable the family to respond to early intervention and to take up services offered rather than being driven to use the services by compulsion. However, social workers cannot at times avoid compulsion, through either a child protection plan or court proceedings. Families need to know what sanctions may follow if there are serious concerns about a child that they do not address. Communication about options and consequences from the outset of intervention is central to good practice. Such clear communication is also needed for other agencies that may be involved. Families and children should not need to repeatedly share with professionals from different settings the difficulties they are experiencing.

A key skill social workers bring to their practice is the capacity to understand the issues from the family’s standpoint. Social workers need to take into account the impact of poverty, social marginalisation, discrimination and poor health on parenting capacity and children’s development. Social workers are the bridge to enabling other professionals to acknowledge the need for services and their responsibility to provide suitable services.

Clear communication is a prerequisite to establishing good partnerships with children, the family and the professionals involved. Work needs to be planned around time to listen, time to reflect and time to establish relationships with the child and the parents at a pace that works for them.

Communication means not only using language that families understand, so that terms familiar to professionals are properly explained and examples given, it also means establishing in what way they wish to share information. This principle needs to be embedded in the practice of all the professionals delivering services to the families. Some families may wish to use an appropriately skilled interpreter. Some may want to share with the social worker the task of making written records or completing assessment forms. Other families may feel unable to say that written records disenfranchise them because of limited literacy skills.

Services plans should be transparent and should clearly set out which agencies are involved, what is being provided, for how long and what are the consequences of not using the services. Plans need to be reviewed regularly and families need to know who has responsibility in multi-agency plans to deal with disagreement, to account for lapses in service provision and to ensure that reviews are held.

For families the government’s proposals under the Every Child Matters agenda create the possibility of improvements in accessing services across agencies. However, joint planning and commissioning will only be effective if parents, families and children are consulted about what services are useful to them. Services delivered through extended schools and children’s centres need to be innovative and harness the skills of the third sector to deliver not only universal services but also services for children with additional and specialist needs.

Social workers and their managers are well placed to drive forward more effective ways of working directly with families: the risk is that processes designed to ensure accountability will create unnecessary barriers for skilled professionals who want to work alongside families to support them to find solutions.

in 2000, the New Labour government published the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and Their Families (DH et al; 2000). The Framework was to be applied to all assessments under the Children Act 1989, whether for children in need (s17) or where “significant harm” was suspected (s47). The Assessment Framework (DH et al; 2000:10-16) sets out the following key principles: Assessments should be child centred, rooted in child development; ecological in their approach; ensure equality of opportunity; involve working with children and families; build on strengths as well as identify difficulties; are inter-agency in their approach to assessment and the provision of services; are a continuing process, not a single event; are carried out in parallel with other action and providing services; are grounded in evidence-based knowledge.

Any assessment of a child and his family which aims to understand what is happening to a child has to take account of a child’s developmental needs, the parenting capacity to respond to those needs, and the wider family and environmental factors. Together these form three systems whose interactions have direct impact on the current and long term wellbeing of a child. The Assessment Framework represents a way of trying to capture the complexity of a child’s world and beginning to construct a coherent approach to collecting and analysing information about each child.

The Framework should be rooted in understandings of child development. Contemporary thinking about children’s needs has evolved over several decades and reflects a mixture of theoretical influences and evidence derived from research studies.Taylor (2004) identifies the following needs: basic physical care, affection, security, stimulation, guidance, control and discipline, responsibility, independence. As assessment has become increasingly rationalised, it has become more common to adopt a “balance sheet” approach, often couched in terms of risk factors i.e. the increased probability of a particular (negative) outcome and protective factors that decrease its likelihood.

An important factor behind the increasing interest in parenting has been a focus on the impact of mental health problems, substance misuse and domestic violence on parents and, in turn, children. Research in the 1990s suggested that these played an important role in many child welfare cases, especially when present in combination, but that they were neither well understood nor addressed in practice (Cleaver et al; 1999). They are relevant in two main ways. First, background knowledge of the impact is an important factor in decision making and second, there may be particular implications for the process of assessment and how it is managed. While each of these areas has distinctive characteristics, there are also common treads. One is that assessment demands a careful balancing act to avoid over or under reaction.Thus, despite heightened risk to children’s welfare, it is important to recognise that those suffering from mental health and other problems do not necessarily make poor parents, and that the majority of their children grow up without major ill-effects (Cleaver, 2002).

An adult who violently assaults another adult in the home is, in fact, also abusing children who may see, hear or be aware of that violence. Hughes, 1992, found that in 90 per cent of cases of domestic violence, children were in the same or the next room. This “indirect abuse”, is a form of emotional abuse, and actually one of the more severe forms. (Bearing in mind that emotional abuse and neglect are closely related, we might also see it as neglect of the child’s needs.) Children are exposed to feelings of terror, grief, impotence, and to the realisation that adults on whom they may rely for safety, security and protection are either, incapable of protecting even themselves, or, capable of dangerous violence towards those they are supposed to protect (Kelly, 1994:44). Since the implementation of the Adoption and Children Act in December 2005, the Children Act 1989 definition of significant harm has expressly included “impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another”.

A crucial element of the Framework was to emphasise the interconnectedness of the three domains, drawing on the ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner (1979). In essence, Bronfenbrenner construes the factors influencing the child’s development as a series of four concentric circles, which he refers to as systems ranging from the child’s immediate environment to the broadest social context. The microsystem describes any setting where the child is an active participant, typically the family, school, peer group or immediate neighbourhood. The mesosystem comprises relationships between microsystems, for example between home and school. Finally, the macrosystem comprises the broader social environment in which children and families live, including cultural values, customs, economy and laws.

Arguably the most influential theoretical framework within assessment and child social care more broadly is that based on attachment. Originally derived from the work of Bowlby (1953), attachment theory emphasises the importance of relationships between children and parental figures, especially mothers. Bowlby was particularly concerned with the negative consequences of lost or poor attachment which led to “maternal deprivation”. Subsequently, his work attracted criticism for its gendered assumptions and ethnocentricity, but having fallen out of fashion, attachment theory was “rediscovered” during the 1990s (Thoburn, 1999) and its importance was made explicit in the Assessment Framework.

Fahlberg (1994) has defined attachment as “an affectionate bond between two individuals that endures through space and time and serves to join them emotionally”. She argues that the development of attachment occurs through a cycle of “arousal and relaxation”, wherein the child becomes aroused through needs such as food or comfort, but relaxes once these needs are met by the attachment figure. Repetition of the cycle develops trust and a sense of security for the child. Fahlberg also points to a positive interaction cycle, where play and humour make interaction enjoyable and mutually rewarding and attachment is strengthened. The longer-term importance of attachment is that it should provide children with a “secure base” from which to explore the social world and give them an “internal working model” for relationships based on trust. Although open to change through later experiences, these models exert a strong and often enduring influence over the lives of children and adults (Howe,2001).

Needless to say, such processes do not always follow this path and, while a complete absence of attachment is rare, insecure attachment may affect up to half of the population (Howe,2001). Building on Ainsworth et al’s (1978) work, insecure attachments are customarily divided into three categories: anxious avoidant (detached), anxious resistant (ambivalent) and disorganised/controlling. Each is associated with specific attachment behaviours, such as the reaction to separation, and wider patterns of behaviour.

Howe (2003) argues that attachment behaviours reflect how children “make sense of adults” both emotionally and cognitively and are typically adaptive responses to their care environment. Within assessment, therefore, attachment behaviours can give important insights into children’s well-being and development, while the theory may help to explain the factors that lie behind them and to gauge the potential for change. Understanding attachment is particularly pertinent when temporary or permanent removal of a child is being considered, both in terms of recognising the effects of removal and the importance of maintaining contact between children and birth family members including siblings (Sanders,2004). Information on attachment can be gleaned from interviews, direct work with children, from other professionals and perhaps most importantly observation, but as Howe (2003) warns, assessing attachments is a complex task that requires experience and cautious handling.

Explanatory accounts of child maltreatment have emanated from all the major schools of psychology. Their primary focus rests with individual perpetrators, but to a greater or lesser extent they also address ideas of “intergenerational transmission”, examining the ways in which the childhood victims of maltreatment may become perpetrators as adults. Although they enjoy little support, there are also “pre-psychological” theories rooted in biology and ideas of instinct (Corby, 2005:156-158).

Psychodynamic perspectives (broadly derived from Freudian psychology) emphasise developmental stages and the formation of personality as these stages are negotiated (Mc Cluskey and Hooper, 2000). In relation to child maltreatment, attention has focused on how a parent’s own childhood may influence their capacity to recognise and meet children’s needs, whether they have acquired a rigid personality, become easily frustrated or have difficulty in controlling aggression. This is evident in the case of Bethany where behaviour appears at first sight to be neglectful or abusive but seems in fact to be the result of genuine ignorance about the needs of a child or the role of a parent. Some adults may have lacked appropriate role models while growing up; some are very isolated and have little access to sources of advice. When there seems to be a lack of knowledge or of parenting skills, an appropriate form of intervention is education: the provision of advice, information, instruction or role models.

