Single Mother Upbrings her Child - Case Study Example

CASE PLAN Facts Amy Whipple is a single parent with a sole responsibility for her four-year-old daughter, Angie. Her boyfriend with whom she had this child left when the child was two years old. Even though she knows where the boyfriend is living, neither Amy nor Angie has had any contact with him for two years. She is a high school graduate, with no college or vocational training. As a result, her jobs have always been minimum wage, unskilled jobs. Currently, she is employed as an inventory clerk in a building supplies warehouse. She has fairly good benefits at this job, including some health insurance for herself and her child. An incident happened approximately a week ago; Amy picked her daughter up at day care after work and she needed to stop at the grocery store before going home. While at the grocery, Angie was misbehaving and was taking items off the shelf and putting them into the cart. Despite several verbal reprimands, Angie continued to disobey her mother. Amy then slapped Angie’s hands making her to begin wailing thus attracting the attention of several customers in the store. After purchasing her groceries, Amy pushed Angie to her car. As she was putting Angie into her car seat, she noticed something protruding from one of the pockets of Angie’s dress. When she pulled it out, she realized that Angie had taken candy bars and gum from the shelves next to the checkout line and put them in her pockets. Amy wanted to make sure that her daughter understood that taking things without paying for them is wrong as it amounted to stealing. So, she shook her several times, slapped her hands, and then put her hand over Angie’s mouth when she began screaming. Angie then bit her mother’s hand, prompting her to instinctively slap her across the face. Even though she did not mean to hurt her, everything was happening very fast. Angie suddenly became very quiet, so Amy shut the backdoor to the car and drove home. After 10 minutes of driving, she realized that she had not heard from Angie since they left the store parking lot prompting her to glance in the back seat where Angie appeared asleep. Upon arriving home, she realized that Angie was unconscious, not asleep. She then took Angie to the house and tried to wake her up but to no avail. She panicked and called 911. When the ambulance arrived, she gave an explanation to the paramedics that Angie had fallen and must have hit her head against something. Angie was initially admitted to the hospital for observation, but she remains there still with a possibility of a concussion or fractured skull. Legal Issues 1. Can Amy be arrested for child abuse if someone had found out that she had hit Angie the previous night in the parking lot of the grocery store and reported to the police? Also, since Angie has not gotten better, Amy is afraid that if the hospital finds out she hit Angie, they may report her to the police and yet she never intended to hurt her daughter, and she was just disciplining her. 2. Can Amy be answerable for child abuse on the basis of giving false information (about the incident at the parking lot) to the hospital staff, since Angie is not getting better after Amy said that Angie hit her head and yet the doctors suspect that Angie may be suffering from a skull fracture or a concussion? 3. Can Amy loose child custody to Angie’s father whom they have not been in communication with for the past two years since their daughter is in hospital and she is frightened that someone might contact Angie’s father especially if she is arrested for child abuse? Non- Legal Issue 1. Is Amy in need of counseling as pertains to her anger management strategies, disciplining initiatives, and effects of alcohol abuse in parenting since she had been drinking with her friends that night before she picked Angie? Discussion Amy can be arrested for child abuse Child abuse is defined as mental and physical injury, negligent treatment of the child or exploitation and also inculcates sexual abuse of a child. Physical injury is the core of our case facts and includes but is not limited to bodily harm, bruising, lacerations, internal injuries and fractured bones. According to the case plan, there is possibility that Angie suffered a concussion or fractured skull hence qualifies for child abuse. In challenge of child abuse accusation, Amy may claim that she was just administering discipline to Angie. Despite this notion, discipline should be moderately and reasonably administered, however, the discipline administered by Angie to Amy was way beyond moderation since Angie ended up suffering serious physical injury. In this insight, Angie can be arrested for child abuse 42 U.S.C.A. § 13031. Willis v. State, 888 N.E.2d 177 (Ind. 2008) was the first case that was used by the Indiana Supreme Court to assess the effectiveness of the discipline defense which was being used by the parents faced with child abuse charges. Willis was a single mother of J.J an eleven year old boy. J.J stole clothes from his mother and the teacher found him giving them to his classmates. Id. When asked to confess about the crime, J.J denied and furbished a lie which he told his mother back at home. Id. Wills in an attempt to get J.J to confess the crime sent J.J. for two days to a relative’s home but J.J still denied the crime. Id. As a form of punishment, Willis thus used a belt and struck J.J seven times. Id. In an attempt to avoid the lashes from getting to