System Responses to Child Maltreatment

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System Responses to Child Maltreatment

• Lecture 4
• Angela Mollette

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Agenda

• Discuss Ethical Guidelines in Child Welfare
• Duty to report
• Duty to warn
• Duty to protect
• Confidentiality
• Discuss Parts of the Welfare System
• Child Abuse Reporting Act
• Adoption and Safe Families Act 1997
• Collaboration
• Permanency Planning

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American Professional Society on the Abuse of
Children (APSAC) Ethics

• Best interest of the child Paramount
• Dignity of the individual
• Individual accountability
• Least restrictive environment
• Non-discrimination
• Standards of conduct
• Multiple relationships
• Relationships with other professionals

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Four Cardinal Values of the Social Work Profession

• All human beings deserve access to resources
• All human beings have intrinsic worth and
  dignity
• Each individual is unique
• With appropriate resources humans are capable of
  change and growth and should be supported by
  choices to solve their own problems.

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Duty to Report (COMAR 5-704)

• Reason to BELIEVE
• Abuse has occurred call LEA or CPS
• Neglect has occurred call CPS
• Internal policies and procedures are counter
  productive to the best interest of the child.
• Refer to the disciplinary board
• ASAP make an oral report written report no later
  than 48 hours after offense.
• Networking Get to know your local CPS screeners

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Information Necessary for Duty to Report

• Name, age, address of child
• Name and address of parents
• Present the whereabouts of the child
• Nature and extent of abuse or neglect
• Any other relevant information to cause concern

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Role Play

• Listen to the following scenario of Alyssa and a
  DSS intake officer.
• Decide what should be done with the information
  provided if anything.

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Duty to Warn

• Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of
  California, 1976
• Thompson v. County of Alameda, 1980
• Bradely v. Ray, 1995
• Menendez v. Superior Court, 1992

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Duty to Protect

• Confidentiality is null and void if client
  threatens to harm themselves based on a Risk
  Assessment
• Is there a clear plan?
• Does the client have the means to carry through?
• Are there dark drawings from children or teens?
• Are the thoughts of suicide often and intrusive?
• Is there a past history of suicide attempts?

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Role Play

• Given the following case scenario decide whether
  the issue for the therapist is Duty to Report,
  Duty to Warn, or Duty to Protect.
• Which option did you choose and why?

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Confidentiality of a Child

• Dependent upon the age and maturity of the child
• If child is young, parents have right to consent
  to release of information
• Teenagers

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Limits to Confidentiality

• Can discuss cases in supervision and peer
  supervision but inform clients first
• Clients wave right to confidentiality the minute
  they file a malpractice suite
• Know if your state allows for privileged
  communication
• Privilege is for the client
• A judge can override the privilege

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Adoption and Safe Families Act 1997

• Child Safety
• Expedited permanency planning
• Quicker flow into adoption

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Reasonable Efforts are Required for
Reunification However

• Not Required if
• Parent murdered or voluntarily man-slaughtered
  another child of their own
• Present assault resulted in bodily injury
• Prior TPR of a sibling
• Abandonment, torture, chronic abuse or sexual
  abuse is the present charge

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Concurrent Planning

• Reunification and Adoption are both mapped out
  from the beginning
• TPR if child has been in foster care for 15 out
  of 22 months
• Hearing takes place every 12 months versus every
  18 months

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Monetary Incentives of Adoption

• Children in Orphanages No stipends
• Children in Foster Care
• DSS provides a stipend to the foster parents of
  560.00 dollars per month from birth-11 years an
  increase of 25.00 since 1990. A child over the
  age of 11 receives a stipend of 575.00 a month.
  Upon adoption stipend drops to lt560.00 a month.
• Child retains Medicaid in most cases depending on
  the families total income
• Stipends are given until age 18 in most cases

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Dignity of the Individual Case Example

• Ray is 8 years old and is severely overweight.
  He weighs 110 pounds and is only 4 feet. The
  parents are referred to DSS for Neglect. Upon
  intake the parents are obese, have a strong body
  odor, and are wearing inappropriate clothing
  (e.g.., short sleeved shirts and shorts in 45
  degree weather).
• How do you address the needs of this family with
  dignity?

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Individual Accountability

• Runaway Residential Teenager
• Victimized Perpetrator
• Acting Out Victim

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Least Restrictive Environment

• In home
• Kinship care
• Foster care
• Adoption
• Residential treatment center
• Independent living
• Incarceration

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Standards of Conduct

• Knowledge
• Routine supervision, consultation, counsel
• Evidence based practice
• Adhering to Federal and State laws, State Ethics,
  and NASW Code of Ethics
• Awareness of biases, values, and stress
• Confidentiality and Privacy

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Multiple Relationships

• Clarity of Boundaries is PARAMOUNT!
• Professional relationship vs. Personal
  relationship
• Therapist vs. Investigator
• Assessor vs. Healer

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Relationship With Other Professionals

• Inter-disciplinary Team
• Efficient use of limited agency resources
• Creates respect and appreciation for other
  professionals
• True wrap around services
• Avoids omissions or duplications of services
• Detect potential ethical or policy violations
• Diversity of the team is both a strength and a
  source of conflict