Social learning theory focuses on how behaviour is learned through processes of observation, conditioning and reinforcement. In line with the theory, intervention would focus on identifying these patterns and seeking to modify them through behavioural therapy, perhaps by working on avoiding “triggers” for maltreatment or reinforcing appropriate parental responses. Throughout her childhood, Bethany witnessed violence hence repeating the same behaviour as an adult.

A basic feature of anti discriminatory practice is the ability to see that discrimination and oppression are so often central to the situations social workers encounter. The fact that social work service users are predominantly from disadvantaged groups is unlikely to be seen as a key issue. However, what anti discriminatory practice teaches us is that discrimination and oppression are vitally important matters and, if we are not attuned to recognising and challenging discrimination, we run the risk of, at best condoning it and, at worst exacerbating and amplifying it through our own action.

Overarching both the 1989 and the 2004 Children Act is the 1998 Human Rights Act which requires agencies with responsibilities for child health, education and welfare services to comply with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights. Of particular relevance is Article 8, respect for private and family life. This Article does not give an absolute guarantee to family life and therefore to services to support a family to bring up their children. It is a “qualified” right, and the State and its agencies have to balance the child’s entitlement to grow up cared for by their family, who may need support services to do so, against the duty to protect the child and, where necessary following a fair and transparent process, to remove the child from the family.

The duty on the Director of the Children’s Services to plan with other agencies to commission and provide support services to promote children’s wellbeing must comply with both international obligation and domestic law to ensure that service provision is non-discriminatory

Abuse is a word that has several connotations associated with it. There is a multitude of ways abuse can be carried out, and its consequences or effects can range in an unlimited number of possibilities. Abusive cases regarding anybody should be taken very seriously and with compassion (when it comes to the victim). However, the abuse of a child, especially in a sexual way, is the most dangerous and horrendous form of abuse and can lead to a cycle of abuse later on. Children are typically defenseless and because they are so young and still developing, it is harder for them to understand what is going on and how to deal with it. In some cases, a child who has been sexually abused will absorb some of these characteristics and even abuse others as they get older because it is how they grew up and all they know.

Child sexual abuse is extremely detrimental as it can cause long-term issues for life. For this reason, the group decided to cover the topic of preventing child abuse because prevention is the best cure. Prevention of child abuse has to be the number one step that society takes, so that an innocent life will not be unnecessarily disturbed or in the worst cases, ruined. In my section of child sexual abuse, I define prevention in more than a sentence because there are many techniques for preventing child abuse and there are a number of circumstances where prevention can be applied. Our presentation by topic follows in this order: Types of Abuse, Preconditions for Child Sexual Abuse, Children at Risk, Effects of Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse Trauma, Treatment Programs, and lastly Preventing Sexual Abuse.

The first point of my presentation includes defining what prevention is and means in the context of child sexual abuse. When we think about the word prevent, it seems pretty simple: stop something from happening. Preventing child sexual abuse is not always this simple though. Those that abuse children sexually have a disorder and have something seriously wrong with their mental processes. Even if a person has been treated for abusive behavior and appear to be normal, there is always a chance of relapse just like with former drug users. That desire to do what they like to do never fully disappears, no matter how well they have rehabilitated, and this is an unavoidable obstacle for recovery even after prevention.

The very best way for preventing child sexual abuse and a future child sexual abuser is by the practice of good parenting or guardianship. Children with responsible and loving guardians are less likely to be abused because their guardians are cautious and protective of them. A child with these circumstances are also vastly less likely to abuse as they get older because they are brought up in a proper environment with good role models to follow.

It is a common misconception a child is more likely to be sexually abused by a stranger rather than by a family member or someone trusted by the family. In reality, 30-40% of reported child sexual abuse concerns a family member, and about 50% of sexually abused children are molested by a person the family knows (darkness2light.org). This means that only 10% of children who have been sexually abused are abused by strangers, so it is critical that prevention starts in the home. Another thing to think about is that these statistics only involve reported cases. A child is more likely to reveal information about abuse committed by a stranger than by a parent, relative, or family friend. With that said, the likelihood is probably even higher that a child will be sexually abused by someone they know rather than by a complete stranger.

Another reason why it is so important that prevention of child abuse starts in the home by the guardians is because 70% of reported sexual assaults are carried out on individuals seventeen and younger (darkness2light.org). The reason for this of course is that kids under this age are vulnerable and less aware of the dangers people may pose. They also have a harder time understanding why something like this could be happening to them.

For all children to have responsible and protective guardians would be to live in a perfect world and this is unfortunately impossible. Sometimes a good environment at home is unrealistic, and extra preventative measures must be taken to stop or at least correct a sexually abusive situation. Society as a whole must come together to create an environment outside of the childrenaˆ™s nuclear home. If a child is being sexually abused in their home and then come out to an environment with no helpful recourses or information available to them, they stand no chance. That is why it is crucial for places such as schools, hospitals, religious places, or wherever else it may be, to educate children on what is right and wrong as far as how they should be treated. As hard as it may be to understand, children who are abused by their parents or close ones will usually still love them and feel deeply attached, so they will be scared or hesitant to report abuse in fear of disappointment, worse treatment, or even abandonment (childabuse.gov). By educating children on the subject and by making them understand that it is not their fault, it is possible to create a place where the child feel comfortable enough to be honest and forward.

On top of the places mentioned previously, there are also numerous recourses available specifically designed for preventing and educating when it comes to child sexual abuse. Programs like NCTSN (National Child Traumatic Stress Network) can educate parents on how to prevent their child from being abused and what signs to look for if they have been. Websites such as darkness2light.org has a list of national and local programs that deal with everything from prevention to rehabilitation. By typing in aˆ?Child Sexual Abuse Preventionaˆ? in google one can clearly see that there is no lack of resources out there. There are thousands of programs designed to specifically prevent sexual abuse of a child, and even help restore the lives of those that have been taken away from abuse. There is even a national hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD, with operators and counselors committed to helping these victims.

From my project research and experience, I became more knowledgeable in the ways sexual abuse of a child can be prevented, and how individuals as well as society as a whole can help children who are already being abused. Sexual abuse, especially on a child, is in my opinion one of the worst and immoral things you can do as a human being. I learned that the people who commit this type of abuse to this demographic are often deranged and have no control over their compulsive desire to commit these atrocities. The very best thing we can do to prevent this type of destruction to a childaˆ™s life is to start with care and preventative measures inside the home and to implicate these measures outside the homes in public places as well. More than anything, I learned that prevention of this is not a simple task. It is almost impossible to protect a child inside their own home with abusive parents, if there is no evidence and the child is silent about the situation. We must all work together to put the knowledge out there for children on when they should go for help.

Day by day the safety and well being of some children across the nation are threatened by child abuse and neglect. Child abuse is doing harm to child intentionaly or not provides the essential needs for the child. Abuse child can be in physical, emotional, sexual in form or neglect. Each form has its different characteristics. Causes of child abuse can be parents causes, ecological causes or child problems. Parents causes involves parent who have background of emotional deprivation, unaware of difference between discipline and abuse, and isolated from the community. Teenage or single parent also can harm their children because they lack experience in raising children. Ecological causes which are related the environment surround the child. For example, poverty, overcrowding, substance abuse, and problems in marriage. Child causes include child disability and requirement of special needs. Child abuse has great impact on child’s life, damaging a childaa‚¬a„?s self esteem, ability to have healthy relationships, and ability to function at home, at work and at school.

The Causes and Effects of Child Abuse

Child abuse is one of the major issues that bring the attention of entire nation. Several organizations formed because it is not just an individual or familial problem. It takes different forms, physical or psychological maltreatment of children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define child abuse as “any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child” (http://www.cdc.gov/violanceprevention/pdf/CM-FactSheet-a.pdf)

The Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) define child abuse and neglect as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker who result in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation” (What is Child Abuse and Neglect, 2008, para.2).

Every year millions of children suffer from different type of child abuse. Most child abuse results from attempt to punish or control the child. Parents try to punish their children when they are doing something wrong and to avoid spoiling the child, but these attempts will increase to produce physical harm to the child. Therefore we have to distinguish between physical discipline and physical abuse. The most common way to distinguish physical punishment from abuse is by the presence or absence of physical injury. “It is important to recognize that most parents do not want to beat their children. Virtually all parents feel regret after such an incident and most believe physical punishment is not an effective route to increase compliance, learning or respect for the parent” (Durrant, 1996, p.186).