him, he maintained bruises on his thigh and arms and the next day at school, disclosed to the school nurse that he was afraid of his mother. This led to an action by the nurse by contacting Child protect Services. Id. Being a single mother attempting to bring up a rebellious son, she was found guilty of using undue and unnecessary punishment on J.J causing him physical harm. Id. As pertains to our case facts, firstly Amy is a single mother, who does casual jobs to maintain herself and her child. Bearing in mind that she does not receive any help and does casual jobs, she may exert unnecessary pressure in the way she disciplines Angie. Also, Amy used unnecessary punishment force when she shook Angie severally and slapped her over the face and led to bodily harm as evidenced by Angie’s hospitalization (Kyli 87). See also Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972). In this case, the court reckoned the relevance of the law protecting the children from child abuse by their parents in the name of instilling discipline. Studies have revealed that the by instilling discipline into children physically can adversely affect their life in future. It has been documented that 84% Americans condone spanking and believe it is an important way of disciplining children. This trend was shown to be extremely high among parents who were uneducated and hence were not aware of the adverse effects that corporal punishment had on children. With reference to our case plan, Amy is a high school graduate with no college and vocational training. She can be classified as averagely educated and hence her choice of corporal punishment as a method of disciplining Angie. Though she may assert that she did not know of the adverse effects her shaking would have on Angie in the parking lot, ignorance has never been a defense in court. This therefore means that Amy can be arrested for child abuse. Id. at 83-90. Moreover, Amy can be arrested and charged with child abuse in excessive use of punishment as was decided in the case of Smith v. State, 489 N.E.2d 140 (Ind. Ct. App. 1986). Smith was the father of a fifteen year old girl who continually received poor grades at school. In an attempt to discipline his daughter, Smith whipped her fifteen times with a belt as the young girl held the dresser and braced herself. Id at 141. Following the assault, the girl suffered from lacerations on her face and contusions on her shoulder, legs, arms and buttocks. Id. Following the assault, the court ruled that Smith had used unreasonable power as pertained to the legal authority he got in disciplining his fifteen year old girl. This case therefore emulated that under no basis should a parent use physical punishment on his or her child that is excessive. Id at 142. This is evidenced by the injuries that the child sustained during the beating. With reference to the case, Amy can be arrested for child abuse since the punishment used at the parking lot was unreasonable and caused physical injury to Angie. Id. Consequently, Amy can be arrested for child abuse based on the ruling made in the case of State v. Arnold, 543 N.W.2d 600, 603 (Iowa 1996). This case illustrates that punishment should be corrective and should not be aimed at gratifying the anger in the parent. Id. With reference to the case fact, Amy was angry at Angie’s behavior in the grocery and her anger aggravated when she found that Angie had candy sticking out of her pocket. By shaking Angie severally and upon Angie biting her, Amy slapped her across the face; this was out of anger and not a modifying punishment. This therefore makes Amy liable to child abuse. Id. Amy can be answerable for child abuse on the basis of giving false information to the hospital staff Once she realized that Angie was unconscious, it is apparent that Amy contemplated giving false information regarding the actual reason for the unconsciousness. In fact, although she knew that she was the one who resulted to Angie’s unconsciousness after hitting her that night, she told the paramedics who had responded to her 911 call that Angie had fallen and must have hit her head against something, a situation which might have resulted to her unconsciousness. This is the same information that was given to the hospital. Since Angie has not gotten better, the hospital staff is asking a lot of questions concerning the circumstances that led to Angie’s unconsciousness. It is no doubt that for a patient to receive proper treatment, proper and true circumstances surrounding the patient’s situation should be provided. However, this seems not to be the case because the child’s (patient) mother has not provided the true information. The patient has a responsibility and duty of giving true information regarding his or her health situation. This is because giving of false information may lead to adverse and sometimes tragic consequences caused by inappropriate treatment. Patients have the privilege of communicating issues relating to their health conditions so as to obtain the correct treatment. Hassan v. Mercy American River Hosp. (2003) 31 Cal.4th 709 [3 Cal.Rptr.3d 623, 74 P.3d 726]. Since Angie is a minor and is unconscious, Amy has the privilege of communication the information that she has regarding her daughter’s situation. Moreover, parental responsibility guarantees her more rights and responsibility concerning the same. However, since she is very frightened and worried that she might be arrested for child abuse if she does gives the