Social Policy and Social Work in Ireland - Case Study Example

Social Policy/Social Work SOCIAL POLICY/SOCIAL WORK GRACE SARKAR Order No. 341552 07 December 2009 SOCIAL POLICY/SOCIAL WORK Introduction They are soft and vulnerable targets for exploitation. This is a major problem faced by looked after children (LAC) and adolescents in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark and the USA. Statistics reveal the physical and psychological problems peculiar to looked after children in comparison to children brought up in an average family environment. This paper is a study on looked after children and adolescents in Ireland and elsewhere, their educational and mental outcomes, and the legislative and policy background made for the care and support of these LACs. Ireland The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child places a duty on the State to provide for any child who is in need of care or protection. In Ireland, children are sought to be looked after in the same care as that provided in a normal home. “Both the Child Care Act 1991 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child place a duty on the State to provide for any child who is in need of care or protection. The Refugee Act, as amended, incorporated the 1951 Geneva Convention and the 1967 Protocol into Irish Law and with it our international obligations” (Separated Children Living in Ireland, 2009, p7). Article 42(5) of the Irish Constitution states: “State as guardian of the common good, by appropriate means shall endeavour to supply the place of the parents, but always with due regard for the natural and imprescriptible rights of the child” (Separated Children Living in Ireland, 2009, p14). “Of the 9 accommodation centres, 7 are not registered or inspected residential centres, contrary to the requirement that all children’s residential centres be inspected by the Social Services Inspectorate under the Child Care Act, 1991” (Separated Children Living in Ireland, 2009, p22). Inconsistency exists in how separated children are treated and cared for in Ireland, with different sections of the Child Care Act, 1991 being used by different professionals, depending on where they are working around the country. In some instances, separated children are treated as homeless children under section 5 of the Act and are placed in hostel accommodation. They are therefore not received into the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and do not benefit from the potential to be allocated a social worker, or care planning. In Dublin, by comparison, separated children are dealt with under section 4 of the Act and are taken into the care of the HSE. England The government policy for all children in England is “every child must be healthy, safe, enjoy and achieve, and make positive contribution” (McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care in the Republic of Ireland: Some Statistics and Comparisons). The key objectives are to improve outcomes in these areas for all children and narrow the gap between outcomes for LAC, and children in the general population. However, there is “considerable gap in the attainment levels and qualifications achieved by children in care and their peers in the general population, leaving care literature found that the level of qualifications achieved whilst in care was a strong predictor of their outcomes in adult life. “Only 6% care leavers in England gain 5 or more GCSEs grades A-C compared with 53% of all children and over half leave school with no formal qualifications of any kind, less than 1% care leavers go on to higher education/university compared with 43% of young people who live with birth parents” (McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care: Educational Outcomes). The administration of child welfare was satisfactory although the number of children found to have mental health disorders was rather high. In the “first national prevalence survey of over 10 000 children aged 5-15 years in Great Britain, 10% of children had a mental health disorder. Of this, 5% had clinically significant conduct disorders, 4% had emotional disorders and 1% was rated as hyperactive” (McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care: Mental Health Needs). The study has not gone into the specifics for such unusually high number of children with mental disorders. It could be assumed that familial discord and social indifference are some of the causes. If so, efforts must be directed to rectify these defects through legislation, if necessary. Legislative correctible and policy concerns must aim at restoration rather than punitive measures. The process for restoration may be disciplinary in nature such as attending church compulsorily for a certain period of time. England is a democratic country. In the fierce pursuit of freewill and self-determination for every citizen, it is possible that matrimonial ties and values that bind social concern have been consigned to less important positions. It is important to bear in mind that every action on matrimonial discords and social indifference is a step in the right direction toward restoration of good health for the child. Statistics provide information on the current status and the likelihood of what could happen on the subject in the days ahead. Fairness and natural justice demand corrections at sources from where