Transcript Document

CHILD PROTECTION IN THE
UNITED STATES
Norma Threadgill-Goldson, Ph.D., MSW
Eastern Kentucky University
©2008 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved.
1
SESSION CONTENT
• Child Protection (CP) Definition
• United States child protection:
Early influences, policies, and
statistics
• Foster Care
• Future of children and families
CHILD PROTECTION (CP)
According to UNICEF “child
protection is the response to
violence, exploitation and abuse
of children by governments and
citizens. This is inclusive of the
commercial sexual exploitation,
trafficking, child labor, and
harmful traditional practices…”
(UNICEF)
RIGHTS OF CHILDREN
The Convention on the Rights of the Child
(1989), outlines the basic rights of children
Supports the idea that the family is the
fundamental unit to socialize children and to
support their growth and well-being
“…the child, by reason of his physical and
mental immaturity, needs special safeguards
and care, including appropriate legal
protection, before as well as after birth",
Declaration of the Rights of the Child
The United State did not sign the Declaration
U.S. CP: EARLY INFLUENCES
• Late19th Century “child savers” goal
– Protection of children from caretaker
– Removal children from harmful
environments (i.e., “orphan trains”)
• 1909 First White House Conference on
the Care of Dependent Children
– concern with the institutionalize,
promoted prevention of removal from
homes
• Today U.S. government major funder
– child protective services is provided by
state & local governments, and nonprofit
social service organizations (NPOs)
U.S.: CHILD PROTECTION
Commitment to protect children:
From harm by their primary
caretakers by:
– Enacting laws and implementing
polices
– Funding interventions and programs
Competing values exist between
– Protection of children v Preserving
families and parents rights
PRIMARY POLICY INFLUENCE
• The Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974
and amendments
• The Social Security Act
– Title IV-B and Title IV-E
funding
• Adoption and Safe Families Act
(ASFA) of 1980, 1997
THE CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND
TREATMENT ACT OF 1974 (CAPTA)
• Government funding to states for CAN
– Prevention, identification, prosecution, and
treatment
• Government grants Demonstration Project to
public and NPO agencies
• Government role in supporting research,
evaluation, data collection, technical assistance
• Health provider to report substance exposed
new born infants
• State mandated
– Develop and maintain child abuse reporting
system
– Investigation child maltreatment
– Protect confidentiality of data
– Develop prevention and intervention programs
Title IV-B and Title IV-E
The Social Security Act 1935,
Legal framework for funding
CP
• Prevention, protective services, and
foster care and adoption assistance,
rehabilitation – wide range of social
services
• Provides 96% of child welfare
funding
Adoption and Safe Families Act
(ASFA) of 1980, 1997
• Mandated court order for out of home
placements
• Limited funding for voluntary placement
• Court approval of permanency plan
• 1997 move family preservation family
focus from child focus approach
• Court filing for permanency child in
placement more than 15 months
• Established child and Family Service
Reviews Federal Children’s Bureau
compares performance of states
FOSTER CARE
Foster care is the temporary
placement of children who
cannot remain in their own
homes because the parents’
condition or behavior
preventing the parents from
providing care
TYPES OF OUT-OF-HOME CARE
•
•
•
•
Non-relative placement
Relative or kinship placement
Pre-adoptive home placement
Institutional or Residential Placements
–
–
–
–
Shelters
Group home
Hospitals
Independent Living
POLICY IMPACT ON
FOSTER CARE
• CAPTA, 1974
– Changed provision of services
• ASFA, 1997
– Emphasis permanency planning
The Independent Living Initiative
of 1986 and Foster Care
Independence Act of 1999
– Increased support for children aging
out of foster care
CHILDREN IN CARE
• Steady rise in numbers from 1980s to 2000s
½ Million Plus (513,000) children
in foster care in 2005:
• 24% relative placements
• 51% reunified (less than yr 2000)
• 15% exited FC to relative
• 18% exited were adopted
• 21% of those adopted were
adopted by relatives
• 50% exited, in care < 1 yr
Child Welfare Information Gateway
WHY DO CHILDREN
COME INTO CARE?
• Child maltreatment – Abuse, neglect,
and Exploitation
• Abandonment
• Resulting from complex and
combination of problems and
situations
–
–
–
–
Issues of poverty
Parental substance abuse
Parental incarceration
Domestic Violence
CHALLENGES OF
FOSTER CARE SYSTEM
• Disproportionate number of children
of color, particularly African
American children
• Recruitment and retentions of foster
parents and case manager
• Large caseloads
• Limited resources
• Complex system of service delivery
a mix of private and government service
providers
DISPARITY: RACE, ETHNICITY, &
CULTURAL HERITAGE
Disproportionately represented in FC
• Children of color 35% child
population in U.S.
– 55% - Children of color in care –
• African American children 15% of
child population
– 38% -African American children
in care –
FUTURE OF CHILD
PROTECTION
Child protection researchers and professional in
the field indicate that system improvement can
enhance the well-being of children include:
• Implementing policies and practices
that support and strengthen families
• Engaging families
• Employing culturally competent
practice
• Supporting social service worker
(Chipungu, S. S., & Bent-Goodley, T. B.)
REFERENCES
Courtney, M. E. (2008). History of Policy Framework. In Terry
Mizrahi, and Larry E. Davis, Encyclopedia of Social Work (20
ed.), vol. 1, A – C, Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Child Welfare Information Gateway,
http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/fosterdlinks.cfm
Chipungu, S. S., & Bent-Goodley, T. B. Meeting the challenges of
contemporary foster care.
http://www.futureofchildren.org/usr_doc/5-stukes.pdf
Everett, J. (2008). Foster care. In Terry Mizrahi, and Larry E.
Davis, Encyclopedia of Social Work (20 ed.), vol. 1, D – I,
Washington, DC: NASW Press.
Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (HHS) & Goldman, S., &
Wolcott, K. (2003).Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and
Neglect: The Foundation for Practice
User Manual Series (2003).
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
UNICEF