true position of the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s situation, she decides to give false information. Indeed, this is considered unlawful and she may face legal repercussions because the information violates the communication privileges, in addition to lacking a good intent to assist the hospital staff in treating the child. Id. at 724. Amy is convinced that she did not mean to hurt her daughter and her actions on her were just disciplinary that were meant to make sure that she understood that taking things without paying for them was wrong as it amounted to stealing. However, regardless of her intentions, she can be arrested for child abuse because her actions had the dimensions of child abuse. Child abuse includes acts on the part of the parent that lead to serious physical harm. Doe v. Heck (7th Cir. 2003) 327 F.3d 492.Therefore, in case the hospital staff know that Angie’s unconsciousness was caused by an act by her mother, then the staff can report her to the police so that she can be arrested for child abuse. Considering that she had slapped Angie across the face that resulted to her becoming unconscious, it can be argued that her intention was not really disciplinary but rather a child abuse action. This is because it is evident that she used excessive force while punishing her daughter, a situation that amounts to child abuse as noted in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972). Amy may lose custody of Angie to Angie’s father Child custody is defined in the case of Trompeter v. Trompeter, 218 Kan. 535, 545 P.2d 297 (1976) as the responsibility bestowed unto an individual who is aimed at directing the activities of the child. An individual who has child custody is also responsible for making decisions as pertains to the health, education, religion, care and control of the child. The law provides that the biological parents of the child have equal rights as pertains to having custody of the child. In cases where the parents’ divorce or never get to marry, the legal and physical custody of the child is granted to either both of them or to one of the parents. However in cases where both parties cannot agree of which parent will take custody for the child, custody is granted with reference to the best interest of the child; emotional, psychological and physical needs of the child. See Florida. Barnes v. Frazier, 509 So. 2d 401 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 5th Dist. 1987). Iowa. Neubauer v. Newcomb, 423 N.W.2d 26 (Iowa Ct. App. 1988). Kansas. La Grone by Bridger v. La Grone, 238 Kan. 630, 713 P.2d 474 (1986). With reference to the facts of the case, Amy had the custody of Angie after the father of the child left when Angie was two years old. However, following the current incident, it is important to evaluate if Amy stands to lose custody to Angie’s father especially bearing in mind that there is a possibility of arrest for child abuse. See also Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act § 402, 9A ULA 147 (1987). The reason why the discussion of legal issue three is based on probability is since the issue of custody is a very sensitive issue. The lawyer of Angie’s father has to prove that Amy was negligent and wanted to hurt Angie and should therefore not have custody over Angie. This is not an easy task since the lawyer will have to show a trail of events that evidence that this incident is not the first time that Amy is physically abusing Angie. The lawyers have to prove that Amy is an abusive parent and thus should not be granted custody over her daughter. This was the basis that was used to decide the issue of custody in the case of Hamilton v. Hamilton, 886 S.W.2d 711 (Mo. Ct. App. W.D. 1994) . The plaintiff accused the defendant of hitting their daughter over the face and pulling her out of the car through her hand as accounts of child abuse. However, the court denied the custody claim since two accounts that did not cause bodily injury to the child were not sufficient evidence for abuse. See also Dinius v. Dinius, 1997 ND 115, 564 N.W.2d 300 (N.D. 1997). However, with reference to our case, Angie is in hospital having hit by her mother and this constitutes to physical injury hence custody may be granted to Angie’s father as investigations continue. Id. Moreover, with reference to the case of Huesers v. Huesers, 1997 ND 33, 560 N.W.2d 219 (N.D. 1997) Amy may lose custody of Angie to Angie’s father if he is contacted. In this case, violent behavior resulted from provocation by the victim. The court ruled that violence cannot be ignored merely because the other victim provoked the abuse. With reference to the case facts, Amy may defend her actions by citing the issue in the grocery where she tried to warn Angie but Angie did not listen. Upon getting into the car as she tied Angie’s seat belt and found the candies protruding from Angie’s pocket, this provoked Amy. Moreover, upon shutting her mouth with her hand, Angie beat her mother and evidence of her truancy and this provoked Amy to teach her a lesson. All that Amy wanted was to teach Amy that shop lifting was wrong hence Angie provoked Amy and thus Amy should not be de denied custody of her daughter. On the basis of the above case, Amy may lose custody to Angie’s father. Id. Defense on due process may be used by Amy to defend her custodial rights and prevent the legal authorities from withholding custodial responsibility from her. Due process asserts that the Government should