the problems arise. Currently, the state takes responsibility for looked after children. There is no mention if the state makes any attempt to recover costs in financial and emotional terms from the parents. Children in residential care (68%) were more likely to have a mental disorder than those living independently (51%) or placed with birth parents (42%) or in foster care (37%) (McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care: Mental Health Needs). Of these figures, that of children in residential care is the worst. Residential care has to do directly with the state. This also means that in the aspect of care giving, the state is the worst. This does not provide the state with the nomenclature to legislate. It must involve non-governmental organizations to work out the legislation on the subject. Denmark “Study comprised of over 1000 children in out of home care when 11 years of age compared with in home care and non-welfare children. One fifth of each group had child psychiatric diagnoses compared to 3% of children their age. Almost one half of the children scored outside the normal range on the SDQ and another 17% were border-line” (Egelund and Lausten, 2009). “On 1 July 1999 the Social Assistance Act of 1976 was replaced by the Social Services Act and the act on public security and administration in relation to social services. The Social Services Act contains rules concerning day-care facilities for children, while the act on public security include rules about supervision of day-care facilities” (Early Childhood Education and Care Policy in Denmark, P11). “The Ministry of Social Affairs has prime responsibility for ECEC day-care facilities for children, the Ministry of Education is responsible for pre-school classes, primary and lower secondary education and after-school facilities, the Ministry of Labour is in charge of parental and childcare leave schemes, the Ministry of Justice is responsible for the legal status and position of children, the Ministry of Taxation is responsible for the payment of allowances to families with children, etc” (Early Childhood Education and Care Policy in Denmark, p11). The legislative issues of looked after children in Denmark is the case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. There may be one act, viz. Social Services Act of 01 July 1999 to accommodate the LAC, but there are just too many ministries either coalescing or pulling apart in different directions. The child wants an environment of natural love where he can play and learn. The rigors of many ministries including the child himself involved in the decision making process may be far fetched and counter productive, unnecessarily taxing the child’s mentality in areas he has no expertise to deal with (Early Childhood Education and Care Policy in Denmark, P31). As it is, the LAC has problems adjusting in a system that is not sure of itself. In the name of meaning well for the child, the different ministries may be upsetting the applecart with trying to be good and confusing the child even more. United States “On 30 Sept 2007 there were 496 000 children in care. 29% were 2 years and younger; 25% were 14 years and older. Most children enter care as a result of abuse or neglect. 46% were placed in non-relative foster* homes whilst 25% were placed with relatives. Children placed in foster* care have an average length of stay of two years. Children of colour over-represented in care population” (McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care in the Republic of Ireland: Some Statistics and Comparisons). Children come into foster care today primarily because theyve been abused or neglected by their parents. These children enter care with far more complicated needs than ever before. Mental health problems are particularly widespread. Experts estimate that between 30 and 85% of youngsters in foster care have significant emotional disturbances. Adolescents living with foster parents or in group homes have about four times the rate of serious psychiatric disorders as those living with their own families. Mental health issues are often not reimbursed through the Medicaid coverage provided to children in foster care. The enormity of the mental health problem with LAC in the USA points to the dearth of atmosphere where a child can succeed in finding natural love. The system tries to solve the problem by legislating acts and expecting them to be carried out by institutions and agencies. The success or failure of these institutions depends on the nature of the care giving staff of these institutions. While it is necessary to have rules, care must be taken that these rules apply to the staff of the institutions and less for the LAC. