Sweeping generalizations about the child welfare system's many problems usually fail to capture much of the daily interaction between its representatives and the families who become its clients. Though backed by extensive policy and procedure guidelines, the investigator's and caseworker's approach with each family will be a major determinant in whether child maltreatment has occurred, its nature if it has, and, later, in the possibility of continued risk, and in the recommendations for the manner in which to work with the family.
The genesis of a child welfare case, the term generally used for these situations, is usually a report that a certain action or actions occurred, that a child has an injury, or has failed to receive an important aspect of care . So, for example, a report may say that a child arrived at school with a bruised arm. When questioned by the protective services investigator the child may say that one of the parents caused the contusion. Further questioning reveals that in fact the bruise resulted from the parent's intentional action. Is this child abuse?
The vast complexities of human behavior can make that a difficult question to answer. Often, however, just the presence of that one piece of physical evidence leads to the opening of a case.
Generally, a huge impersonal, quickly moving behemoth, the child welfare system stands in oxymoronic contrast to the deliberate, insightful and conscientious approach necessary in dealing with these family matters. And, it is not only a matter of knowledge but also a matter of knowing that there is much that is not known, that perhaps can not be known, but yet, needs to be factored in, as much as possible, when trying to understand what has happened and what can still happen in the future.
The majority of situations brought to the system's attention are not the extremely severe instances of life-threatening injuries nor the near starvation home alone scenarios. Most can be categorized as various types of neglect and many involve some form of inappropriate use of physical punishment. The terms risk and danger connote many things and that's why it is so very imperative that they be seen and understood within a wide context, for the sake of the child and his or her parents. That, however, has probably not been the child welfare experience of most families.
Before discussing ways to possibly improve this intervention, it is important to note that there very well may be investigators and caseworkers whose conscientiousness has led them to try their best to interact with families with just this kind of thoughtfulness. But, overall, it would probably be safe to say that we can find a major source, if not the crux, of the well-known and chronic turmoil that is child welfare in the nature of interaction between family members and the system's representatives.
The genesis of a child welfare case, the term generally used for these situations, is usually a report that a certain action or actions occurred, that a child has an injury, or has failed to receive an important aspect of care . So, for example, a report may say that a child arrived at school with a bruised arm. When questioned by the protective services investigator the child may say that one of the parents caused the contusion. Further questioning reveals that in fact the bruise resulted from the parent's intentional action. Is this child abuse?
The vast complexities of human behavior can make that a difficult question to answer. Often, however, just the presence of that one piece of physical evidence leads to the opening of a case.
Generally, a huge impersonal, quickly moving behemoth, the child welfare system stands in oxymoronic contrast to the deliberate, insightful and conscientious approach necessary in dealing with these family matters. And, it is not only a matter of knowledge but also a matter of knowing that there is much that is not known, that perhaps can not be known, but yet, needs to be factored in, as much as possible, when trying to understand what has happened and what can still happen in the future.
The majority of situations brought to the system's attention are not the extremely severe instances of life-threatening injuries nor the near starvation home alone scenarios. Most can be categorized as various types of neglect and many involve some form of inappropriate use of physical punishment. The terms risk and danger connote many things and that's why it is so very imperative that they be seen and understood within a wide context, for the sake of the child and his or her parents. That, however, has probably not been the child welfare experience of most families.
Before discussing ways to possibly improve this intervention, it is important to note that there very well may be investigators and caseworkers whose conscientiousness has led them to try their best to interact with families with just this kind of thoughtfulness. But, overall, it would probably be safe to say that we can find a major source, if not the crux, of the well-known and chronic turmoil that is child welfare in the nature of interaction between family members and the system's representatives.
RSS Feed