not get involved in the marital affairs of individuals and especially as pertains to their parenting issues. Despite this, the law requires that the government intervenes especially when either of the parents poses as a viable threat to the child. See Weller v. Department of Soc. Serv., 901 F.2d 387, 392 (4th Cir.1990) where the government intervenes and goes against the due process clause. With reference to our case facts, Amy poses as a viable threat to Angie since she has inflicted physical injury on her and thus the government has the duty of challenging her parenting skills. Id. However, the interest in the familial relationship must be balanced with the interest of the State in protecting the child as was decided in Miller v. City of Philadelphia, 174 F.3d 368, 373 (3d Cir.1999). According to the facts of the case in discussion, Angie’s father left when Angie was two years old. This means that to Angie, Amy is the only parent she has known throughout her upbringing. Severing this relationship with her mother may not be in the best interest of Angie. Despite that physical injury that Amy inflicted on Angie in an attempt to discipline her, Angie needs her mother especially during the periods that she is admitted to hospital. Consequently, prior to granting custody to Angie’s father, the court needs to investigate why he left his family and why he has never taken care of them since he left. The court needs to be certain that Angie’s father is in both a stable financial and emotional state to take custody of Angie. On the basis of the evidence presented by Amy and Angie’s father, Amy may lose custody of Angie. See also, Wallis v. Spencer, 202 F.3d 1126, 1137 n. 8 (9th Cir.2000). In a conclusion to this discussion, Amy may lose custody of Angie with reference to Lossman v. Pekarske, 707 F.2d 288, 291 (7th Cir.1983). The ruling made in this case avowed that if the safety of the child is threatened, custody should be removed from the parent then hearing done later. This means that following the adverse effects that Amy had on Angie, she has a higher chance of losing custody of her baby. In affirmation, Jordan by Jordan v. Jackson, 15 F.3d 333, 346 (4th Cir.1994) avowed that where the life of the child is in eminent danger, an authority figure should take custody of the child. This entails that even if Amy does not lose custody of the child to Angie’s father, she may lose it to the customary official. All this will be in an effort to protect Angie from more bodily harm from her mother in the name of instilling discipline (Hernandez ex rel. Hernandez v. Foster, 7th Cir.(Ill.), August 26, 2011). Non- Legal Issues Amy is in need of counseling as pertains to her anger management strategies, disciplining initiatives, and effects of alcohol abuse in parenting It is evidently clear that Amy has got a sole responsibility as a single parent since the boyfriend with whom she had Angie with left when Angie was two years old. It seems she has taken the responsibility well and is making a lot of efforts towards fulfilling the responsibility. In addition, she seems to take the upbringing of her daughter very seriously as demonstrated by her willingness to discipline her whenever she display some aspects of indiscipline. However, she tends to have a problem with her anger, way of disciplining, and alcohol abuse. In as much as Angie might have been wrong, Amy should have taken a cautionary and gradual approach towards making her understands her mistakes (Mcleod 47). Being a four- year- old child, Angie is by any case very young and therefore her misbehaving cannot be said to be pre- conceived but rather based on “ignorance” of the law and what is required of her (Hough 80). Therefore, any efforts towards shaping her behavior should be gradual and handled with extreme caution to ensure that it does not turn out to be counterproductive in the long- run. It is against this background that Amy’s action is considered reactionary and uncalled for. She thus needs counseling on certain issues that concerns upbringing and disciplining of her child. She should be counseled on how to manage her anger and not to react excessively when her child misbehaves. The importance of anger management should be emphasized on her so that she understands that it is imperative to always remain calm when dealing with Angie because of her tender age. This is crucial because it will enable Angie grow properly without developing defense mechanism and to understand the need not to misbehave. Besides, it will help Amy avoid adverse repercussions of anger such as the one she is experiencing at the moment ((Hough 103). Moreover, she should adopt appropriate disciplining strategies for her child; these strategies should include instilling the sense of discipline and alternative ways of punishing her especially in public. Furthermore, since she has a child of tender age she should avoid use of alcohol because it may have negative impacts on parenting especially in regard to anger management. Strategy Amy Whipple is a very frightened and worried individual. Her daughter, Angie, has not gotten better and the hospital staff is asking a lot of questions, and there is a possibility that she might suffer a concussion or fractured skull. What compounds the problem is the fact that in as much as she did not mean to hurt her daughter, she might be arrested for child abuse. Besides, regardless of what happens, she does not want anyone to0 try to contact Angie’s birth father