“In 2001, an estimated 3 million children were reported to state Child Protective Service (CPS) agencies as suspected victim of abuse and neglect. One million children were confirmed victim of maltreatment (physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, medical neglect, psychological abuse, other abuses), with another 4 million involved in referrals to Child Protective Services (National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, 2003a;2003b). Three fourths of the perpetrators were caregivers, and an additional one tenth were relatives. However, only about one half of the child abuse and neglect report are investigated nationally, and on average only about one-third of the investigation find evidence of child abuse and neglect” (Potts & Mandleco, 2007, p 1208). Some people believe that the child abused by stringers only, but the truth that the child can be abused by parent, a friend of parent, neighbourhood, or even a family member.

This essay paper on the causes and effects of child abuse will include types of child abuse and clinical manifestation can be seen in each type, causes and effects of child abuse.

There are four forms of child abuse that is neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. The most common form of child abuse is neglect. According to Longman dictionary “neglect is pay insufficient attention to, or ignore ”. It means parents or caregivers fail to provide the important needs for their children. Neglecting the child can be noticed if the child lacks of hygiene, dresses clothes which is dirty, old, and inappropriate for age and weather, frequently absents from school, always sick and no medical assistance provided, malnourished and isolated from others. These signs of neglect are mostly observed by people who are always with close contact to child like the teacher, doctors, nurses and neighbours. They are frequently the ones who notice, suspect and report child neglect. Neglect has three forms which are physical neglect, emotional neglect and educational neglect. Physical neglect is the most abuse noticed among children. Physical neglect can be seen in many ways for example if the parent not provides supervision, repeat shuttling of child from one household to another for a day or week at a time, not providing adequate food for their children, clothes, house, not seeking medical care for a serious health problem or not giving the child his treatment. Emotional neglect includes inattention to child’s need of affection and emotional support, expose child to extreme spousal abuse, permitting the child to use drugs and drink alcohol, refuse of medical assistance for child with psychological problems and applying high expectation that is inappropriate for child’s age and level of development. Educational neglect can be if the parent refuses to enrol the child in school, failure to provide the essential learning needs and allow frequent absence from school.

The second type of child abuse is physical abuse which is the most clear and has a huge physical effect on the child. “Physical abuse should always be suspected when there is an injury that cannot be explained, or when the history provided is incongruous with the physical findings or the child’s developmental level. Suspicion should also be aroused when the caregiver claims the injury was self-inflected, inflected by a sibling or when there is a delay in seeking medical services” (Potts & Mandleco,2007, p 1211). There are certain clinical manifestations can be observed in children who are abused physically which is “unexplained bruises or welts that appear in various stages of healing often in clustered patterns that reflect the shapes of the articles used to inflict injury, unexplained burns especially on the soles, palms, back, or doughnut-shaped (on buttocks or genitals), unexplained fractures to the skull, nose, or facial structure; multiple or spiral fracture; or dislocations and numerous fracture in various stages of healing and bald patches on the scalp” (Ashwill & Droske, 1997, p 1287).

A third type of child abuse is emotional abuse. Among all different child abuse, emotional abuse is the hardest type to identify. According to American Humane, ‘Emotional abuse of a child is commonly defined as “a pattern of behaviour by parents or caregivers that can seriously interfere with a child’s cognitive, emotional, psychological, or social development” (http://www.americanhumane.org/aboutus/newsroom/fact-sheets/emotional-abuse.html). Emotional abuse occur when parents ignoring and humiliating the child, isolating the child from the family, verbally assaulting the child, threatening the child, rejecting child’s value and request, putting higher expectation on the child and exposing the child to family or community violence. The clinical manifestations which can be observed on a child who is emotionally abused are speech problems, lags in physical development, failure to thrive and hyperactive or disruptive behaviour.

The last type of child abuse is sexual abuse which is the least frequently reported of child abuse. According to (Potts & Mandleco,2007) “Sexual abuse is defined as exploitive sexual act(s) imposed on a child who lacks the emotional, cognitive, or maturational development to deal with the actions (Giardino, Brown, & Giardino, 2003)”. Sexual abuse can be in different ways which are pressuring the child to engage in sexual activities, exposing the child genitals, sexual contact with the child, incident exposure of genitals to a child, and physical contact to child genitals. Everybody believes that the girls are more often abused sexually, but the fact that both girls and boys are sexually abused. Studies have shown those sexual abuse victims are usually between 6 and 9 years of age. Ashwill made it clear that children will show some physical signs such as ”difficulty walking or sitting, torn, stained or bloody underclothing, pain, swelling or itching of genitals, pain on urination, bruises, bleeding or lacerations involving the external genitalia, vagina, or anal area and excessive masturbation” (Ashwill & Droske, 1997, p 1289).

Understanding causes of child abuse is important to address the problem in order to prevent it. Specialists and experts who evaluated a bused child’s environment and family background have come out with three causes for child abuse which are parental causes, ecological causes and child problems. Parental causes include parents who are very young and lack of experience of taking care for children are more likely to neglect child’s need. For example; teenage parent or single parent never learned the skills necessary for good parenting. Although, parents who suffer many problems and they cannot control their anger which will inflict their children by abusing them physically. On the other hand, parents who were abused when they were children are more likely to abuse their own children too. It is like cycle of violence and abuse. Also, some parents raise their children same the way as they rose even if parents were abused. Some parents not differentiate discipline from abuse which lead to physically abuse their children in order to teach them the right things. Parents who physically abuse their spouses can also abuse their children. At same time, parents who suffer from mental disorder, anxiety or depression cannot take right decision for themselves, either for their children.

Ecological causes involve abusing drug and alcohol by parents. Parents who are drunk they cannot think properly for the needs of their children. Also they are unrealistic in their behavior which can lead to abuse their children without even feeling that they are doing so. Some studies show that poverty play major role in abusing children. As the parents face financial difficulties, they cannot provide child’s need. Also, those parents usually isolated and lack of social support. On the other hand, if couple have problem in their marriage that may inflict their children emotionally.” Some parents are aware they are mistreating a child but are unable to stop. Other abusive parents literally hate children or are disgusted by them. The child’s need, sloppiness, crying, or dirty diapers are unbearable to the parent. Abusive mothers tend to believe their children are intentionally annoying them. In many cases, troubled parents expect the child to love them and make them happy. When the child cannot meet such unrealistic demands, the parent react with lethal angry. Such parents are more likely to physically abuse their children” (Coon, 2004, p 154).

Child problems include handicapped children. Caring of child with special needs is difficult and need family and community support. Some parents ignore the needs for the child which lead to abusing child’s rights.

All types of child abuse regardless the causes; affect the child by some way. The effects of child abuse vary depending on the type of child abuse. Some of these effects are physical and other are emotional or psychological. Studies show that sexual and emotional abuse has the major impact on child. Effects can be classified to short term effects and long term effects.

Short term effects can easily detect and the signs of abusing show in short period. For example; wound, burns or fracture that occur after physical abuse, which healed after seeking medical treatment. Child will show some sexual behaviors include sexual play with dolls. Child will be aggressive, fear of parents, fear to go home, and isolated from public. Child will fight to other student in class. Child may have difficulty in speech and cannot express feelings. Child who has been abused by his parent will not trust them to provide physical and emotional needs, which eventually lead to lack of trust to other people in the community.

Long term effects are signs that difficult to detect at beginning of abusing incidents and will progress with the developmental process of the child which lead it to occur after long time. Almost it will occur in adult age if child did not seek medical assistance. For example; the adult will have difficulty to establish normal relationships with other. Adult survive from child abuse, can have unexplained signs of fear, anxiety and depression. Adult survivor of sexual abuse can abuse other children which is the cycle of abusing. Also the adult may suffer from sexual transmitted disease. The adult will have difficulty to express feeling, and may turn to substance abuse (alcohol or drugs). The adult may attempt to suicide.

To sum up, child abuse is worldwide problem affecting children from birth to 18 years of age. There are different types for child abuse which is neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. There are three main causes for child abuse which is parent causes, ecological causes, and child problems. Based on causes many effects can be observed on the child which affect child emotionally, physically and social development.

In my opinion detecting the early signs of abuse will end further harm to child, better chance for recovery, and appropriate treatment will be provided for the child. Since the family is the core of love and care for the child, it is important to bring their attention and highlight the causes and effects of child abuse, so they can play significant role in stopping the matter. Therefore, proper awareness of the community plays an important role in preventing this problem from going further.

You will need to introduce the situation, explain the rationale behind your intervention, and analyse the skills and process you have used, reflect on the impact of your work and discuss future action. In addition to discussing the process and its application in practice you will need to show that you understand its theoretical underpinning. and reflect on its effectiveness in relation to social policy and anti oppressive issues.

You will include in the appendix the ‘Case study’ this is the description of what happened

You will need to:

Show ability to apply theory to practice

Analyse your skills and processes in relation to working with an individual.

Apply the theoretical background to the intervention.

Be Critical explain the limitations to the intervention and the positive aspects to the intervention.

