Foster Care and Adoptions
The Bronfenbrenner ecological model proposes that "individual human development occurs within interconnected and embedded ecological systems." (McWhirter, et al., Chapter 1). These are the macrosystem of societal norms, the exosystem of public policy, the microsystems such as family and schools, and the individual characteristics. Defects in one or more of these systems can put a child at risk.
An example of a child at risk is Doughboy, Ice Cube's character in Boyz in the Hood. A teenage black male in an impoverished area of Los Angeles, Doughboy faces a number of risk factors. His environment is characterized by poverty, but also by social norms and gender roles. The social norm in the area is that many young males join gangs, and he is specifically at risk because of the emphasis on aggression as part of one's self-worth among males in that area. Such cultural values among young people in that area place all of the teenage characters in the film at risk, but Doughboy's particular ecology increases his risk. His family life is broken (microsystem), he is faced with a high degree of institutional racism, such as from police and from politicians who ignore the problems plaguing the area (exosystem). While his friends have assets that can give them hope --Ricky is a star athlete and Tre is highly intelligent, Doughboy is average in many respects, giving...
He is at significant risk for things like drug and alcohol abuse, violence, gang membership and other negative outcomes.
Unit 2. Maltreatment of risk placed in state care is a common problem, with over 3 million cases reported annually, 60.9% of which meet the criteria for investigation (Child Welfare Policy, 2013. There is a duty to warn, so when there is a problem with abuse involving a patient --if they are the abuser or the abused, there is a duty to warn a third party. There could be legal liability for not upholding this duty, especially since failing to warn increases the risk of somebody getting hurt. Confidentiality is not the issue here -- you want to ensure that the third party is aware of who the child is, so that they can help.
Unit 3. The advocate plays an important role in the foster care system, by looking out for the interests of the client. The advocate is available to assist with things that the foster family cannot, including issues pertaining to the system itself. Furthermore, the advocate plays an important mediating role in the relationship between the client and the foster family. For families, it is important to provide services. . These can include focus groups of other foster families that understand the issues the new families will face. Information is one of the most important things the…
