allegation finding perpetrator physical abuse indicated biological father risk W r i t i n g

CHILD ABUSE CLASS

Week 2 Discussion

Anne is 10 years old and lives in a major metropolitan U.S. city and is currently in the 4^th grade. Today, during gym class, Anne’s teacher notices several large bruises on all of Anne’s arms and legs and that her clothing is torn and dirty. When the teacher questions Anne about how she got the bruises, Anne replies “I fell on the playground.” The teacher reports the bruising to the school principal. The teacher and principal request Anne’s mother attend a conference after school.

During the conference, Anne’s mother is difficult to communicate with. She appears to be intoxicated, but denies having had anything to drink. She is also very defensive, states that Anne is a clumsy, lazy child and that Anne lies to get attention. The mother denies that anyone has physically hurt Anne. During the conference, Anne sits next to her mother but does not make eye contact with anyone in the room, nor does she speak. When questioned as to why Anne’s father could not attend the conference, Anne’s mother replies that he was too tired because he works two jobs and has to sleep during the day. Anne and her mother leave the conference and Anne is not in school the next day.

In 2-3 paragraphs, using your own words:

• List 3 signs and/or symptoms of possible child abuse and neglect with respect to Anne.
• List 3 risk factors present in Anne’s family that could contribute to abuse.
• What do you think would be the best course of action for Anne regarding treatment, placement, and services?
• When responding to peers, consider whether you agree with the course of action suggested by your peers. Why might that be the best course of action, or why might another action be more appropriate. Provide support for your choices.

Week 2 Individual Project

Anne is 10 years old and lives in a major metropolitan U.S. city and is currently in the 4^th grade. Today, during gym class, Anne’s teacher notices several large bruises on all of Anne’s arms and legs and that her clothing is torn and dirty. When the teacher questions Anne about how she got the bruises, Anne replies “I fell on the playground.” The teacher reports the bruising to the school principal. The teacher and principal request Anne’s mother attend a conference after school.

During the conference, Anne’s mother is difficult to communicate with. She appears to be intoxicated, but denies having had anything to drink. She is also very defensive, states that Anne is a clumsy, lazy child and that Anne lies to get attention. The mother denies that anyone has physically hurt Anne. During the conference, Anne sits next to her mother but does not make eye contact with anyone in the room, nor does she speak. When questioned as to why Anne’s father could not attend the conference, Anne’s mother replies that he was too tired because he works two jobs and has to sleep during the day. Anne and her mother leave the conference and Anne is not in school the next day.

As Anne’s teacher, you are a mandated reporter, meaning you must notify authorities of suspected cases of child abuse and neglect. You are very concerned about Anne, but you aren’t sure if what you have observed rises to the level of abuse or neglect.

• Write a 1-2 page memo to the principal regarding Anne. You are allowed to take one of two positions.
  1. Anne is the victim of abuse/neglect.
     • If you take this position, you must list the rationale including signs/symptoms, parental concerns, and contacts with Anne.
  2. Anne is not the victim of abuse/neglect.
     • If you take this position, you must list the rationale including mitigating factors, parental strengths, and contacts with Anne.
• Make a recommendation to your principal about whether or not you should contact child welfare services.

Week 3 Discussion

Since the after-school conference, Anne has missed 15 of the last 20 days of school. When she does attend, she is very quiet and tends to stay by herself. Anne also claims to be sick every time she has to go to gym class. The teacher has attempted to call her home to find out why Anne is missing so much school. On one occasion, Anne’s father answers the phone and curses at the teacher and hangs up. After this conversation, the teacher is very concerned about Anne’s safety and consults the principal. A decision is made to contact child protective services (CPS). You are the assigned investigator from CPS.

Draft a 3-4 paragraph memo outlining how you will begin your investigation. Be sure to include and discuss the following:

• Which persons do you need to interview and why? Provide a minimum of three people you must interview.
• What information would you expect to learn from each person you interview? Provide a minimum of two pieces of information you would expect to collect from these interviews.
• What allegations do you feel could be present in this case? Provide a minimum of two.
• When responding to your peers’ postings, consider whether you agree with the allegations they posed as possibilities. Are those the only allegations? What other people might they not have considered interviewing? What other information should be sought?

Week 3 Individual Project

The right of a parent to decide how to raise their children is considered a fundamental right, which means that government interference with that right must be for a compelling reason such as child abuse or neglect. In the case of Native American children, children were often removed from their tribal homes and placed in child welfare systems throughout the nation that were not culturally similar. In response to this, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was passed in 1978.

As the CPS investigator you have learned that Anne may possibly have Native American ancestry. This is your first case regarding a child from a Native American ancestry, so you will need to research the provisions of ICWA to ensure you are well informed. You are asked by your supervisor to write a 2-3 page paper outlining your knowledge of the following:

• the history of ICWA
• ICWA provisions
• ICWA requirements

Answer the following questions:

• As an investigator of alleged abuse/neglect, what does ICWA require you to do first?
• How would Anne’s lineage be determined?
• Can Anne be removed from her home and placed in foster care if she is of Native American descent?

