Unit 6 Seminar: Children, Adolescents, and Families

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Unit 6 SeminarChildren, Adolescents, and
Families

• HN115 - Human Services Program and Profession

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How Has Childhood Changed Over the Past 200
Years?

• What caused those changes?

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Overview of Positions Available in aFamily
Services Agencies

• Child abuse investigations
• Child abuse assessments
• Case management for children and families in
  foster families
• Case management for families in crisis
• Case management and counseling for potential
  adoptive parents, adult adoptees and birth parents

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The History of Foster Care in the United States

• The US Orphan Problem
• Attitudes toward children in the 1700 and 1800s
• Apprenticeships and cheap labor
• De-sensitized because of the number
• No need for additional nurturing
• The introduction of the field of Psychology and a
  change in many religions altered the view of
  children

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The History of Foster Care in the United States

• The Orphan Asylum
• By 1890, there were over 600 orphanages
• If families were unable to care for children,
  they could place them in an orphanage for a small
  fee.
• Most were privately run with government funding.
• Obedience was highly valued.
• Play was discouraged and even punished.

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Foster Care The Orphan Trains

• A program first developed to provide children
  with in-home care rather than institutionalized
  care.
• It is estimated that as many as 5,000 children
  were homeless and roaming the streets.
• Rev. Charles Loring Brace believed that children
  would be better off in clean open spaces, not the
  streets of a major city in search of work.
• You will read more about The Orphan Trains for
  your discussion questions this week

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Foster Care The Orphan Trains

• Ran from 1854 to 1929
• Delivered approximately 150,000 children
• Some had happy endings, some did not
• The Orphan Train program is considered the start
  of the foster care system that we know today

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The Current US Child Welfare System

• By 1980, there were no children left in
  institutionalized care
• Children of color are overrepresented in the
  foster care system
• Today, the majority of children are in foster
  care because of serious maltreatment
• Almost ½ want to return to their biological homes
• In 2007, approximately 496,000 in the US foster
  care system (http//www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/
  acf/adoption-foster.html)

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• What type of experience do you have with working
  with children or the foster care system?

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Legislation

• The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
  (CAPTA) 1974
• Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980
• Adoption and Safe Families Act, 1997
• Keeping Children and Families Safe Act, 2003

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Types of Child Maltreatment

• Physical (failure to provide food or shelter or
  proper supervision)
• Medical (failure to provide necessary medical or
  mental health treatment)
• Educational (failure to educate a child or attend
  to special education needs)
• Emotional (inattention to a childs emotional
  needs, failure to provide psychological cares, or
  permitting a child to use alcohol or drugs)

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Abuse

• Physical range from bruises to broken bones to
  death
• Sexual- physical acts, exposure or exploitation
  of
• Emotional can be hard to prove but is almost
  always present when other forms of abuse are
  identified

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Working with Children in Placement

• Permanency Plans
• Reunification with the biological parents
• Living with relatives
• Guardianship with close friends
• Short-term or long term foster care
• Emancipation (with older children)
• Adoption with termination of parental rights

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Working with Biological Families

• Goals
• Counseling
• Parenting classes
• Treatment for substance abuse
• Anger management
• Securing employment
• Securing housing
• Maintaining regular contact with children

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Working with Foster Children

• Separation
• Loss, Grief, and Mourning
• Identity Issues
• Continuity and Family Ties
• Crisis

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Working with Foster Parents

• Developmental needs of at-risk children
• Child sexual abuse
• Appropriate discipline for at-risk children
• Supporting foster children and their biological
  families
• Managing stress and working with a changing
  family

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Reunification

• Preparing for transition
• Giving children a voice
• Monitoring in-home services
• Communication

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Family Preservation

• Early intervention and prevention is key
• Teaching important parenting skills
• Family counseling
• Assistance with household budgeting
• Stress management
• Child development
• Cash assistance

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Adoption Services

• Domestic Adoption
• Independent Adoption
• Private Agency Adoption
• International Adoption
• Special-Needs Adoption

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Unit 6 Seminar

• Is there a difference in the thinking process
  between younger children and adolescents?
• How would you explain this concept?

VS
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Unit 6 Seminar

• What specific behaviors do you need to look for
  when working with children and adolescents?
• Explain the reason why this is important.

VS
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The new stage of development Adolescence

• G. Stanley Hall The Father of Adolescent
  Psychology began his study in 1882
• Published 1st book in 1904 described
  adolescents as possessing a lack of emotional
  steadiness, violent impulses, unreasonable
  conduct, lack of enthusiasm and sympathy
  (Martin, 2007)

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Developmental Perspectives

• Historical Contexts
• What is expected of an adolescent and what is
  considered adaptive and healthy behavior depends
  on the time in which the adolescent lives.
• What was different for you than it was for your
  parents?
• Or
• What is different for your children than it was
  for you?

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• Cultural Contexts the norm in one may not be
  the same for another
• Give an example of different cultural norms that
  may not be the same.
• Regional Contexts -
• Does where you live (location) make a difference?

