Objective The objective of this paper is to provide a concise and accurate account of the attempt(s) to regulate the child welfare system in Arkansas. This paper will first examine the call for reorganization of the executive branch nationally, as well as specifically in the Arkansas state government around the time the Department of Human Services was created. It will then look at the history of the Department of Human Services (DHS), specifically with respect to the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Third, the creation of the Child Abuse Protection and Treatment Act put into law by the Supreme Court. Also including the state child abuse reporting laws in Arkansas compared to other states in the country. This paper will then …show more content…
During the 1960s, Arkansas’ state government “expanded to comprise 170 state agencies possessing varying degrees of independence and run by persons appointed in a variety of ways” (Kaza). By the end of the 1960s, Governor Rockefeller had realized that the scale of the government had risen too high and needed to be scaled down to a more manageable size. In 1971, Dale Bumpers helped create a state government reform plan that was quickly adopted by the state legislature and put to work. Under his plan, “Bumpers consolidated more than 60 agencies into 13 major state agencies” and then “designated the agency heads as his ‘cabinet’” members …show more content…
In the reorganizing of state departments and divisions in the early 1970s, the Department of Human Services was created due to the immense amount of state run agencies that related to human services. The creation of the department made it easier for the state government to have organized control in governing all of the
The job of a child welfare worker appears to be a demanding profession that promotes the child’s safety, but also strengthens the family organization around them in order to successfully raise the children. This child welfare workers work in the system known as the Child Protective Services whose initiative is to protect the overall welfare of the child. The short novel From the Eye of the Storm: the Experiences of a Child Welfare Worker by Cynthia Crosson-Tower demonstrates the skills necessary to deal with the practice of social work along with both its challenges and its happy moments. The novel consists of some of the cases involving Tower’s actual career in social work. In reading the book, I was able to experience some of the actual cases in which children dealt with physical and mental abuse from their families that caused them to end up within the system. Also, some of these children had issues in adapting to foster and adoptive families based on the issues they faced earlier in life. As we have learned earlier in the course, the violence that a child experiences early in life has an overall affect on the person they become as they grow into adulthood. When children deal with adverse childhood experiences, they are at a higher risk for abusing drugs and/or alcohol, increased likelihood of abusing their own child or spouse, higher rates of violent and nonviolent criminal behavior, along with several other issues throughout their lifespan.
“Under New York’s Family Court Act, treatment was the legal justification for taking troubled children in...
This law requires states to have a process established for conducting criminal background checks for foster and adoptive parents in order to care for children. It is said that provisions in the law have had an impact on the process of being approved for foster care and adoption. It has slowed down the process for children to be placed with relatives as well. Under the new provisions states are required to conduct ...
Each of the 50 states has an agency responsible for protecting children. In Los Angeles, California, this agency is known as DCFS (Department of Children and Families Services). The Los Angeles Department of Family Services has recently made the news after a class action law suites ranging in the millions has left locals wondering whether or not DCFS is actually protecting the children they take into their custody. With the increasing number of cases each day, concerns are being raised as to whether the rights of parents are being violated. It is common knowledge that there have been serious accuracy flaws resulting in the wrongful termination of many parents’ rights. However, little is being done to fix these errors and give parents their children back. Child Protective Services is the most needed yet unwanted Agencies in each state. While a system is necessary to intervene and protect children who are abused, there are speculation on the procedures and policy the state uses. While interventi...
Watkins, S.A. (1990). The Mary Ellen myth: Correcting child welfare history. Social Work, 35(6), pp. 500-503.
The goal of Juvenile Courts and the Child Welfare Agencies is to protect and make decision in the best interest of children. The ASFA law was signed by President Bill Clinton. On November 19, 1997 after it was approved by the United States Congress earlier in the month. The law was the most significant piece of legislation dealing with child welfare in twenty years. States decided to interpret the law as requiring biological families to be kept together no matter what, but the law shifted emphasis towards children health and safety concerns and away from a policy of reuniting children with their birth parents without regards to their prior abuse. ASFA lead sponsor, Republican Senator John H. Chafee of Rhode Island said, “We will not continue the current system of always putting the needs and rights of biological parents first … It’s time we recognize that some families simply cannot and should not be kept together.” This phil...