Week 4 Discussion

Addiction to illegal substances and alcohol is a coping mechanism that many children use to deal with the intense and painful reality of child abuse/neglect. The cycles of addiction can be generational and very difficult to overcome.

Create and describe an addiction scenario involving a minor and offer suggestions for which services you believe would be the most effective in that scenario. Provide details for the scenario such as age of client, signs of abuse, and the type of abuse. Be sure to address the following questions:

• What are some of the signs and symptoms for the client in your scenario?
• To what substances is the client addicted?
• What services are generally offered to help children break addiction and how do those services differ from services offered to adult addicts?

Week 4 Individual Project

Child Welfare Services has conducted an investigation into allegations that Anne may the victim of child abuse and the results of the investigation were as follows:

Allegation	Finding	Perpetrator
Physical Abuse	Indicated	Biological Father
Risk of Harm	Indicated	Biological Father, Biological Mother
Substance Abuse	Indicated	Biological Mother

As a result of these findings, Anne was removed from the care of her parents and placed in a traditional foster home. The foster home is in the same community where Anne’s parents reside, so Anne can still attend the same school. You are the recently-assigned social worker for Anne and want to offer her services to deal with behaviors noted by her teacher such as her withdrawn demeanor, bruises and her torn and dirty wardrobe.

As the assigned caseworker you are responsible for drafting the initial case plan that outlines the necessary services for Anne and her parents.

Draft a 2-3 page “case plan” that includes the following:

• What behaviors has Anne exhibited that would require service intervention?
• Which services would you recommend to address those behaviors?
• What services would you offer the parents based on the findings of the investigation?
• Does the current placement in a foster home appear to be the appropriate type of placement for Anne based on the allegations and her needs? Why or why not?

Week 5 Discussion

Anne has been in foster care for the past 6 months and has thrived during that time. Anne’s therapist has indicated that Anne really loves her biological parents and enjoys visiting with them, but is ambivalent about returning home. Anne’s biological parents have had a difficult time complying with required services but Anne’s mother has made more progress than Anne’s father.

• Anne’s mother entered drug treatment and has maintained sobriety for the past 90-days and is contemplating getting her own apartment so that Anne can come home.
• Anne’s father has begun anger management classes but has been resistant to individual and family therapy.

As the assigned caseworker, you still have concerns about Anne’s safety, but recognize that the goal for this family is reunification. Based on the case file and the current progress in services, you have to make a recommendation to the court about possible reunification.

Draft a 2-3 paragraph progress report with recommendations to the Court and include the following information:

• Given the allegations, is reunification possible for this family?
• If you are recommending reunification, are you recommending Anne return to one or both parents?
• What services would need to continue in order for Anne to return home?
• Does Anne’s ambivalence about returning home make a difference in your recommendation?
• When commenting to peers, consider the points you agree or disagree with in their recommendations. Be sure to be respectful and support you opinions.

Week 5 Individual Project

In cases where children are not returned to their biological families, the courts have to find safe, permanent homes for them, including adoptive homes. It is especially difficult in cases where the children have special needs, such as mental retardation or cerebral palsy. In 1997, The U.S. Congress enacted legislation that sought to correct the problems inherent with the foster care system and achieving permanency for special needs children.

Write 2-3 pages detailing the provisions of The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997(AFSA).

• Be sure to include the following in your essay:
  • What was the purpose the AFSA?
  • What are some of the programs that the AFSA funds?
  • Who was the major proponent of the AFSA and why?
  • What are some of the changes that the AFSA has effectuated when it comes to foster care and adoption?
  • What provisions does the AFSA have for children with special needs?

FOUNDATIONS OF INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING CLASS

Week 2 Group Project

You are working at the veteran’s agency and your caseload includes men with PTSD. They are uniquely experienced in mortal combat. They recently returned from battle zones in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of their friends have died in battle. Some wonder why they are still here and their friends are gone. Your boss has asked you to research verbal and nonverbal ways to help you communicate with these men and build a therapeutic alliance. He wants you to demonstrate communication styles through a role play presentation for all the therapists at the weekly staff meeting:

Individual Portion:

Each group member should assume the role of a counselor and address the following in two pages:

• What are two types of positive communication styles that the men will benefit from such as non-judging, attentive listening, validating feelings, compassion/empathy and open body language
• What is one type of communication style the men might not be receptive to such placating, authoritarian language, closed body language, and judging
• Include a summary statement of at least 2 reasons why each communication style is either acceptable or non-acceptable for this population.

