Child Abuse Investigation - Case Study Example

Psychology January 31, MEMO Report on Emily: Possible Child Abuse of a 13-year Old Child Child abuse cases have been a primal government concern for decades. The State protects juveniles from any mistreatment by parents or relatives and legal guardians. Any harm or physical injury done to minors is considered punishable by law and highly discouraged. For this reason, cases relating to minors must be taken seriously. Recently, a possible child abuse case involving a 13 year old girl, Emily; was brought to our office for investigation. The following is a summary of the case and the recommendations we came up with in accordance with Parens Patriae concept and the due-process model. Case Brief Emily, a thirteen year old girl, has been referred to Child Services because of suspect of possible child abuse. The staff at Emily’s middle school became concerned when Emily started presenting signs of lethargy, poor concentration, restlessness and became uncommunicative and appeared withdrawn. The staff noted that Emily had excessive absenteeism. The school nurse’s physical examination revealed that Emily appeared malnourished and had poor physical health. There was evidence of bruising that appeared to be as a result of a severe beating. According to the school nurse, Emily disclosed that she had been punished at home for allegedly doing poorly in school and not doing her chores. When Emily’s parents were asked to come to the school, they were reluctant and they indicated that they were members of a religious group that believed in children being severely punished for misdeeds. However, they later showed up after a lot of persuasion from the school’s head counselor. The staff also learnt that Emily had been placed on a restricted diet and beaten with a belt to correct her misbehavior. They claimed that Emily had joined a gang where the male members used female members as servants. The parents claimed that Emily’s bruises were the result of “punishment” received by the gang members. The office of the County Bureau of Social Services was contacted to find the underlying cause of this matter. All parties involved, the child, mother and father were questioned over the matter. The report revealed disturbing details about this case. Our Investigation Emily was first to be questioned. She was unresponsive at first. Emily was assured of the confidentiality mandates regarding her responses and disclosure of information. She finally began to open up to our investigation. Emily disclosed that she had not eaten for two days. She was allowed only water as her parents denied her food. She further disclosed that she had been caned on numerous occasions over the past week for the following: dirtying her school uniform, failing to keep her bedroom clean, wanting to be with her friends and not finishing her chores on time. When asked about her friends, Emily indicated that her parents did not like anyone she wanted to be friends with and believed that anyone not belonging to their church was evil or the devil; she had to sneak around to talk with or be with some of the girls she found nice to her at school. She indicated that her parents only allowed her to be around members of their church and there was no one through this membership that she would want to be her friend. She also denied the claims by her parents that she had joined a gang. When questioning Emily’s father, he did not show any signs of remorse or hesitance. He offered no explanation and accused Emily of being a naughty girl over the last few months. He claimed that Emily’s attitude is condescending and she is disrespectful of her mother. He stated that this type of behavior is punishable by whipping. Emily’s mother was also question and she stated that Emily had brought this upon herself. She claimed that her daughter is not she knew. She accuses Emily for hanging out with the a bad group and they want her to stop seeing these people she calls friends. She accused Emily to be difficult teenagers to deal with. Emily’s mother stated that she was supportive of her husband’s method of discipline with regard to whippings and beatings. She has claimed that Emily had joined a gang. The gang members believe in total submission of women and they punish un-submissive women through intense beatings. The school nurse was questioned as well and she indicated that Emily had told her of the belt-lashing ordeals at the hands of her father. She provided information that Emily had never been to the nurse’s office before. It was also noted that it had been only in these recent months that teachers had begun to notice a significant change in Emily’s appearance. Staff members had reported major concerns with the high absenteeism and the lack of concentration, lethargy and the restlessness and uncommunicative demeanor. When the school nurse followed up with calls to the home regarding the absenteeism, the mother assured the nurse that Emily was home sick. An interpretation of the two Doctrines To determine the course of action for this case, we consulted two legal doctrines, the Parens Patriae and the due-process. The doctrine of Parens Patriae is that the state has an overall parental responsibility towards its members who are unable, to take care of the children either temporary or permanent. Children, the senile, the retarded and the insane are the groups to whom this doctrine is usually applied, although it is also used at times to explain the nature of some administrative hearings in connection with the parolees (Parsloe 56). The state usually intervenes by means of hearing and court decision when the condition or behavior of a member of one of these groups calls for their need for protection (Parsloe 78). Usually, it is assumed that no conflict of interest exists between the state and the party