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• Most developmental theorists agree on 1 thing
  adolescence is about the search for identity and
  developing autonomy

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The Role of the Human Service Professional

• Residential Facilities
• Family counseling
• Group counseling
• School counselor
• Case workers
• Teen hotline
• Prevention programs in schools
• Court advocacy
• Juvenile delinquency
• Assistance to families

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Abstract Reasoning and the Adolescent

• Teenagers realize through abstract reasoning that
  their parent is not always right.
• They begin to question everything and most
  authority.
• They can convince themselves of almost anything

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Adolescent Rebellion

• Externalizing Behaviors
• Conduct Disorder
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder
• Aggression, bullying, theft, deceitfulness,
  serious violations
• Internalizing Behaviors
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Self mutilation and suicide

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The DSM-IV-TREating Disorders

• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Females suffer more than males
• The effects of the media
• Suffer from body dissatisfaction and low self
  esteem
• Usually begins in adolescence

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The DSM-IV-TR Schizophrenia in Adolescence

• Usually diagnosed in late adolescence and early
  adulthood
• Symptoms include delusions, hallucinations,
  sensing something that is not there, disorganized
  behavior, inability to respond or express
  emotions.
• Affects about 1 in 100 adults
• Usually treated with medication

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• Girl With Paranoid Schizophrenia Has Urges to
  Kill Her Mother
• Hallucinations Push 9-Year-Old 'I Just Could
  Kill Everybody and I Can Have the Whole World to
  Myself.
• http//abcnews.go.com/2020/MindMoodNews/paranoid-s
  chizophrenic-kid-urges-kill-mother/story?id100730
  35

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Other Clinical Issues Affecting Adolescents

• Substance abuse
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Sexuality and teen pregnancy
• Self Mutilation
• Suicide

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• What effect do race, ethnicity, and culture have
  on the developing child or adolescent?

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Multicultural Considerations in Community Mental
Health

• A 2001 study found that African Americans were
  more commonly diagnosed with conduct disorders
• Caucasians were more often diagnosed with
  depression and suicide
• Latino Americans at a higher risk of delinquency,
  depression and suicide than Caucasians
• What are some of the reasons for this?

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• How do you think this population (children and
  adolescence) will continue to grow and change?

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• What are some of the effects of technology on
  adolescence specifically?

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• History tells us that adolescence has always been
  a difficult time.
• Do you think this will always be true?

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• We worry about what a child will become tomorrow,
  yet we forget that he is someone today. 
• Stacia Tauscher
• Enjoy working with the kids that you will help
  influence!

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Planning Ahead Unit 9 Assignment

• Your Unit 9 Assignment gives you the opportunity
  to explore a human service setting and write a
  paper on your experience. You will apply the
  knowledge and strategies that you have acquired
  during this term to examine the responsibilities
  of a human service professional and the skills
  and education required for the position.
• You have two options for completing this
  assignment.

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Planning Ahead Unit 9 Assignment

• Option 1 On-site visit to a human service agency
  
• The ideal way to learn about future career
  possibilities and the work that is done in human
  services agencies is to visit a facility.
• If you decide to complete Option 1 of this
  Assignment, you should arrange to visit a human
  service agency in your area. Many human service
  agencies will allow students to prearrange times
  for just such visits and observations. If you
  choose this option, it is imperative that you
  arrange for your visit days, even weeks, ahead.

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Unit 9 Assignment

• You can use the script in the project directions
  to help you set up your visit. You will want to
  spend a minimum of one hour observing and taking
  notes. Be sure to bring a copy of the questions
  listed in the directions, so you can jot down
  answers during your visit.
• For your Unit 9 Assignment, you will write a two
  to three page paper that examines the following
  concepts, which will have been addressed
  throughout this course.

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• For your Unit 9 Assignment, you will write a two
  to three page paper that examines the following
  concepts, which will have been addressed
  throughout this course.
• First, describe the needs of various populations
  served in the human services profession.
  Throughout this course you have discussed various
  populations children and families, adolescents,
  the aging, the mentally ill, the homeless, the
  medically ill and substance abusers. Select at
  least three of these populations and describe
  some of the needs that they have. Then discuss
  the role of the human services professional in
  meeting those needs. This part of your Assignment
  should be at least one page.

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• Next, describe the environment of the site you
  visited and answer the following questions
• What does a typical work day look like for a
  human service worker working in this agency?
• What are the job qualifications or requirements
  for human service workers in this agency?
• What is the client population?
• What is the main source of funding for this
  agency?
• What is your conclusion regarding the quality of
  this facility?
• How does this particular agency compare to other
  similar agencies found online and discussed in
  this course? What are the similarities? How is it
  different?

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Planning Ahead Unit 9 Assignment

• Option 2 Describing a human service position in
  detail
• If you are unable or prefer not to visit a human
  service agency in your area, you can complete the
  second option for this assignment. You will write
  a two to three page paper that describes a human
  service position in detail.

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• Begin your paper with an introduction, and
  describe the needs of various populations served
  in the human services profession. Throughout this
  course you have discussed various populations
  children and families, adolescents, the aging,
  the mentally ill, the homeless, the medically
  ill, and substance abusers. Select at least three
  of these populations and describe, in detail,
  some of the needs that they have. Then discuss
  the role of the human services professional in
  meeting those needs. This part of your assignment
  should be at least one page.

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• Then view at least three of the videos (including
  all questions and answers) found at the following
  link
• http//abavtooldev.pearsoncmg.com/release_myhelpin
  glab/helpinglab.php
• Next, state the three videos you chose to view.
  Then, summarize one of the positions viewed in
  the videos. In your summary, be sure to give the
  background of the agency, some of the daily
  responsibilities of the chosen position, and
  whether or not you would be interested in working
  in this position and why. If these details were
  not given in full in the video, you must follow
  up with research on similar agencies found
  online.
• In addition to your summaries, discuss additional
  career opportunities with the same population and
  what some of main issues are with the populations
  served in the chosen position.

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• Finally, focus on this position in a bit more
  detail in order to examine the following
  concepts, which will have been addressed
  throughout this course.
• What do you believe a typical day might look like
  in this position?
• What funding supports most agencies serving this
  population? What resources are available to
  clients as well as those serving this population?
  
• What is your conclusion regarding job
  satisfaction for human service professionals
  choosing similar career paths?

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• Thanks for coming to seminar!
• Get started early on your project for Unit 9.
• Have a great week.