Children and Young People Act Analysis - Case Study Example

Case Study 1: Matt seems to be a victim of a multitude of problems including psychological, emotional and physical abuse. Psychological abuse is one of the most common, and yet often the most difficult to pin down kind of abuse (Dalgleish, 2003).. The consequences of child abuse and neglect have been researched extensively. Psychological abuse could be understood in terms of actions by the elder with respect to a child that would pertain to acts of ridicule and humiliation (Sloan, Slatt and Ebel, 2008). In this case, the nature of Matt’s father’s treatment of him, the manner in which he tells Matt that he is “are good for nothing' would essentially account as verbal abuse, which is obviously being hurled at the child regularly. There is an element of the child being degraded where he is criticized, stigmatized and humiliated on a regular basis. One could also identify an element of Emotional neglect in Matt’s case. Like many pother cases with single parents, there is an obvious vacuum in terms of the parent being unable to meet the child’s need for affection and emotional support (Briggs and Hawkins, 1997). There is also the problem of uncertainty in terms of security of living in Matt’s case, given the circumstances of his mother’s finances and the fact that there is a possibility that she could end up losing her house. The problem with this form of abuse is that there might not be physical scars but it tends to bring irreparable damage to the child’s personality and the respect that that child would have for himself, thereby, creating a long tem deleterious results on the child’s throughout their lives. One would have to understand the fact that in most cases variables of culture, and the home would have an important role to play in the growth of the child, given the fact that all of these variables have an effect on the nature of the child’s experiences and chances outside the school. These groups tend to have their own set of values and priorities influencing the child and the ability of the child to pick up skills and behavior changes. The idea therefore is that the nature of the cultural and societal background that the child is from would have an impact on the nature and the speed of growth and development where the child is concerned. Where the law is concerned, it has mostly been drafted and is in effect based on the basic principle of prioritizing the child’s well-being and the fact that children have an innate right to protection from harm. To this end therefore the Child Protection Act 1999 outlines the function of government and its supporting agencies in the protection of children along with their responsibility of ensuring that families in need get necessary support toward the fulfillment of their responsibility in protecting and caring for their children. Legislation such as the Child Protection Act 1999 and Commission for Children and Young People Act 2000 adopt a nomenclature similar to that of the UNCRC 1989 in invoking “the best interests of the child” as the prime principle underscoring children’s human rights. What one finds in Matt’s case therefore is the dual problem of psychological/emotional abuse along with the issue of neglect on the part of his mother. In order to detect the problem that is facing, the first course of action would be the establishment of abuse and neglect. This could be done by posing impersonal non threatening questions to Matt in the course of the school interaction. These questions would include, finding reasons as to why he wears the same dirty clothes to school. This would mean asking him if what his favorite thing to do at home is, if he or his mother like going to the Laundromat, if he gets regular meals, among others. With respect to his father, one could ask him if he likes his father, if he likes visiting with him and what are things that he dislikes about his father’s house. The idea therefore would be to put a stop to destructive behavior by discussing it and role modeling positive behavior. The arrival of child abuse as a separate communal occurrence and the recognition of educational institutes as likely sites of child abuse have placed child protection as a premier policy issue for teachers of children and young people (Briggs & Hawkins, 1997). Once enlisted as agents in child protection, teachers, in many cases, are inducted en masse into child protection programs and their work is circumscribed under the aegis of identifying, reporting and remediating child abuse and of supporting and teaching about protective behavior (Watts, 1997). The idea therefore is that it is the duty of the teacher to report child abuse in case there is a possibility of it occurring under his/her notice. In the context of this case there are two equations that would need to be considered. As at teacher, one would have to place into perspective, the fact that Matt’s mother is genuinely fond of him and seems to be doing all that she thinks she should in the process of caring for him. as teacher, therefore the idea of help would be a two-pronged strategy. First, the teacher should speak with Matt’s mother and alert her to the problem of obvious emotional abuse that seems to be characterizing Matt’s relationship with his father. Then, under the aegis of the mandatory reporting provision of the Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT), the idea would be to inform the authorities about Matt’s father and to ensure that steps are taken to keep the man away from Matt. Then under Section 148 of the Child Protection Act 1999, one could bring to the attention of the authorities the fact that Matt’s mother is also guilty of neglect. This should be verified first with the mother and in the absence of an improvement in Matt’s appearance be taken to the social authorities. Also they would need to be alerted to the possibility of the mother possible inability to keep a home for her and for Matt. Parenting is a comprehensive task, which could not be easily restricted or defined (Abela, 2007). The idea in this case therefore would be to keep options open and be aware of the behavior and the course for Matt’s mother while keeping the father at bay as much as possible. Case Study 2 Belinda’s case is a clear cut case of child sexual abuse. First and foremost one would have to identify the signs of abuse. The fact that Belinda has been withdrawn and depressed is a first sign that there is something that is not right, especially given the fact that usually she is an active child. There is proof to document that fact that behavior changes in children do not take place