Week 3 Discussion

Your manager asks you to see a client who appears to be decompensating. He has stopped coming to the center and his wife asks you for assistance. She says he is not eating, sleeps all day and rarely gets out of the house. He is talking gibberish to himself and mumbles profanities. She is afraid that he may harm her or their 3-year-old child. She further tells you she thinks he may be doing drugs but does not know which ones. She says the last time he was like this he attempted suicide through overdosing on his psych meds. He takes Ritalin for adult ADHD.

• What is your first priority in this case? Why?
• What type of treatment would you suggest? Why?
• What types of therapy might help this client stay on track? Why?

When responding to other postings pick a different position than the person you are engaging in the discussion

• State 2 reasons you might agree and 2 reasons you might not agree with their response.
• Responses should be thoughtful, substantive and promote further discussion on the topic
• Be respectful and professional

Week 3 Individual Project

At the new veteran’s agency your boss wants you to put together a presentation on life skills to promote client knowledge, skills and attitudes that contribute to positive change in substance abuse behavior. This presentation will be given at a group meeting he is planning for the agency to promote individual counseling for clients with substance abuse disorders.

Organize your presentation notes covering the following:

• 3-4 substance abuse behaviors you will address
• 3-4 basic life skills that substance abusers may find helpful
• 3-4 concepts regarding knowledge, skills and attitudes that will contribute to positive change (3-4 total not per category)

At the end of the presentation, there will be a Q&A with the clients as a way to get the clients to interact with your presentation so they think about what you have to offer them.

The following are sample questions that you could ask of the clients. Prepare two more questions and write 2-3 sentences of the responses you anticipate for each of the four questions.

• What behaviors have worked positively for you in the past?
• What behaviors have worked negatively for you in the past?

Week 4 Discussion

Your supervisor asks you to see a client who is new to the agency. He is 21 years of age and of Asian descent. His parents had moved to the U.S. when this client was approximately 3 years old to give their only son more opportunities. His parents taught him their native language and educated him about his culture of origin. They were a religious family with a deep sense of devotion to their values of dignity, honor, respect and service.

He recently lost his parents in a car accident while he was serving in Iraq 6-7 months ago. He was serving his first deployment that started about 18 months prior. He also witnessed many of his friends being killed by a roadside bomb approximately 3 months into serving there.

He is recently married and his wife is 6 months pregnant with their first child. She is starting to show signs of complications with the pregnancy and needs to be off work and on bed rest for the remainder of her term. He was honorably discharged to tend to his wife and child but has not found work to support them.

This client currently exhibits severe symptoms of anxiety. He is unable to get any rest due to worry over his wife and child. He is having flashbacks of his friends being killed and any loud noise freaks him out. He reports that he has also not been able to process his parents’ deaths and feels depressed all of the time. He has lost his appetite and states he has started to hear voices.

It is your turn to present a case in the outpatient meeting. You bring this description plus your ideas and how to best treat this client to the meeting

• What 2-3 characteristics might you consider in treating this client?
• Give at least 2 reasons why each characteristic might influence the treatment of this client.
• When responding to other postings pick a different position than the person you are engaging in the discussion in order to further the discussion

Week 4 Individual Project

Veteran’s center clients:

• Vary in age from 20 to 85
• Are male and female
• Include those with physical handicaps from different wars

Your manager asks you to put a training presentation together for an all agency staff meeting defining treatment strategies for these different types of clients for the entire staff of therapists, nurses and social workers at the center. Your presentation should include the following:

• At least 1 slide for each of the following topics:
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Culture
  • Mental Disabilities
  • Physical Handicaps
• 4-5 bullet points per slide covering the aspects the therapist may need to be sensitive to in treating the individual.

Week 5 Discussion

Use yourself or a fictional character as the subject of an interview that seeks to answer a referral question of your choice. The interview will seek to gather all of the information that relates to the Mental Status Exam provided in your course text, which deals with the examinee’s appearance, manner, approach, orientation, alertness, thought processes, mood, and affect.

• Include examples of issues that would be addressed in this interview and strategies that would be used in working with this individual.
• Identify social and cultural factors related to the assessment and evaluation of the individuals
• How would the understanding of ethical/legal violations be beneficial to you as a counselor and why?

When responding to other postings pick a different position than the person you are engaging in the discussion.

State 2 reasons you might agree and 2 reasons you might not agree with their recommended strategies.

Week 5 Individual Project

You will conduct a literature review on a specific disorder or problem in living covered in the assigned readings. From this research, each student will write an APA style literature review and present their findings.

Some disorders discussed:

• Anxiety
• PTSD
• Depressive disorders
• Personality disorders

The paper/presentation should be 5 pages and contain the following elements:

• Clear and explicit description of disorder/problem and it’s prevalence
• Special treatment planning issues
• Prognosis, & empirically-supported treatment strategies, if any