You will need to analyse your skills, explain the process you have used drawing from theory, assess possible impact and evaluate the intervention. You may want to discuss the practice in relation to your understanding of risk, resilience, social and cultural aspects and government policy. You should show how you analyse your practical work against theory. That you can analyse reflect on your intervention,

You could reflect on such questions as

Has the environment had an impact?

How did I engage the client?

How did I show empathy?

What did I do to develop the relationship?

Why did I choose a particular intervention?

What is the effect of this on practice?

You will need to:

Read and research around the chosen topic. There is an expectation that you will use and reference at least 6 texts and that at least 4 are from recommended reading provided. In addition evidence of wider reading, field research and learning from the teaching should be documented. Please evidence reading to show you can relate theory to your intervention i.e. humanist approaches/cognitive etc

Anti Oppressive Approaches Show that you have considered this topic in the light of anti oppressive practice.

Presentation Structure your work in a coherent, clear and engaging manner. Clear referencing to appendix evidence

. Submission arrangements
Please submit your assignment together with the appendix to the Faculty Student Advice Centre on the 12th February no later than 10.00am, together with cover sheet marked for the attention of J Flett. Please remember to retain a copy of your assignment and the receipt to prove that you have submitted the work on time. Please ensure that the word count does not exceed the limit by more than 10% as there will be a penalty. Please ensure that the assignment is also submitted through Turnitin or else it will be marked as fail non submission.

Reading List

Highly recommended reading

Geldard K (edt) 2009 Practical Interventions for Young People at Risk: Sage Publications

Buchroth I and Parkin C Using Theory in Youth and Community Work Practice: Learning Matters

Wood J and Hine J (edts) 2009 Work with Young People Sage Publications.

Foley et al (edts) 2001 Children in Society Contemporary Theory Policy and Practice

Palgrave MacMillan/Open University

Sayer T (2008) Critical Practice in Working with Children Palgrave MacMillan

Furlong A and Cartmel F (2nd ed) 2007 Young People and Social Change OU Press

Robb M (edt) 2007 Youth in Context: frameworks settings and encounters OU Sage

Mcleod J (1993) Fourth Edition An Introduction to Counselling McGraw Hill: OU Press

McLeod J (2007) Counselling Skills McGraw Hill: OU Press.

France A (2007) understanding Youth in late modernity Open University Press

Kemshall H (2008) Risk, Rights and Justice: Understanding and responding to youth risk, Youth Justice 8 91) 21-37

Mizen P (2004) The Changing state of Youth, Basingstoke :Palgrave

Pearce N and Hillman J (1998) Wasted Youth IPPR

Thom Bet al (Eds) (2007) Growing up with Risk, Bristol :Policy Press

Dunhill a et al (eds) (2009) effective Communication and engagement with Children and Young people, their Families and Carers, .Learning Matters ( chapters 1-3)

Egan G (1994) The Skilled Helper 5th Edition Brooks: Cole

Heron J (2001) Helping the Client 5th Edition London: Sage

Kidd JM (2006) Understanding Career Counselling Theory Research and Practice London: Sage

Koprowska J (2nd edition 2008) Communication and Interpersonal Skills in Social Work Learning Matters

Lindon J and Lindon L (2008) 2nd edition Mastering Counselling Skills Palgrave Master Series

MacDonald A (2007) Solution Focused Therapy Theory Research and Practice Sage Publications

Miller L (2006) Counselling Skills for Social Work London: Sage

Miller WR and Rollnick S (1991) Motivational Interviewing Guilford: The Guilford Press

Reid H and Fielding AJ (2007) Providing Support to Young People A guide to interviewing in helping relationships London: Routledge

Roberts J (2009) Youth Work Ethics Learning Matters (chapters 2, 6)

Rogers C (1961) On Becoming a Person Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Schon D.A (1983) The Reflective Practitioner New York Basic Books

Thompson N (2002) People Skills 2nd edition Palgrave McMillan

Websites

Informal Education Website www.infed.org

Psychology Theories www.ship.edu/~cgboeree

Assignment 1: Case Study
Introduction

For the purpose of this investigation I shall use a case study from my work placement at a supported housing project in Nottingham.

I work a support worker/project worker ina supported housing unit with places for 13 young people between the ages of 16 to 25 years. All service users are female and are usually referred from Housing Aid. The service users are homeless, some have come from a background of domestic breakdown and the rest have come out of the care system.

The basic needs of the service users have also been addressed in an interview at Housing Aid before being referred to the project.

When the young person has been with Housing Aid they have undertaken an initial assessment of need. The assessment covers several different needs. Physical and wellbeing needs such as any medication or health concerns. The young person may smoke or even have drug or alcohol issues and these will be on the referral. Next the young person’s mental health will have been looked at. Sometimes there may be additional reports from social workers or schools. High risk service users such as ex-offenders may be referred and these cases may have probation workers involved.

Introduce your case study eg “MARY”

Mary is 18years; they are both Portuguese parents and separated. Mary’s father lives in West Midlands; mother lives in Nottingham. She was living between mum and dad for a while; deciding to live with dad. On school holiday stayed with her mum. Father assaulted her at an early age of 10 years old; hit her with a belt and with a metal bar. She was placed in care after police and social services involvement. Her close contact lives in Wales; does not see her regularly. She has friends whom she avoids now ; are getting into criminal behaviour and friends who are not into trouble.

The rationale behind the project intervention

The needs of young women arriving at the project are further assessed through another informal interview. Each young woman is welcomed. The care package offered to young women who arrive at the hostel is to sign up to a tenancy agreement giving them their accommodation in the project. Each young woman gets a self-contained flat within the project. The flat has a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. Usually all accommodation costs are met through housing benefits. (This may be set to change or be affected by the introduction of Universal Credits in April 2013.) If the young person is working they pay part of the service charge after assessment.

The educational needs of the young person are also looked at. Basic needs in numeracy and literacy are assessed. Personal , social development and health are also taken into account and the young person’s ability to budget their money.

QUOTE

Without this type of project’s intervention, many young people would be homeless and at great risk of exploitation and/or bad health.

An analysis of the skills and processes used in the intervention.

One of the most important skills for this type of intervention is for project workers to be able to listen. Active listening is vital. Verbal and non-verbal skills are needed in order to establish a rapport and good relationship between worker and service user. In a person-centred approach listening skills are the most vital skills.

As a practitioner, is asking the sort of questions that helped the service user’s clarify own thought; avoid authoritarian language, treating people as equal encouraged to think and act for themselves.

QUOTE Rogers here

Any personal feelings in the project worker are left outside the workplace in order to be professional and keep boundaries.

Empathy skills are also very important. ROGERS QUOTE AGAIN-

General people skills, and knowledge of drugs and alcohol and their effects on the body and well being are important and also understanding youth and self-image, personal awareness and personal development in terms of physical, intellectual, emotional and social.

Social power

Values

Values are in essence a set of beliefs, ideas and assumptions that both individuals

and groups hold about themselves and the society they live in.

Values are a part of the culture and societal norms that guide people’s daily

lives’ (Eby, 2000: 118) and are used in everyday language to refer ‘to one or all

of religious, moral, political or ideological principles, beliefs or attitudes’

(Banks, 2001: 6).

Values and principles of being a youth worker are present in all areas of their work especially as an educator delivering lessons. Harrison and Wise (2010 p17) states

“Youth work is informed by a set of beliefs which include a commitment to equal opportunity, to young people in learning and decision making and to help young people to develop their own set of values”

Anti-oppressive

For us, anti-oppressive practice encompasses a number of ‘identifiable values’, principles or value statements, such as social justice and personal caring (Lynn, 1999); compassion (Simey,1996); respect for the individual, valuing uniqueness and diversity, promotion of user self-determination (Banks, 1995: 92); and challenging discrimination and oppression (Burke and Harrison, 1998).

Practitioners will in this situation be required to critically reflect on the different value positions, which will enable them to understand how different discourses impact on their decision-making.

QUOTE

How did I engage the client?

How did I show empathy?

What did I do to develop the relationship with Mary?

Why did I choose a particular intervention wit Mary?

What is the effect of this on practice?

The intervention’s application in practice

Aims and objectives of your project.