overnight and they do not take place in a vacuum. The child is exhibiting depression and withdrawal, along with an obvious lack of participation orientation. There are other signs such as irritability, low self esteem, guilt and shame, along with changes in socialization patterns, such as social withdrawal or isolation. In the context of Belinda’s case, like many others there are a multitude of factors that would need to be considered. First, Belinda is a single parent household child, and there is not much known about the partner that her mother has found. She works late evenings and the partner, who is new to Belinda’s life, looks after her in the evenings. The warnings signs are the fact that Belinda has withdrawn from school work and seems to be sulking a lot lately. She has not been participating and the final and the biggest warning sign is the crayon she stuck in the rag doll’s bottom. One would also inquire about Belinda’s sleeping patterns, if she wanted to lseep more or less these days, if hse were having nightmares. The first factor in this course of action again would be to ask Belinda certain poignant, but impersonal and non threatening questions. These would include questions such as why she did not want to play with others; why she stuck the crayon in the doll’s bottom; if she likes her mother’s new partner; if the partner touches Belinda when her mother is not around; if she dislikes being along with him; if she has seen his body part and if touches the body part to her among others. These questions would also include activities that Belinda indulges in with this man. In this scenario it becomes essential that one listens to and believes what the child has to say. The next course of action would be taking the child for a medical check up, so that signs of abuse could be documented. If this means a visit to the emergency room, then that is appropriate and acceptable. One would have to pay attention to the child and keep reassuring her that there would be no harm brought to her. There is also the need to not say bad things about the man, one could also try talking about the rag doll and how the crayon did not belong in the doll’s bottom. According to the law, anyone that is a involved in the child’s life in a professional capacity such as the doctor, nurse, a teacher at school; a person providing education to a child would be responsible under the mandatory reporting clause of the series of child protections acts to bring this to notice and to rectify the situation (Crenshaw, Crenshaw and Lichtenberg. 1995. In order for the teacher to take action against a suspected case of sexual abuse in children they would need to have a “belief, on reasonable grounds, that a child or young person has experienced or is experiencing sexual abuse or non-accidental physical injury; and the belief arises from information obtained by the person during the course of, or because of, the person's work (whether paid or unpaid”-Section 356, Children and Young People Act 2008 (ACT). In the context of this case, one would need to understand that it the moral and the social responsibility of the teacher to bring the issue to notice, given the fact that teachers are important aspects in professional child protection, given the fact that they tend to spend more time in daily contact with children than any other professional or any adult, apart from the child’s family (Briggs & Hawkins, 1997). There would thus be two important roles that the teacher would play in the context of this case-first the teacher would have to make child protection notifications to the authorities concerned making an allegation of child abuse based on reasonable suspicion. Where the role of the teacher is concerned in the process, it ends with the notification of the first aspect of the process wherein the role is restricted to first detection of abuse and a report on the same (Abused Child Trust Report, 2005). One would have to understand however, that this cannot be the end of the teacher’s role in the overall process, given the fact that they play an a vital part in other important dimensions of teachers’ and schools’ roles. This would include responding specifically to the needs of victim. In this case therefore, it would be the duty of the teacher to provide background support, talk to the child and the mother, along with ensuring that the family is taught prevention skills such as identification and correction in the future. Work would also need to be done with the other agencies, if Belinda needs to be rehabilitated; her work in the classroom along with her future reintegration with her peers is an important aspect of the teacher’s role. There is also the need for overall awareness creation which means an engagement in advocacy against child exploitation (David, 1993, 1994; Farrell, 2001, 2004; Watts, 1997). Reference: Watts, V. (1997a) Child Protection in Schools: Advancing Teachers From Intuitive Rational Thinking in Child Protection Decision-Making. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology Abela, A., (2007). Parenting in contemporary Europe: A positive approach. Council of Europe. p74 Briggs, F. & Hawkins, R. (1997) Child Protection: A Guide for Teachers and Child Care Professionals. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin Dalgleish, L. (2003). Risk, needs and consequences. In M. C. Calder & S. Hackett (Eds.), Assessment in child care: Using and developing frameworks for practice (pp. 86-99). Lyme Regis, Dorset: Russell House Publishing. Briere, J., (1992). Child abuse trauma: Theory and treatment of the lasting effects. Sage Publications. pp8-10 Sloane, P. D., Slatt, L. M., Ebell, M. H., (2008). Essentials of family medicine. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p210 David, T. (1993). Families and child protection: The role of the early childhood educator. International Journal of Early Childhood, 25(2), 8-12. David, T. (1994). Working together for young children: Multiprofessionalism in action. London: Routledge. Farrell, A. (2001). Legislative responsibility for child protection and human rights in Queensland. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Law and Education, 6, 15-24 Farrell, A. (2004). Child protection policy perspectives and reform of Australian legislation. Child Abuse Review, 13, 234-245 Abused Child Trust., (2005). Critical factors in teachers’ detecting and reporting child abuse and neglect: Implications for practice. Crenshaw. W. B., Crenshaw. L. M., and Lichtenberg. J. W., (1995). ‘When educators confront child abuse: an analysis of the decision to report; Child Abuse and neglect. 19(9). pp1095 - 1113. Read More