concerning the issue. Although it is normal for such things to happen, the situation seems to be quite uncontrollable. Therefore, it is highly recommendable that Amy just wait and see what happens as she hope that Angie will get better and be discharged from the hospital so that she can take her home. That notwithstanding though, she should seek counseling as soon as possible, to help her deal with the parenting issue as a whole, appropriately. Preliminary legal research revealed that Amy can be arrested for child abuse because there is a possibility that her actions against Angie might have resulted to concussion or fractured skull. However, it appears that she can challenge the child abuse accusation based on the argument that she was administering discipline to her daughter. This argument can prove weak though as it appears that she administered discipline beyond moderation hence causing serious physical injury to Angie. Normally, administration of discipline especially to a child of tender age such as Angie should not only be reasonable but also moderate. As noted in various cases discussed, Amy can be charged for child abuse because there are relevant laws that protect children from child abuse by their parents even if it is in the name of instilling discipline. Such protection is not only necessary for the immediate physical and emotional wellbeing of a child but also for the overall growth and development of the child going into the future. As noted, Amy can also be charged for child abuse as she used excessive punishment on her daughter thus defying the corrective purpose of punishment, and instead gratifying her anger. Since the possibility of being charged for child abuse is indeed very high, it is crucial that Amy should just wait and see what happens. By doing that and not turning herself to the police will help her not to create the notion that she feels liable for the predicament of her daughter. This strategy will be particularly appropriate if Angie eventually gets better and is discharged from the hospital as she will be able to get away from all the questions. Also, preliminary legal research showed that Amy can be answerable for child abuse on the basis of giving false information to the hospital staff. Her main intention of doing this is to absolve herself of any wrongdoing. This approach is also based on her belief that Angie will get better and be discharged from hospital so that she can take her home. However, this approach may have serious repercussions especially if it is found out that Angie had a concussion or fractured skull hence prolonging her stay in hospital. The hospital staff may need to get the actual circumstances that led to concussion or fractured skull. This may mean that Amy should admit that she was the one who caused it as she was punishing her daughter. If that happens, the hospital staff may report Amy to the police officers so that they investigate whether she should be charged for child abuse. Since giving false information to hospital staff is wrong and has legal consequences, Amy should stick to the assertions she gave initially to the paramedics as she hopes that Angie should get better. Along with that, she should not turn herself to the police and should just wait to see what happens. Moreover, with reference to the legal research, Amy has high possibility of maintaining the custody of the child. This is because it may be difficult for Angie’s birth father to prove that Amy is abusive, as well as the fact that he has not had any contact with either Angie or herself for two years. However, if it is later proved that indeed Amy hit Angie, custody may be granted to Angie’s birth father as investigation continues. Thus, Amy should not turn herself in to the police and should just wait to see what happens. She should maintain her initial assertions that Angie had fallen and must have hit her head against something. She should do this as she keeps hoping that Angie will get better and be discharged from the hospital. If she is arrested for child abuse, it is recommended that this firm represent him. Even though she might face charges for child abuse, the charges might be strong enough especially in the absence of tangible evidence. Therefore, Amy will stand a good chance to be acquitted. Also, in an event that Angie’s birth father is contacted regarding the case, Amy still stands a better chance to retain the custody of the child due to the fact that the court may find it difficult to prove she is abusive, as well as the fact that Angie’s birth father has not had any contact with either Angie or herself for two years. Work Cited Doe v. Heck (7th Cir. 2003) 327 F.3d 492 Hassan v. Mercy American River Hosp. (2003) 31 Cal.4th 709 [3 Cal.Rptr.3d 623, 74 P.3d 726] Hernandez ex rel. Hernandez v. Foster, 7th Cir.(Ill.), August 26, 2011 Hough, Margaret. Counseling Skills and Theory. Hodder Education, 2010. Kyli L. Willis, Willis v. State: Condoning Child Abuse As Discipline (2010) 14 U.C. Davis J. Juv. L. & Pol'y 59, 105. Web. 7 March 2012. Mcleod, John. An Introduction to Counseling. Open University Press, 2003. Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act § 402, 9A ULA 147 (1987) United States Code Annotated Title 42. The Public Health and Welfare Chapter 132. Victims of Child Abuse Subchapter IV. Reporting Requirements. Web. 7 March 2012. Wallis v. Spencer, 202 F.3d 1126, 1137 n. 8 (9th Cir.2000). Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972). Read More