History of minority populations in the child welfare system

History of Minority Populations in the Child Welfare System Order No. 531486 Introduction The Child Welfare System in the U. S. is an amalgamation ofdifferent services whose main focus is directed towards the good health and safety of children. These services also lend great support to the families to enable them to continue living together in harmony. This system also supports children who are unable to live with their families for different reasons. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) defines child abuse as “ any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm”. CAPTA is an organization that gives financial aid to the states to identify, report and investigate child neglect and abuse. The Child Welfare System is one of the components of a much bigger social service system that supports people and especially children in need or in trouble. Many minority groups comprising of refugees from different parts of the world, the elderly, the homeless and the disabled all receive great care and support from the system. According to the U. S Department of Health and Human Services about 763, 000 children were victims of child abuse and neglect in 2006. Minority groups such as refugees face many challenges in their new background and hence depend a lot on these Child Welfare Systems to help them and put them in the way about things which are unfamiliar to them. The staff that are employed to help refugees settlement are quite familiar with the Child Welfare System and are in a position to orient their clients towards more mainstream requirements. They also help to dispel any misconceptions about how the system works. There are many contemporary efforts that are being made to safeguard the child and its family while giving priority and taking into consideration the cultural diversity of the people who come from different backgrounds. The Child Welfare System is a real boon to the minorities and lends support in every possible way. The three primary goals of the child welfare system are: 1. Safety – Children are vulnerable and in a position to be harmed by people with whom they live. 2. Permanence – to ensure that children have a stable home. 3. Well- being – to see that children are well equipped with all the needs for healthy growth and development. The child welfare system has to be important goals to fulfill and these are- 1. Child Protective Service (CPS) These are agencies who carry out investigations and report about those children who are harmed. 2. Prevention and Family Preservation Services – This agency strives to bind the family closer together and help them to remain united by seeing to the health and safety for the members of the family. 3. Foster Care and Adoption Services – This agency takes care of those children who are unable to live in their own families due to major problems. There are many other agencies that work in tandem with the Child Welfare System and support it by their extended services. Some of these agencies include juvenile and family courts, agencies for substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence, education and Healthcare. The services of these agencies would vary according to their community in which they live. Most of the laws governing the child welfare such as immigration, are set out by the Federal Government, but some of the laws are carried out by each state. Nevertheless, all these laws are directed towards the safety and progress of the child. The U. S Child Welfare Organization follows specific methods and responds when they receive a child abuse report. Those who are employed here receive specialized training where they are taught how to react and handle different situations. Officers are sent to the location to make a thorough investigation of the case and immediate action is taken. The family members are interrogated and then given appropriate counseling according to the necessity. If the situation is very bad and poses great danger to the child they are moved to the Child Welfare Organization and thereafter it becomes their duty to lend all the support they can. The U. S spends billions of dollars (103. 8 billion) on child abuse and neglect. References Refugee and the U. S Child Welfare System www. brycs. org/publications/upload/CWToolkit. pdf U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. (2010). Child Maltreatment 2009. Washington DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. www. mucenter. missouri. edu/statechildwelfare11. pdf Prevent Child Abuse America. (2008). Time for reform: Investing in prevention, keeping children safe at home. Retrieved January 10, 2011 from http://www. preventchildabuse. org/about_us/press_room. shtml