Transcript Social Work with Dysfunctional Families: The Social Worker

Viviane Ngwa
Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Academy of Certified Social Worker.
Riga, Latvia; November 2013
There are a variety of family settings and
types.
- Family characteristics: Emotionally
Supportive; Celebrate each other; Respect is
shown and given to one another; an
Emotionally Safe Environment where one can
feel free to express and exchange opinions;
Resilient Foundation; Privacy allowing personal
space and boundaries.
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Dysfunctional Family Systems can be
improved with Appropriate support structures.
In many cases:
-Family preservation services are short-term services designed to help families cope with
significant stresses or problems that interfere with their ability to nurture their children.
The goal of family preservation services is to maintain children with their families, or to
reunify them, whenever it can be done safely.
-Family support and preservation services may be provided to different types of families
involved with the child welfare system—birth or biological families, kinship families, foster
families, and adoptive families—to enhance family functioning and ensure child safety.
In family support and preservation services, the worker assists the family in identifying
strengths, needs, and current resources in order to create a plan to address their concerns
and help them achieve their goals.
Assessment is incorporated throughout the process and may take a number of different
forms, but always with the family as partners in the process.
-A Psycho-social Assessment.
-Do not assume you know…
-Strength-based Assessments: The belief that there is
strength even within the dysfunctional systems
of the family and that those strengths can be
highlighted and build upon for the benefit of the
family.
-The impact of the skill of the assessor (social worker).
-The interference of the biases of the Social Worker
-The intrusive nature of an assessment and the family’s
reaction.
-The domains of the family’s life (
the physical environment, the support systems, finance,
Background, family history, level of education, etc)
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Family Preservation Services (FPS) are
comprehensive, short term, intensive
services for families delivered primarily in
the home.
The services are designed to prevent the
unnecessary out-of-home placement of
children or to promote family reunification.
(National Resource Center for Family
Centered Practice 1994)
They are “services for children and families
designed to help families (including
adoptive and extended families) at risk or
in crisis.”
Family support services are communitybased services that assist and support
parents in their role as caregivers. Family
support services promote parental
competency and healthy child development
by helping parents enhance their strengths
and resolve problems that can lead to child
maltreatment, developmental delays, and
family disruption.
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-Family Preservation Services (FPS) philosophy is
that most families, when properly assisted, can
care for their children successfully.
-Children need to be with their families, and even
in the most troubled families, separation is a
traumatic event for the children and other family
members.
-Family Preservation Services are usually more
affordable.
-Youth go looking for family as from adolescence.
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Family preservation services are short-term,
family-focused services designed to assist
families in crisis by improving parenting and
family functioning while keeping children safe.
Family preservation services grew out of the
recognition that children need a safe and stable
family and that separating children from their
families is traumatic for them, often leaving
lasting negative effects. These services build
upon the conviction that many children can be
safely protected and treated within their own
homes when parents are provided with services
and support that empower them to change their
lives.
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Parents and families as a whole are respected.
Families have strengths and services should
build upon those strengths.
Families can take an active role in identifying
needs and in developing a service plan.
Services must be flexible, determined by each
family’s goals.
Families are viewed as part of a community.
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Enable families to properly care for their children.
Maintain a safe environment for their children
(child) to live in their homes.
FPS assists families in coping with problems that
disrupts the clients ability to parent.
Assist families in finding resources and support
systems.
FPS can not fix everything in the family but to
help the family learn the skills necessary to
provide a safe and nurturing environment for the
children (child).
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Benefits ALL families
Builds on family strengths, buffers risk,
and promotes better outcomes
Can be implemented through small but
significant changes in everyday actions
Builds on and can become part of existing
programs, strategies, systems and
community opportunities
Is grounded in research, practice and
implementation knowledge
-Providing services to families at home and in
their communities can help caseworkers better
identify strengths and needs and address
parenting skills and relationships in the family's
natural environment.
-Services should be family centered, community
based, culturally competent, and should engage
the family by using their input to determine what
types of supports or services will be most helpful
to them. The goal of in-home services is to
prevent the need for future child welfare involvement or
removal.
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Services are
targeted to
individual child and
family needs.
Family counseling
Parenting and other
skills training
Housing assistance
Family budgeting
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Stress management
Health/nutrition
Child development
Behavior
management
Respite care for
caregivers
Cash assistance
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Providing Services to Needy Families
without creating dependency.
Breaking the cycle of multi-generational
dysfunction.
Families that have received services have
improved.
Improvement in parenting skills
Positive behavioral changes
Appropriate discipline
Improvement in care of children.