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Foster care in the US includes both foster family care and residential care “Three recent large US studies all found evidence of significant differences in the mental health of alumni and their gen. population peers: The Midwest Study (Courtney et al.,2005); The Northwest Alumni Study (Pecora et al, 2005); The Casey National Foster Care Alumni Study (Pecora et al, 2003)” (McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care: Mental Health Needs). Despite the legislations, facilities for LAC continue to flounder. There is no data to show any improvement in the mental health of the LAC. This proves that the state is incapable of ably tackling the issue of LAC. Actually, these activities fall in the umbra of charitable institutions like concerned churches. I fail to understand why the state has not given any serious thought to involving charitable trusts that are doing good jobs of LAC elsewhere outside of the United States. While on the subject, it is pertinent to mention that a child does not think about legislations, projects and programmes. The child simply needs to be loved. If the child feels he is getting enough love and concern, the issue of mental disorders will not arise. Looked after children’s views on the services they want Young Minds examined seven emerging mental health services for looked after children. The young people indicated that they wanted services which is personalised, easily accessed when needed, flexible, asks young people for their opinions, understands the views of young people, provides support at times of major transitions, has staff who use ‘real’ language! Young people are in the nascent stage of life when they are beginning to understand the importance of responsibilities. They are not fully grown up and cannot freely voice their opinion for fear of annoying their elders. At the same time, they have enough maturity to feel that they can handle their lives independently. It is important that governments are sensitive to the emotional needs of LAC. LAC does not ask for something he is not in a position to give back. Finance spent on the LAC will return by way of goodwill the LAC will share when he is grown up and doing well. What the LAC asks for during his critical years are things that make for his well being. Well being is when you have family and friends who make you feel secure, supported and wanted, when you feel safe, looked after and cared for; when you have someone to talk to and can trust, when you achieve something personally, when you feel good about yourself. These are some of the essentials the young people feel are important for emotional well-being and mental health. These are invaluable qualities that are cultivated in people, but unfortunately cannot be purchased or organized. Finance and statistics are important. But they play limited role. People with caring attitudes fulfil qualities the young people feel are important for emotional well-being and mental health. Conclusion The LAC issue highlights the two important factors of increasing number of families falling apart and lack of concern by society at large toward the LAC. It may be difficult to bring together married couples who break of matrimonial ties or live in disharmony. It is worth the effort to bring together such couples. Also, there are people in society who would be only too glad to contribute their mite for the welfare of LAC. Government must push for such efforts instead on relying on finance and delegation that only show discouraging figures year after year. Sources: Children Research and Ethical Review, 2009, http://www.omc.gov.ie/documents/publications/Ethics_report.pdf Critical Incidents in Schools, 2009, http://80.4.159.11/special-needs/PDFs/Critical_Incidents_in_Schools.pdf Early Childhood Education and Care Policy in Denmark, Background Report, OECD Thematic Review of Early Childhood Education and Care Policy, 2000, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/48/37/2475168.pdf Harriet Ward et al, Costs and Consequences of Different Types of Child Care Provision, Research Summary, http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/safeguardingandsocialcare/childreninneed/costsandoutcomes/researchsummaries/ McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care: Mental Health Needs, http://www.academia-research.com/files/instr/341552_Children%20in%20Care-%20Mental%20Health%20Needs%20Colette-2.ppt McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care in the Republic of Ireland: Some Statistics and Comparisons, http://www.academia-research.com/files/instr/341552_Children%20in%20Care%20ROI-%20Statistics%20and%20Comparisons%20Colette-1.ppt McAuley, Professor Colette; Children in Care: Educational Outcomes, http://www.academia-research.com/files/instr/341552_Children%20in%20Care-Educ%20Outcomes%20Colette-2.ppt National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections, 2009, http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/info_services/mental-health.html Public Service Output, Input and Productivity: Quantity Measure of Children’s Social Care Output, June2008, http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/Children.pdf Schofield, Gillian and Beek, Mary; Risk and Resilience in Long-Term Foster-Care, The British Journal of Social Work, 2009, http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/35/8/1283 Separated Children Living in Ireland, A report by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office, 2009, ISBN 978-1-907074-14-1, http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1119/separated.pdf Winter, Karen; Recent Policy Initiatives in Early Childhood and the Challenges for the Social Work Profession, The British Journal of Social Work, 2008, http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/bcn051v1 Undertaking Research and Evaluation on Issues and Policies Concerning Children and Young People, Trinity College Dublin, 2009, http://www.tcd.ie/childrensresearchcentre/index.php?id=148 Read More