concerned. This is due to the fact that the state only intervenes in a situation where the aggrieved person has got no means to protect herself. As such the incapable party requires no procedural protection of the kind secured to defendants in criminal trials. Under this doctrine the rules of due process do not apply since they are unnecessary (Parsloe, 1978. In relation to children, the state usually intervenes in situations where parents are not carrying out their responsibilities (Parsloe 80). The due-process doctrine emphasizes that the protection of the innocent is as important as the punishment for the guilty (Samaha 65). The due process model aims at guaranteeing the rights of individuals to a fair trial procedure than to catch individuals. Child abuse represents the extreme logical focus of the residual paradigm (Samaha 38). Since the residual model seeks to protect, the socially excluded, the outcasts, the abandoned, the less fortunate then abused child is the perfect client because he or she is excluded in a way than no one else can be. Combined use of the two Doctrines Stakeholders in the legal system normally find it challenging when providing support to troubled families because they have to protect the children rights while ensuring fair trial for the offenders’ .I.e. criminal justice calls for due process for offenders and while offering protection to the children as victims of assault (Samaha 60). This normally arises because the two warring parties: the offenders (parents0 and the abused child are of the same family. Even though the offenders. The due process involves both procedural and substantive aspects. Procedural due process calls for fairness in the protocols used to deprive of life, liberty and property. Conversely, the process requires valid government justification for taking a person’s life liberty or property. The requirements of the due process model apply to both criminal and civil justice. A due process usually requires fairness during government proceedings. In this case a person is entitled to be heard in cases that put their lives, freedom or property at stake. In this case, laws are supposed to be applied equally to all without discrimination. This ensures that the offender is not subjected to cruelty and severe punishment that is unfair especially when an innocent person is convicted. Due process requirements normally apply to government proceedings such as trials, parole hearings and administrative hearings involving benefits among others. The two programs can be used together so long as fairness is administered to both parties. It has known that justice is denied if it is delayed. With this regard, both the parents who are seen to be on the wrong and the affected children need to be heard fairly. Since minors are still in their development stages, they should be protected so that their growth and development is not compromised. Making them understand the situation on the ground assists them to accept what has happened and move on positively. Normally, the negligence of parents and their continued child abuse behavior emanates from a course. During trial, evidence should be presented in court to ascertain the cause of the parents’ shortcomings. Investigation need to be done to assess the likelihood of such a family reuniting. In cases where, evidence proves that it might be risky for the abused child to continue staying with his or her abusive parents, then the child should be taken to a foster home or any other supportive facility. Such parents should therefore be dealt with accordingly. Evidence might at times reveal that the cause of some parents’ misconduct could be due to a situation that can be resolved through counseling. In such cases, the court should be given enough evidence to indicate the need for counseling intervention. This normally aims at making the offenders realize their mistakes at take responsibility for their action. During this challenging, scenario, a legal officer and a children social service officer should be assigned the duty to monitor the progress of the family. They should check whether the offender is progressively changing positively or not. Dealing with disturbed families thus, calls for a fair hearing from the two parties. Analysis of Emily’s Case The case involving Emily and her parents proves to be a serious one because of the following reasons: the parents’ alleged misconduct seems to emanating from a religion that they believe in that has diverted their attention from their role as parents. They seem not to care about their daughter’s welfare. They spend more time engaging in activities concerning their religion and not taking care of their daughter in the desired manner. They have also been corrupted by the doctrines of their religion. This can be shown from their collective view that their religion allows for harsh punishment to their member found on the wrong. The unfortunately apply these standards to their daughter. Emily’s progress in school seems to be under threat. Her personal growth and development seems to be compromised. Her parents have denied her of his freedom to socialize with the others Works cited Samaha, Joel. Criminal Justice. (place of publication): Cengage Learning , 2005. Print Parsloe, P. Juvenile Justice In British and the United States: the balance of need and rights. Tylor & Francis, 1978. Print. Evaluation of a Newborn Screen for Predicting Out-of-Home Placement Child Maltreat. 2011;16(4):239-249. Parens patriae. Web. 4th Feb 2012 from http://www.enotes.com/criminal-law-reference/juveniles Evidence-based clinical guidelines for immigrants and refugees CMAJ. 2011;183(12):E824-E925. Estimating the Costs of Bad Outcomes for At-Risk Youth and the Benefits of Early Childhood Interventions to Reduce Them Criminal Justice Policy Review. 2010;21(4):391-434. Read More