Key session (see Appendix 2)

NAOMI

The NAOMIE framework is used to identify the needs of the young people (Ingram et al, 2001). This tool is used to identify the young people’s need and works well. This has identified some of the barriers in anti- discriminatory practice on working together on issues of inequality, discrimination and oppression (Thompson, 1994). So they need to be openly clear to discuss issues

The theoretical underpinning of the intervention

Thompson’s Model: Person, Culture, Structural talks about anti-oppressive practice (explain)

Personal (P) level
Individual actions that I come into contact with, for example service user.
Cultural (C) Level
This analysis is related to the ‘shared values’ or ‘commonalties’. For example, shared beliefs about what is right and wrong, good or bad, can form a consensus.
Structural (S) Level
This analysis demonstrates how oppression is ‘sewn into the fabric’ of society through institutions that support both cultural norms and personal beliefs. Some institutions such as sections of the media, religion and the government can cement the beliefs.
Example: homeless young person
P: Young person 16 years old sharing at her friend’s home. She has been expelled from her mother’s home due to an argument over her mother’s boyfriend. There is no communication between them and she is not attending school but is staying at her friend’s home where she feels safe.
C: being homeless within the community she is sharing her thoughts and feelings with different groups.
S: Network of divisions, social services, health, local authority
There are barriers in relating to ethical practice to identify form group- based approaches to anti-discriminatory practice to work together on issues of inequality, discrimination and oppression (Thompson, 1994). Practitioners will support her with learning tools that transform to challenge oppression Challenging practice with young people engages them into ways. The first is by engaging by using wider policy objectives due to the fact that it is a person centred base. Learners will openly discuss and debate issues within a safe environment amongst their peers and focus on building one’s confidence and reassurance within a group, as well as maintaining the learner’s concentration.
The effectiveness of the intervention in relation to social policy and anti-oppressive issues.

In terms of social policy, the housing project, as an intervention, is in some ways effective.

Current social policy is underpinned by legislation to protect and uphold rights and responsibilities around the vulnerable service users at the project. Acts like Welfare Reform Act DATE, Housing/Homelessness Act DATE, Equal Opps legislation, Race Relations Act DATE, Disability Discrimination Act DATE

This legislation which forms social policy is outworked through the project’s policies and procedures. In terms of Mary’s experience at the project she has been mainly served well. She was homeless and had experienced sexual assault by a close male relative. This caused her to be brought under the care of the local authority and aˆ¦..list how

ANY OTHER THEORISTS THAT NEED MENTIONING HERE?

In terms of anti-oppressive practise Mary has had a positive experience by going through the project. List how

The impact of the project’s intervention

(reflect on the impact of your work for Mary) In reflecting on the experiences Mary had at the project, I believe her experiences have been largely positive and effective for her Explain how

Be Critical explains the limitations to the intervention and the positive aspects to the intervention.

What worked?

What didn’t?

What should be changed?

discuss the practice in relation to risk,

resilience,

Social and cultural aspects and government policy.

Has the environment had an impact?

Future action.

Appendix: Case Study

.

This essay will outline and analyse the Care Programme Approach (CPA), a social policy which was introduced in England in 1991. it will critically analyse and evaluate how and why this policy (CPA) was introduced. In doing so, it will attempt to explore the social problems with which the policy was concerned, its ideological origins, its aims and its nature. Finally, this essay will assess the effects of the implementation of the CPA based on issues of access and outcome.

What is social policy?

According to one website I’ve consulted: The name ‘social policy’ is used to apply to the policies which governments use for welfare and social protection; to the ways in which welfare is developed in a society, and to the academic study of the subject. In the first sense, social policy is particularly concerned with social services and the welfare state. In the second, broader sense, it stands for a range of issues extending far beyond the actions of government – the means by which welfare is promoted, and the social and economic conditions which shape the development of welfare.

http://www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy/introduction/socpolf.htm

Social problems with which the policy (CPA) was concerned

There are several social problems with which the CPA was concerned and some of them are: The 1984 murder of social worker Isabel Schwarz by a former mental health client as cited by Sharkey (2000) prompted a government inquiry that was led by Sir Roy Griffiths in 1988. His report “Community Care: Agenda for Action” was the forerunner to the National Health Service and Community Care Act of 1990 (NHSCCA) which sets out the foundation for present day Care Programme Approach in England. The care programme approach was also instigated by the Christopher Clunis’ unmet needs as noted by the Ritchie Report in 1999. The report criticised the demeaning failures of the health and social services to work together in relation to the needs of people with mental health problems and to protect the public. The emergence of advocates groups such as MIND, the Mental Health Foundation and Informal Carers’ pressure group in the 1980s were also major social factors that led to the development of the CPA (Morris (1993). Those groups raise fundamental civil liberty issues surrounding the legal rights of people returned back into the community from psychiatric hospital and the need for appropriate services. Another major concern according to Means and Smith (1998: p48) was “the official report on Ely Hospital, Cardiff, which confirmed staff cruelty to patients at this mental handicap hospital.” They argued that “The level of media publicity generated by these incidents became so high that a policy response became inevitable (ibid)”.

CPA’s ideological origins

There are several factors that affected the development and establishment of the Care Programme Approach (CPA). However, the key factors that influence the implementation of the CPA are: political, economic and social. From the earliest stages of the Poor Laws through to the present day social security system, political factors have influenced welfare provision. Like most other policies, the CPA emerge as a result of the conservatism New Right ideology of minimum state intervention, privatisation, the idea of justice and the emergence of global market forces. The conservative government lead by Margaret Thatcher from 1979 through to the 1990s believed, politically, in reducing the power of the local authority and local government with the notion that “care in the community must increasingly mean care by the community (Lavalette and Pratt 1998: 237)”. Mrs Thatcher expressed the view that the sacrifices which the family and voluntary organizations have played in community care from the Victorian era to present day should not be seen as second best or degrading. Her philosophy was built on the importance of mixed economy, choice and given power back to the users of services. Mrs Thatcher was politically concerned with the political structures of the local labour government and the need to give more power to the market forces (private sector) to energize the economy.

The care programme approach policy was also partly motivated by economic factors. The New Political Right regards the free market as the best way forward for organising society. They believed that a competitive market and a mixed economy of welfare is vital in encouraging competition which inspires innovation and efficiency which will inevitable provide better and cheaper services than a nationalised and bureaucratised services. This was a move away from the accepted orthodoxy of the Keynesian economics which sees government intervention in the provision of social care as necessary for the stability of the economy. The mixed economy is therefore seen by the New Right as not only promoting equality and choice but also cost effective. Many believed that the political underlying principle of giving service users choice would cover up the huge spending on the uncoordinated health and social care budget. As a result, both health and social care services were forced to introduce financial and management systems in relation to the purchase of care. For example, social workers became care managers and the purchasers rather than the providers of care.

Regarding social ideology concept, the major social ideology was that, people with mental health problems, were expected to be integrated back into the community with clear and structured care plans. The fatal attacks by dangerous mentally ill people such as Christopher Clunis’s who was misdiagnosed and prematurely discharged then ended up killing an innocent person, were major social factors which affected the development of the CPA. The case of Clunis raised significant social issues of the risk and danger posed by people with mental health problems, especially those not receiving proper care. The case also raises major trans-cultural social issues in relation to the significant number of black men placed on supervision register.

The aim of the policy

The Care Programme Approach was introduced in order to provide a clear framework for the care of people with mental health problems outside hospital (Means and Smith1998: p156)”, which Thompson et al (2000:573) said this include: “Systemic multidisciplinary assessment, planning, monitoring, and reviewing a care plan, the inclusion of users and carers in the formulation and delivering of care and identification of a lead person or key worker” and that, “all of this is undertaken within a framework that is flexible and responsive to the client’s changing needs (ibid)”.

Nature of the CPA

According to Thompson et al (2000) the CPA was introduced in 1991 and is intended to be the cornerstone of the government’s mental health policy. This process applies to all people that are experiencing severe mental health problems who are clients of mental health services, whether on an informal or formal basis. The policy outlined four stages which should be applied to all clients in all cases. The First stage is, to carry out an assessment based on the circumstances of the client, including any support needed by carers. Secondly, to negotiate the care package in agreement with the client, carers and relevant agencies that are designed to meet the identify need within available resources. The third stage is to implement and monitor the agreed package by the appointment of a key worker now known as “care co-ordinator”. The care co-ordinator is responsible for the assessment and planning process. He or she could be a mental health nurse, social worker or occupational therapist. The last stage is, to review the outcomes of the care plan and if necessary undertake revision of services provided.

The policy is based on person-centred approach and one that has been important for health and social care to develop integrated policies and procedures around models of assessment, diagnostic evaluation, integrated working relationships around care plans and monitoring people in care and community by means of integrated budgets. Whereas, practice under previous systems were not person-centred instead, they involved offering people limited number of inflexible choices which were more or less organised to meet requirements of service providers rather than the service users and their carers. With mental health placed in psychiatrist hospitals or prisons these residents are controlled and manipulated by those in charge.

The effects of the CPA

The policy helped services maintain contact with service users, stressed the need for service users involvement in decision making; ensures that there is coordination and communication between all the professionals that are involved in the assessment and delivery of the patient’s care needs, but failed to provide comprehensive co-ordinated care. This lead to several criticism been made about the policy for example, it has been criticised that working together often leads to role insecurity and role ambiguity, thus creating a major hindrance to working together. The policy has also been criticised for mostly being used for inpatients instead of people in the community. This was referenced by Sharkey (2000) as an important point citing the Christopher Clunis’ case due to the failure to offer culturally sensitive services to meet his needs and citing the example of Lavallette and Pratt (1998: 104) in which they commented that ” mental health policies and practice based upon white European, middle-class norms of behaviour can result in a system which does not understand that people from other cultural backgrounds may express symptoms of mental health or ill health in different ways”. This is useful in enabling the understanding of how Christopher Clunis was failed by all the professionals who saw him. For example, Sharkey (2000: p83) refer to the Ritchie Report that “A GP whom Clunis had visited had struck him off his list because he was abusive and threatening”.