DCF Webmaster. "State of Connecticut Department of Children and Families Making a difference for Children, Families and Communities Summary of Reporting Laws." (2002, October) DCF Home Page Retrieved April 15, 2003 from: <http://www.state.ct.us/dcf/reptlaws.htm>
This essay will first address the statute used and interpretation of the threshold test by the courts, and then focus on cases involving vulnerable children to assess whether the statute in The Children Act 1989 is sufficient in protecting these children from harm. I will look at the argument in favour of the current approach taken by the courts, and the counter-argument in favour of changing the current approach. The arguments are delicately balanced and the law is always developing, so it will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court resolves this issue in future.
Moses, A. (1978). THE RUNAWAY YOUTH ACT: PARADOXES OF REFORM. Social Service Review, 52(2), 227-243. Retrieved from America: History & Life database.
A state that undertakes custody of a child is declaring that it can do a better job providing protection. This system is a powerful agent of support, providing positive nurturing environments that enable a child to reach his or her potential. Nonetheless, when children suffer additional abuse in the system, this government intervention should be questioned.
Downs-Whitelaw, S., Moore, E., &McFadden, E. J. (2009). Child welfare and family services: Policies and practice, USA: Parson Education Inc.
Ideological, social, political, and economic factors of a given period play key roles in developing and maintaining any social welfare policies in which the area of child welfare is not an exception. Throughout the history of child welfare legislation in Canada, Acts have been passed and modified according to the changing concept of childhood and to the varying degree of societal atmosphere of each period.
All the benefits provided by CAPTA are important, but one highly important benefit CAPTA provides for infants and children is that all allegations of child abuse and neglect must be investigated to ensure the well-being and safety of every infant and child. After allegations of child abuse and neglect are reported an investigation is the next step in protecting every child. Another benefit of CAPTA for infants and children is that if the heart wrenching experience of child abuse or neglect occur the state CPS systems and private organizations are trained and prepared to provide treatment for the child. In a like manner, CAPTA provides benefits for women and families by providing support and services that address domestic violence. CAPTA also promotes family involvement in all aspects of a CPS case involving child abuse and neglect. The states benefit by the foundation that CAPTA sets regarding the functioning of CPS systems and in a financial aspect. CAPTA provides funding to “Support child abuse and prevention activities by funding discretionary grants to states and/or public or private agencies or organizations” (California Department of Child Services, 2011). Everyone benefits when CPS systems according to CAPTA policies, “The act’s sponsors meant to feature three important themes of CPS reform in these amendments, including encouraging the involvement of family members in a child welfare agency’s decisions process; promoting and enhancing COS collaboration with domestic violence services and substance abuse treatment programs, and increasing the use of differential response by states through the use of noninvestigative/nonaccusatory approach to responding to reports of child maltreatment” (American Bar Association,
...or state organizations to provide these additional services for families, they are in need of government funding. “States can use about 10% of federal dedicated child welfare funds flexibly for family services and supports, including prevention or reunification services…”. More funds are needed for the organizations to provide services to all members of the family, both directly and indirectly involved. The Nurse-Family Partnership program found a “48% lower level of abuse and neglect for children served through the program than children in the control group”. So having access to these services has shown a reduction in child abuse. As discussed in class, the goal is always to keep the child in the home. This article is aiming to do that but need funds and additional resources in order to accomplish this. (Pew Charitable Trust, 2008)
Although it may not be heard of as much, forensic social work has also been around since the early 20th century. The structure of child welfare services began in the 1800’s. Early influences stemmed from poor child labor laws that were developed at the time. Early welfare programs that brought attention to people included the Social Security Act, Title XX, and the Child Abuse and Protection Act (Mangold, 2007). Since the 1970’s, child welfare has had an ongoing description of their primary focus as being removing children from their homes. Child welfare makes effort to provide what the best course of action is for children. These child welfare services are broken up into supportive, supplementary, and substitute services ranging from least restrictive to most