Family Preservation is about Services
The term "family preservation services" means services for children and
families designed to help families (including adoptive and extended families)
at risk or in crisis, including:
=Service programs designed to help children where safe and appropriate,
return to families from which they have been removed; or be placed for
adoption, with a legal guardian, or, if adoption or legal guardianship is
determined not to be safe and appropriate for a child, in some other
planned, permanent living arrangement;
=Pre-placement preventive services programs, such as intensive family
preservation programs, designed to help children at risk of foster care
placement remain safely with their families;
=Service programs designed to provide follow-up care to families to whom a
child has been returned after a foster care placement;
=Respite care of children to provide temporary relief for parents and other
caregivers (including foster parents);
=Services designed to improve parenting skills (by reinforcing parents'
confidence in their strengths, and helping them to identify where
improvement is needed and to obtain assistance in improving those skills)
with respect to matters such as child development, family budgeting, coping
with stress, health, and nutrition; and
= Infant safe haven programs to provide a way for a parent to safely
relinquish a newborn infant at a safe haven designated pursuant to a State
law.
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Each State in the U.S.A has laws requiring
certain people to report concerns of child
abuse and neglect. While some States require
all people to report their concerns, many
States identify specific professionals as
mandated reporters; these often include
social workers, medical and mental health
professionals, teachers, and child care
providers. Specific procedures are usually
established for mandated reporters to make
referrals to child protective services.
State of mind
Extent of harm
Belief on reasonable grounds
Not specified: "sexual abuse ... or non-accidental physical injury"
Suspects on reasonable grounds that a child is A child or young person "is at risk of significant harm if current concerns exist for the
at risk of significant harm
safety, welfare or wellbeing of the child or young person because of the presence, to a
significant extent, of ... basic physical or psychological needs are not being met ...
physical or sexual abuse or ill-treatment ... serious psychological harm"
Belief on reasonable grounds
Any significant detrimental effect caused by any act, omission or circumstance on the
physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing or development of the child
Becomes aware, or reasonably suspects
Significant detrimental effect on the child's physical, psychological or emotional wellbeing
Suspects on reasonable grounds
Any sexual abuse; physical or psychological abuse or neglect to extent that the child "has
suffered, or is likely to suffer, physical or psychological injury detrimental to the child's
wellbeing; or the child's physical or psychological development is in jeopardy"
Believes, or suspects, on reasonable grounds, Any sexual abuse; physical or emotional injury or other abuse, or neglect, to extent that
or knows
the child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, physical or psychological harm detrimental to
the child's wellbeing; or the child's physical or psychological development is in jeopardy
Belief on reasonable grounds
Child has suffered, or is likely to suffer, significant harm as a result of physical injury or
sexual abuse and the child's parents have not protected, or are unlikely to protect, the
child from harm of that type
Belief on reasonable grounds
Not specified: any sexual abuse
Suspects on reasonable grounds
Not specified: any assault or sexual assault; serious psychological harm; serious neglect
Mandated reporters are professionals who may work with children
in the course of their professional duties.
Medical Personnel: physician, dentist, nurses, medical social worker, emergency
medical technician, practitioner, chiropractor, hospital administrator
School Personnel: includes administrators and certified and
non-certified staff such as the superintendent, teacher, principal,
school counselor, school nurse, school social worker, assistant
principal, teacher’s aide, truant officer, school psychologist, Secretary and school
administrator.
Social Service/Mental Health Personnel: for example, mental
health personnel, social workers, psychologists, domestic
violence personnel, substance abuse treatment personnel, staff
of state agencies dealing with children such as Department of
Human Services, Department of Public Aid, Department of Public
Health, Department of Corrections, and Department of Children
and Family Services
Law Enforcement Personnel: court, parole/probation officer, emergency services
staff, police, states attorney and staff, juvenile officer
Coroner/Medical Examiner Personnel
Child Care Personnel: overnight, day care, pre-school or nursery school facilities,
recreational or athletic
program or facility personnel, early intervention providers as
defined in the Early Intervention Services System Act, and foster
Parents.
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Trauma Informed Care is an organizational
structure and treatment framework that
involves understanding, recognizing, and
responding to the effects of all types of
trauma.
Trauma Informed Care also emphasizes
physical, psychological and emotional safety
for both consumers and providers, and helps
survivors rebuild a sense of control and
empowerment.