The Mental Health Foundation carried out a recent studies which aim was for respondents to talk openly about their mental health issues in relation to employment. They sent out about 3,000 questionnaire and those who replied , 86% were white UK, 3% Black African Caribbean, 2% Black Asian and 4% were other European white including Irish. What the findings has shown is that ethnic minority are uncomfortable to talk about their mental health problems for fear of discrimination and oppression. They also highlighted 85% of those with long term severe mental health problems are unemployed. These can contribute to the stress and anxiety experienced by users, carers, friends and families. For example, living with someone with serious ongoing mental health problems can cause increased strain, worries and distress together with loss of friends and social contracts (example intimate relationships), social isolation (due to stigma attached) and difficulties in coping with particular symptoms. At the same time, the protection of the public from the risk of harm is of paramount importance because patients discharged without adequate supervision or the provision necessary to meet their housing, social and health needs would increase risk to themselves and members of the public as evident in the case of Christopher Clunis. The CPA has also been criticised as a policy that it is largely dominated by medical module of treatment and social issues are neglected by practitioners and this has been highlighted by Thompson (2009) that spirituality is very important component of a person’s well-being and despite this concern, people’s spiritual needs are often seen to be neglected during treatment or in developing and managing care plans for day-to-day activities. In some cases, as noted by rethink.org, a charity campaigning for mental health awareness, spirituality is even seen as a manifestation of the individuals’ psychosis or delusions by some members of society. Even though the policy was introduced so that people with severe mental health problems could be assessed and assigned a care coordinator so they don’t present a risk to themselves or the public, there have been some problems with users of services “slipping through the net” and ending up either homeless or causing ham to themselves or others (sometimes even committing fatal attacks). For example, Taylor (2010) wrote on the Metro Newspaper about a man with mental health problem who hadn’t been offered treatment on several attempts ended up killing a pregnant woman.

Conclusion

Even though this policy has helped people with severe mental health issues to be integrated well into the community and live supported or independent lives, some people with mental health problems are still seen by the policy makers as a burden and stigmatised as a threat to the community. They are routinely being denied the human rights of freedom of movement, family life, and equal access to paid jobs and adequate financial support which may then lead to homelessness and readmission in institutional care.

The biological perspective of ageing believes that the process of aging is a biological fact which is universal and affects all people. It takes the view that aging is a fundamental, progressive process which continuous throughout life (Lymbery, M 2005). The biological approach believes that as a person ages there is a decline in function as cells degenerate. Therefore, this approach views age as connected to a state of dependency and weakness with no possibility for improvement (Crawford, K and J, Walker 2004). However, in contrast there are other perspectives which take into account other elements such as the social construction of old age. For example, the introduction of retirement meant that clear boundaries were created which defined the point at which a person enters older age. Also, other developments in the welfare system such as the provision of pensions, have further defined the concept of old age. Therefore, the end of employment and the start of retirement can be seen as a major influence in the way older age has been socially constructed (Lymbery M 2005).

Crawford and Walker (2004) believe that the way in which older age has been historically constructed impacts upon the current view and treatment of older people in today’s society. They note that during the Middle Ages, older people were cared for by either charities or religious institutions. The Poor Law Act, introduced in 1601, transferred the responsibility of the care of older people within the family, to care within the community. This meant that older people were now cared for by their local parish, as families were unable to support them due to the financial risks of agricultural based society.

Workhouses were then introduced for individuals who were seen as needy and unproductive members of society. This included groups such as older people, the sick and those who were disabled. As there were no welfare system in existence, this meant that older people had to reside in workhouses as they had no other means of support. As the demand for care rose, the Poor Lawn Amendment Act in 1834 was introduced in attempt to cut costs by eliminating outdoor relief, this meant that older people were no longer able to receive support in their own homes and those in need of welfare were institutionalised in workhouse. This resulted in older people being viewed as a burden on society as they no longer had power, choice or control over they way they lived their lives (Crawford, K and J, Walker 2004).

According to Phillipson (1998), the concept of old age being a separate group within society only surfaced during the end of the nineteenth century. As highlighted by Slater (1930 cited Phillipson, C. 1998) up until this period both the welfare provision for the sick, and the welfare provision for the elderly, were classified in the same way with no distinction between the two groups. Slater believes that it was at this point that societies found it necessary to end sickness benefit when an individual reaches 65, and to replace this with old age pension.

The Old Age Pension Act was introduced in 1908 and provided all citizens who were over the age of seventy with up to five shillings a week if their income was under ten shillings a year. However, although this provided support for older people, the view held by society was to remain in work until they were unable to do so due to physical difficulties. Therefore, this resulted in older people who did not work being viewed in a negative way, as they were looked upon as ‘useless’ due to the belief that they were either too stupid or too weak to work (Crawford, K and J, Walker 2004).

It was during the twentieth century when older people began to be seen as different in they way they experienced and held an inferior status within society. It was found that through this period in time, one in five people who had reached the age of seventy were very poor and were a recipient of state welfare, and the likelihood rose significantly for those who were seventy-five, to a chance of one in three. This meant that circumstances such as being in poverty and experiencing marginalisation were seen as inevitable as an individual entered later adulthood, which provided the basis for which the concept of older age was constructed.

What are the consequences for people in terms of social disadvantage?

Older people face social disadvantage in many ways, such as infantilisation. This refers to a process in which adults are treated as though they were a child. This is a form of oppression as it demeans older people by assuming that they are fundamentally different from other adults and are therefore less worthy of respect (Thompson, S 2005). For example, the desexualisation of older age plays a key role in infantilisation. This is because old age is seen as a second stage of childhood, with an inappropriate link with sexuality, which further reaffirms the idea that older people are not adults. However, as sex is seen as an action of the healthy, this also reinforces the idea that older people are unwell, dependent and frail and further excludes them from sexuality. This illustrates they way in which older people are seen to be in need of support and reliant on others, similar to the conventions of childhood (Gott, M 2005). Also, by referring to older people by names such as ‘dearie’, it can be degrading as the person using the term automatically assumes that the individual does not mind being referred to in this way, which can be seen as disrespectful and inconsiderate of their feelings. (Thompson, S 2005)

Marginalisation is also another way through which older people face social disadvantage. Marginalisation is a form of social exclusion, and is used to describe the way in which people are pushed to the margins of society, which then prevents them from taking part in activities (Thompson, S 2005). When referring to older people, this is the process where older people are excluded from society due to preconceived ideas that they have no use, and are therefore a burden to society (Thompson, N 2006). There are many ways in which older people can experience marginalisation within society. For example, Thompson (2005) highlights the lack of suitable transport for many elderly people. This can mean that they are isolated from the rest of the community as the public transport is either inaccessible or unsuitable. This shows how older people can be marginalised due to factors they are unable to control, such structural problems within society.

Dehumanisation is also another factor of social disadvantage in older people. This is because it gives older people a label of being ‘elderly’, to which the individual is then viewed in terms of this label and not as a person with unique thoughts, emotions and needs. Dehumanisation can have adverse consequences as it fails to identify that each person is different, which can cause discrimination and oppression due to its impersonal and stereotypical viewpoint

Abuse of older people is a further way in which people of an older age may face disadvantages in society. Abuse in elderly people can be physical, psychological, sexual, emotional or financial. The underlying factor in this type of abuse is the exploitation of a comparatively vulnerable group within society. The people who carry out this abuse believe that older people within society are inferior with no requirement for respect (Thompson, S 2005). The ‘No Secrets’ document (DoH 2000 cited in Crawford, K and J, Walker 2004) was created as guidance on how to implement and adhere to procedures to help protect vulnerable adults from abuse, and also clarify definitions, which would enable authorities to carry out good practice. According to Hothersall and Mass-Lowit (2010), older people who are isolated, reliant on others, have poor health, or who are considered disabled are more likely to be abused. They believe this abuse can take place in any environment, such as hospitals, residential homes or even the individuals own home.

What multiple disadvantages can impact on people’s lives?

Ethnicity within older age can be seen as a significant influence on the life a person leads. This is because there is a belief that older people, who are of an ethnic minority background, face a ‘double jeopardy’ in society, as they are oppressed by both age and their ethnicity (Thompson, S 2005). Ray, Bernard and Phillips (2009) argue that services are institutionally racist. This is because they tend to be directed towards the majority population, which can mean that people are doubly disadvantaged. This can occur as they are not recognised within the service, and instead they are they are overlooked and treated as though they are invisible. Thompson (2005) states that the common feature of racism and ageism is that they are often susceptible to dehumanisation. This is because it is easy to categorise people as ‘elderly’ or ‘Asian’, however, in reality, these terms incorporate a vast amount of people into one group who experience different religion, culture and way of life. This leaves little manoeuvre for individuality and therefore these categories should be avoided, as the person is then seen in terms of this labels and not as a unique individual. Consequently, social work should seek to recognise the barriers which face ethnic minorities who are of an older age, and attempt to work with them to overcome their disadvantage (Phillips, J, M, Ray and M, Marshall. 2006).

Gender can also be seen as a key issue which can further disadvantage older people within society. Phillips, Ray and Marshall (2006) support the idea of a ‘feminisation of aging’, as older age is now seen as a predominantly female world due to the fact that women live longer than men. This can mean that women are widowed for a greater time than men, which can lead to women having to enter residential care due to being unable to support their own needs without the help of their partner (Arber and Ginn, 1991, cited in Phillips, J, M, Ray and M, Marshall 2006). Women are also seen as less likely to have private pensions compared to men, which means that they are forced to depend upon state pension (Hunt, S 2005). This can be increasingly difficult for women living alone as it becomes the only source of household income which can leave them deprived and subjected to poverty (Phillips, J.M, Ray and M, Marshall 2006). Gender stereotypes within older age can also cause detrimental effects. Women can be seen to be oppressed due to pressure to conform to gender roles, such as to be caring and supportive, which can mean that they are undervalued as it is seen as ‘normal’ and not something which needs to be commended. However, the caring role when displayed in men receives a higher status, as it is not seen to be a typical responsibility of mans stereotypical gender role, therefore they receive greater praise and support in fulfilling the role (Rose , H and E, Bruce, cited in Thompson 2005). It is important to note that not all gender related disadvantages in older age are associated with women, as men also experience undesirable situations. For example, the male gender role is surrounded by the belief that they are the dominant, providing and protective sex. However, this expectation may come under threat in older age as work is replaced by retirement and their health declines. This can then lead to lower self-esteem as they experience a loss of role within society (Thompson, S 2005).

Multiple oppression can also be experienced in regard to ageism and economic disadvantage. Social class can be an important factor within old age, as those who belong to a lower class are significantly more likely to have a lower income and to live in poverty. Being in poverty affects a vast amount of older people, and can have negative consequences as a sufficient income is a required to be able to meet a persons fundamental needs (Crawford K, and J, Walker 2001). According to Thompson (2005) if an older person has a low socio-economic status within society then they are more likely to suffer from a state of poor health. Crawford and Walker (2001) point out that this may be due to being unable to afford to heat their home or to buy nutritional food, which increases the risk of contracting an illness as well as being able to properly recover. Also, they believe that other socio-economic factors act in a way in which reinforces multiple oppression. For example, older people may be afraid to seek medical help when it is needed due to a fear of disapproval from people of a higher and professional status, such as doctors. This can mean that an older person tolerates their condition for a longer period of time, during which it could cause their health to deteriorate. Phillips, Ray and Marshall (2006) believe that it is becoming increasingly important in modern day society to contribute to an occupational pension. This is because there is a growing inequality between older people who rely on a public pension and those with the benefit of private pension schemes. Consequently, as state pensions are low, they have to be supplemented by means-tested top up benefits in an attempt to enable older people to remain above the poverty line.

What do social workers need to think about when working with these service users with particular reference to anti-discriminatory practice

One crucial factor in which social workers need to think about when working with older people is to avoid ageist assumptions. For example, Thompson (2006) proposes that older people are often subjects of sympathy as they stereotyped as being lonely. However, it is important to realise that people of all ages can be lonely, it is not something reserved for the elderly. Also, many older people have good social relations, and although they live alone, this does not mean they are lonely. Therefore, within social work practice, each case needs to be assessed individually to avoid stereotypical assumptions about older age.

Another aspect which social workers need to think about when working with service users is to challenge the concept of ageism. This is because there are many negative stereotypes surrounding old age, which can be seen by the disproportionate media coverage when an older person is abused and dies, and when the same happens to a child. This means, that to actively challenge the concept of aging a social worker needs to perform roles such as assessing the strengths of an older person and what they are able to do, rather than focusing on their problems and inabilities. As well as other positive functions such as advocating on the behalf of the service user, to enable them to gain access to services to improve their standard of living. This will allow the service user to overcome the discrimination and oppression which they may face (Phillips, J. M, Ray and M, Marshall 2006)

To conduct good social work practice when working with older people there should be support for the service user, individual personal care tailored to their needs, and also physical assistance, especially when offering help to those who have long term illness or disabilities. There are also other factors which constitute good social work practice such as values, skills and knowledge which enable social workers to carry out anti-discriminatory practice. A value base is needed to recognise the common issues amongst older people when trying to protect their independence. Skills are needed such as being able to empower people to remain in control of their lives, to advocate on behalf of the service user, to manage risk, and to be able to communicate effectively with both the service user and their carer. And also a knowledge base, that is derived from evidence based practice, policies and similar past experiences (Ray, M. M, Bernard and J, Phillips 2009)

An important factor that social workers need to consider when working with older people is the language that is used. This is because terms such as ‘the elderly’ can be seen as demeaning as they have negative connotations which can be seen as disrespectful. Also referring to service users as ‘old dears’ or similar names, although it is not meant to be intentionally offensive it can be seen as patronising. This can then mean that the person feels inferior due to the lack of respect shown through the language used towards them and make them feel as though they are not being taken seriously. Therefore, the language used to refer to older people needs to be carefully considered to try fight ageism, rather than reinforce it. (Thompson, N 2006)

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Explanation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its application in social services

Te Tiriti o Waitangi can be used in the social services through the application of four principle of the treaty, which are Partnership, Protection, Participation, and Permission.

Partnership – in this principle the social service providers ensure that all the services they provide are bi-cultural in perspective. Also, the social service organizations ensure that the needs of Maori clients are taken into consider in terms of interaction with them and creation of policy that may affect Maori.

For instance, before engaging with a Maori client, the social worker should build rapport and trust through effective and therapeutic communication. The social worker must provide consultation to the Whanau of the client then include them in the decision making of the client.

Protection – in this principle the social service organization needs to respect the rights of every Maori client to enjoy their treasured resources. Maori clients have the right to make their own choices with regard to their cultural traditions and customary practices. Their rights should be acknowledge in order to protect them all the time.

For instance, Maori clients are ensured that they are safe at all times like in consultation. They are given the freedom to speak Te Reo Maori.

Participation – in this principle, Maori clients are ensured to participate at all times. They should be consulted with regard to the important matters that can impact their well being and life.

For instance, the social service providers must ensure that they have consulted the whanau of the client before implementing any plan for the client.

Permission – Maori client should be asked for their permission if they wanted to speak Te Reo Maori and if they wanted to participate in any Maori spiritual and cultural practices.

For instance, the social service providers must ask permission if the Maori clients and their whanu would like to practice their culture like karakia, kai, powhiri and mihi when organizing a whanau hui.

TASK 2

Summary of reason for family meeting or whanau hui

Youth – a youth court judge required a family meeting for KJ, a 16 years old Maori, due to criminal offense, victim of family violence and low parental supervision.

(Task 2) Placement Diary – (Student to complete)

Student name

Anne Miriam Roces Mercado

Workplace

Salvation Army

Meetings and Communication

(Related to family meeting / whanau hui)

Date

Notes / key points of information provided to the family / whanau

21 / 08 / 14

The client and his whanau was ensured to maintain their information confidential and kept safe. The social service provider builds a therapeutic relationship with the client and whanau.

22 / 08 / 14

The whanau and the client were asked for their permission to provide cultural practices in the whanau hui.

Notes / key points of how you received and recorded the referral. What service provider guidelines did you follow?

The social service provider received a referral from the youth court justice. Upon receiving the referral form, whanau needs to fill-up certain forms from the social service provider as per accordance to the guidelines and policies of Salvation Army. After completing the form, I recorded the information in their system records in their computer with the use of one of the employee’s username with password. All the encoded information of client was secured in the system and treated with safe and confidential. Moreover, the cultural practices of KJ and his whanu were acknowledged and treated with respect throughout the process. Also, the client and his whanau signed the form as their consent for any disclosure of information within the Salvation Army organization.

Notes / key points of how you assessed the referral for relevance to the service provider.

The referral was assessed for relevance to Salvation army prior to acceptance of the case. If the Salvation Army can provide services for a certain client, the social service provider accepts the case but if not, the referral will be referred to other service provider that can be suitable for the client. In terms of referral back to other social service provider, the client and his whanau must be consulted. In the Salvation Army, they provide assistance and support to clients with family violence, criminal offence and low parental supervision.

Notes / key points of how you processed the referral through the service provider systems. What service provider guidelines did you follow?