Trauma Informed
Treatment Model
Safety Skills
Grieving and
Imagination
Leadership Skills
Emotional
Management
Skills
Cognitive Skills
Communication
Skills
Judgment
Skills
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Brain architecture is experience dependent
Social-emotional buffering makes a big
difference
◦ Positive parenting
◦ Trusted mentors
◦ Healthy attachment
◦ Social-emotional skills
What we know: Families thrive
when protective factors are
robust in their lives and
communities
PARENTAL RESILIENCE
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS
KNOWLEDGE of PARENTING
and CHILD DEVELOPMENT
CONCRETE SUPPORT in
TIMES of NEED
SOCIAL and EMOTIONAL
COMPETENCE of CHILDREN
ALIGNING RESULTS FOR FAMILIES
SERVICES IN
PERSPECTIVE
• “at risk” families
• risk factors
toxic stress
all families
protective factors/buffers to
• prevention
promoting strong families and
healthy development
Parental Resilience = Be strong
and flexible
and
Social Connections = Parents need friends
Knowledge of Parenting = Being a great parent is part
natural and part learned
Concrete Support = We all need help
sometimes
Social and emotional development
for children = Help your children
communicate and give them the love
and respect they need
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The framework
builds upon the
principles of brief
solution focused
therapy and
Restorative
practice.
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Collaborative - The ‘Strengthening Families’
model aims to foster as far as possible a spirit of
collaborative working between professionals and
families. (information sharing)
Strengths-based – Acts as a tool for risk
assessment. Members will be made aware, not
just of the risks and concerns within a family but
also of their strengths and protective factors.
Participants should build up a full and balanced
understanding of the family and its needs.
Prospective – Professionals should look beyond
specific incidents that lead to the call for help.
Listen to family members
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Relationship-focused – the model seeks to
achieve positive outcomes.
By developing partnerships between
professionals and families.
Establishing a sense of equality within the
relationships.
Ensuring that families are listened to,
respected and actively involved.
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Meeting between key family participants and
the chair takes place before the conference
convenes.
Following introductions, there is an ‘icebreaker’ session. The family will help create
their own genogram. (put on white board)
Information sharing session in which families,
as well as professionals, are encouraged to
express their views and opinions. (put on
white board)
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The information that is collected at the
conference is organized under 5 headings:
Danger/Unmet Needs
Risk Statements
Complicating Factors
Strengths/Protective Factors
Grey Areas
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The intention of implementing this new
framework is to ensure better engagement
with parents.
To promote the parents active involvement in
developing a meaningful child protection plan
that clearly identifies risks.
Actions that need to happen to reduce these
risks.
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The Family Preservation Service and the Strengthening
Family Framework share principles of design which stress
the importance of client respect.
Both programs detail the significance of the client being
heard in order for their needs to be understood by both
themselves as well as the professional.
The FPS and the Strengthening Family Framework attempt
to cultivate an atmosphere where families are encouraged
to play a role in identifying their family needs and
assisting in developing a workable service plan.
Most importantly, the focus of each program is to
establish comprehensive, protective plans which clearly
direct families in proper child care techniques necessary to
provide a safe home environment.
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The term 'time limited family reunification services' means the services
and activities that are provided to a child that is removed to facilitate the
reunification of the child safely and appropriately within a timely fashion.
The services and activities described in this subparagraph are the
following:
- Individual, group, and family counseling.
- Inpatient, residential, or outpatient substance abuse treatment
services.
- Mental health services.
- Assistance to address domestic violence.
- Services designed to provide temporary child care and therapeutic
services for families, including crisis nurseries.
- Peer-to-peer mentoring and support groups for parents and primary
caregivers.
- Services and activities designed to facilitate access to and visitation of
children by parents and siblings.
-Transportation to or from any of the services and activities described in
this subparagraph.
-The Social Worker needs to fully embrace her role
and belief in the program model of second chance.
-Accepting that in many cases, parents can change
with the right type of support systems around
them.
-The belief that children within dysfunctional family
structures need to be protect, keep safe but not
necessarily always removed from the family setting.
Advocacy = Education, support, accountability
-Cooperating with the social worker
-Engaging in services
-Involvement of extended family members
-Playing an active role in the development of the
Service Plan.
-Actively participating in Child and Family meetings.
-Allowing reasonable access to the social worker.
-Being truthful and forthcoming.
-Accepting of documentation.
-Knowing their right to accept or refuse services and
the consequences of either decision.
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Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF)
to operate a coordinated program for the following objectives:
Community-Based Family Support Services: To prevent child
maltreatment among families at risk through the provision of
supportive family services.
Family Preservation Services: To assure children‘s safety within
the home and preserve intact families in which children have
been maltreated, when the family‘s problems can be addressed
effectively.
Time-Limited Family Reunification Services: To address the
problems of families whose children have been placed in foster
care so that reunification may occur in a safe and stable manner
in accordance with the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.
Adoption Promotion and Support Services: To support adoptive
families by providing support services as necessary so that they
can make a lifetime commitment to their children.
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The term 'adoption promotion and support
services' means services and activities
designed to encourage more adoptions out of
the foster care system, when adoptions
promote the best interests of children,
including such activities as pre and post
adoptive services and activities designed to
expedite the adoption process and support
adoptive families