The referral was processed through the service provider systems by ensuring the wellbeing and safety of KJ and his whanau. The service provider received referral from the youth court judge for whanau hui. The service provider assessed the referral whether it is relevant to their services. Since it is relevant, all of the relevant information were recorded and documented in the computer then forwarded to the social worker. I ensure that confidentiality and privacy were observed and respected through out the process. Moreover, the cultural practices of the client and his whanau were acknowledged and allowed to apply during the process.

Other notes / reflections on the referral process

The service provider assessed the relevance of the referral. The safety and wellbeing of the client and his whanau were ensured at all time. Their rights were provided to ensure safe practice. The gathered information was recorded in the computer system with the use of the staff’s username with password to ensure that the information of the client and his whanau was maintained confidential and private. Confidentiality and privacy were ensured through not disclosing the information to unauthorized personnel. Moreover, I with other staff members of the Salvation Army, worked professionally by the provision of services in a non-biased and non-judgmental approach to clients. Lastly, the social service provider follows their services guidelines and policies to every case.

TASK 3

(Task 3) Placement Diary – (Student to complete)

Student name

Anne Miriam Roces Mercado

Workplace

Salvation Army

Coordination of planning for the family meeting or whanau hui

Date

Notes / key points of information provided to the family / whanau

29 / 08 / 14

The client and his whanau were contacted in order to gather details for the whanau hui such as appropriate venue, agenda, cultural / other protocols, facilitator, time, proposed duration and date.

29 / 08 / 14

Key memebers identified by KJ and his whanau that were important in the whanau hui like his father, kaumatua, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. were contacted through phone calls.

Notes / key points of how you received and recorded the referral. What service provider guidelines did you follow?

The key memebers of the whanau were identified thorugh the consultation with KJ that need to be included in the whanau hui. The following key members are as follows:

KJ’s father, TJ, even if KJ’s father physically abuse KJ, his opinion and decision making about KJ’s wellbeing because KJ’s mother died when he was 6years old.
Kaumatua (MK)
Auntie (KC)
Uncle (EP)

Who is the facilitator for the meeting / hui and how was the person identified?

The facilitators for the whanay hui were identified by KJ, which were the social worker and the kaumatua. The social worker and the kaumatua worked together I the facilitation of the whanau hui. The lead social worker was identified since she handle KJ’s case and kaumatua who was the elderly leader from KJ’s Marae was identified to respect and acknowledge KJ’s cultural practices and traditions.

If there were participant who had essential information for the meeting / hui, how did you identify these people to the facilitator?

The father of KJ had information for the hui with regard to the condition and situation. KJ’s father is considered because KJ’s mother had passed away. The participants who had essential information for the whanau hui such as kaumatua, EP (uncle), auntie (KC) were identified to the facilitators by respecting their opinions and encouraging their involvement in the whole process.

How did you notify the plan for the meeting / hui to memebers of the family / whanau and any other attendees?

The plan for the whanau hui was notified to the key members attendees of the whanau hui. They were initially consulted in order to build trust and rapport so that there can have good relationship as well as coordination with the key members were ensured to be involved in the whole process. The whanau hui details were sent through email, post, and phone calls to all the attendees.

Other notes / reflections on the planning process

In the planning process of the whanau hui, the wellbeing and safety of KJ and his whanau were ensured at all times. The cultural practices were considered and allowed to apply in the whanau hui. The opinions of the key members of the whanau hui were listened, acknowledged, and respected to ensure non-biased and non-judgmental approach. In addition, whanau involvement was provided to promote cooperation, participation, coordination and collaboration to everyone involved in the whanau hui.

TASK 4

(Task 4) Placement Diary – (Student to complete)

Student name

Anne Miriam Roces Mercado

Workplace

Salvation Army

Coordination of welcome and hospitality for the family meeting or whanau hui

Date

Notes / key points of information provided to the family / whanau

04 / 09 / 14

KJ’s cultural practices of welcoming and hospitality were acknowledged and provided like kai, karakia, karanga, mihi nad powhiri. These were provided to ensure that all of the participants of the whanau hui were welcomed appropriately.

05 / 09 / 14

The agenda was prepared in advance and was given to all the attendees so ensure an organized hui. In addition, attendees were asked for any special dietary requirements needed such as allergies or preferences.

What cultural forms of welcome were required and who was responsible for these (for example kai, karakia, karanga, mihi , powhiri)?

The whanau hui was facilitated in the Marae
Powhiri was arranged and conducted by the kaumatua as soon as all of the attendees arrived at the Marae
Karakia means offering prayer was done before the start of whanau hui as well as before kai by the kaumatua
Mihi and karanga means ceremonial greetings were observed in the whanau hui
Kai or food and drinks were provided during the hui by the kitchen staff.

What resources did you arrange (eg fares, kai, kaikorero, kaikaranga, venue)?

The whanau hui venue was arranged while considering the location of each attendees and accessibility of the venue
Kai was prepared in advance considering the preferences and dietary requirements of each attendees
The transport / fares of the attendees were arranged and provided to ensure convenience

How did you carry out the coordination of the family meeting / whanau hui in line with criteria (ei. Legislation, ethical practice, service provider guidelines)?

Principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – the four principles were observed and applied during the whole process of whanau hui through consultation, whanau involvement, protection of their rights and allowing cultural practices.
Privacy act – confidentiality and privacy were applied at all times in the whanau hui. All information were treated with respect, private and confidential by not disclosing any information to other personnel who were not involved in the case.
Ethical practice and service provider guidelines were followed at all times
Salvation Army services policies and procedures regarding family violence, low parental supervision and criminal offence were followed accordingly.
Safe and secure environment was rendered to vulnerable clients and his whanau which was the major concern in the whanau hui.

Other notes / reflections on the coordination of welcome and hospitality

Partnership between the client, his whanau and the service provider was ensured with regard to coordination of welcome and hospitality. Everyone participated and cooperated in the whole process of whanau hui. Preparations were done that resulted to an organized and successful whanau hui. Moreover, the safety and wellbeing of KJ and his whanau were the primary focus and considered at all ltimes. Therapeutic communication was observed during the whanua hui. Opinions of every participant were listened, acknowledged and considered during the whanau hui. The cultural practices and traditions of KJ and his whanau were allowed and respected during the whanau hui. In addition,

Other notes / reflections on the planning process

In the planning process of the whanau hui, the wellbeing and safety of KJ and his whanau were ensured at all times. The cultural practices were considered and allowed to apply in the whanau hui. The opinions of the key members of the whanau hui were listened, acknowledged, and respected to ensure non-biased and non-judgmental approach. In addition, whanau involvement was provided to promote cooperation, participation, coordination and collaboration to everyone involved in the whanau hui. In addition, legislations, ethical practices, and social service provider’s policies and procedures were followed always during the whole process of whanau hui to ensure safety.

TASK 5

Application of social service theory

Te Tiriti o Waitangi

The social service provider committed, observed and practiced their services with regard to the four principles namely Partnership, Protection, Permission and Participation. These principles helped me build a strong relationship while working together with a Maori client, empowering and protecting Maori Tinorangatiratanga.

For instance, social worker must observe and consider cultural practices, values, and beliefs of a Maori client and his Whanau when conducting whanau hui. The rights of Maori client must be observed and respected in terms of the services available and decision-making process to encourage autonomy of every Maori client.
Social work service Users

Clients were given the essential information with regard to their rights as a client thus, equality, fairness and quality services can be provided. This can build trust and rapport to clients in which I and the social worker established to have with the client and whanau.

For instance, social service provider ensures that the rights of the client and his whanau are being acknowledged and practiced during the whanau hui. In addition, the gathered information about the client and his whanau must be treated as confidential and safe through documentation and avoiding open disclosure to other personnel not involved in the case.
Social work ethics

This serves as a guidelines and principles for social work practice to act and to work professionally and ethically to client and his whanau. This ensures boundaries and accountability of the social worker to every clients and whanau involved.

For instance, social worker is well equipped and knowledgeable about ones role whenever rendering services to client and whanau. Social worker is aware of the responsibilities and obligations in the social work practice. In addition, social worker must maintain veracity and honesty to all clients and whanau in order to deliver safe social work practice.

Reference:

Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social workers: Social Work Practice. (2012). Backgorund of the Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://anzasw.org.nz/social_work_practice/topics/show/157-background-of-the-code-of-ethics

Hayward, J. (n.d.). Appendix: The principles of The Treaty of Waitangi. Retrieved from http://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/waitangi-tribunal/treaty-of-waitangi/tribunals/waitangi-tribunal/documents/public/treaty-principles-appendix-99

Te Ara. (2013). Story: Kaumatua – Maori elders and their role. Retrieved from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kaumatua-maori-elders/page-1

Te Ara. (2013). Story: Maori feasts and ceremonial eating – hakari. Retrieved from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/maori-feasts-and-ceremonial-eating-hakari