Complex Social Work Practice - Child Protection and Families in Australia - Report Example

Heading: Wine and Food Itinerary Your name: Course name: Professors’ name: Date Introduction It is the obligation of any social worker or practitioner to ensure that every child is protected. As a matter of fact, the children are the future of the nation and it is the mandate of parents, government and community to ensure that these children are brought in a nourished and supportive environment. However, as the cases of children abuses and neglect are increasing, social workers who deal with children and their families are being faced with criticism for their failure to protect these children. According the Australian bureau of statistics, cases that were reported in 2008 tripled what was reported a decade ago to reach a high of 339,454. However, in the period of 2009-10 the figures reduced to 286,437, which was a decrease of 16% (Child Family Community Australia, 2011). Most of the reported cases were mainly children who are neglected, physically and emotionally abused. These critics are only concerned with the welfare of the child, which is ok, but the fact remains that, there are complexities in the field of social work for children and families. It is only recently that the government endorsed a national framework which is aimed at protecting children in Australia. The framework brings together government, non-governmental organisation and the public, thus ensuring that children interests are looked into in everything that is done. These complexities are mainly family related, government policies and the public. This paper will discuss the complexity of working with child protection and families in Australia and the policies that the government and the sector should put in place and the role of social worker. Complexity of social work The complexity of this sector is mainly the increased demand for child welfare services, shortage of staff, lack of government incentives and increased difficulties that are associated with children and families. As a matter of fact, social workers in the field of child protection were mainly focused on children who were facing physical abuses, but in the recent past things have changed and they are now following up on cases of sexual abuse, neglect, emotional abuse, even domestic violence. These changing expectations from the community are adding to the complexity of social work (Commonwealth of Australia , 2009). Additionally, within the organization, assessment is any area that has deepened the complexity of social work among children and families. Assessment in this context entails finding all the variables makes a child require protection and those of the well being of the social worker. One area of assessment that has being ignored or barely looked into is risk assessment of the social worker since the worker is faced with extreme danger while in the field, such as involuntary and abusive parents. According to statistics and reports from various social work organizations, the majority of children who are in need of attention are those from poor background and most of them rely on governments to support them through benefits (Child Family Community Australia, 2011). On the other hand, social work is facing a challenge in their assessment methods which are only centred on the individual problems associated with the child rather than looking into the main problem, which is the environment. Child protection is based on different agencies working together. However, each agency uses different assessment methods for different scenarios which at times ignore the process of analyzing and reflecting on the child situation so that a through assessment can be achieved. On the same note, the focus on factors such as poverty and poor parenting as the main causes does not give a clear indication of the problem since there are other factors involved (Hepworth, et al. 2012, pg 186). Therefore, downgrading on the standard of care accorded to this children and families. Other factors that should be considered include “individual’s biophysical, cognitive, emotional, cultural, behavioural and motivational subsystems (Hepworth, et al. 2012, pg 186)”. The problem in assessing the whole issues is the main reason why social work is under criticism for failing to provide the necessary care to the needy children and families. Social workers at times face harsh reception from involuntary clients. These involuntary clients may physically or psychologically insult the social worker. They usually feel as if you are denying them the right to keep their child which in many cultures a child is considered as a heritage of the family. These families are very hostile and to deal with them the social worker must have special skills (Trotter, 2006). Therefore, any social work organisation should ensure that all their staffs are trained and capable of handling any situation that may arise. Provision of services to minority groups, migrants and refugees is one area that has challenged social workers. Although, the government has provided statistics on the number of refugees and migrants groups, it has lagged behind in doing the same for ethnic minority groups. As a matter of fact, Australian social work organisations are faced with the issue of the, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Among all the children in Australia, the children of this two ethnic groups comprise 4.6% and with a reported rate of child abuse and neglect of 26.6% according to statistics of 2009-10 (Child Family Community Australia, 2011). Cases of child sexual abuse in these communities are common, however very low rate of reports is received regardless of the fact the boys and girls from these communities are at a higher risk of been sexual abused than any other child in Australia (Aboriginal Child Sexual Assault Taskforce, 2006 ). According to the aboriginal child sexual assault taskforce (2006), there are wide sexual abuses among child in this communities that go undetected. Additionally, the task force recommended that the social workers should understand the culture and pattern of each community as they vary. These two communities are highly represented in child protection cases and this increases the chance of this children being removed from their families. However, removing the children from their families should not be the solution and the social workers are receiving huge criticism from the secretariat of the two communities regarding this matter. In Australia, social service organisation are receiving increased cases of children who are been abused by parents who do so when under the influence of alcohol or other un-prescribed drugs. Furthermore, cases of abuses from parents who are suffering from mental health and domestic abuses are on the rise. All these challenges and increased cases of problems that require social work attention are mainly due to poor assessment approaches and decision making (Hepworth, et al. 2012). However, both of these factors are correlated, in a way that each approach in assessment is linked to decision making. Some of the assessment methods that have being applied over the years include prediction, diagnosis and broad social assessment. All this models are complicated and will require a person with great entrepreneurial skills to come up with the best model (McDonald, 2006). Furthermore, the application of decision making theories can not give a definite answer since it overlooks some aspects that should not be overlooked. For example, it assumes that every social worker will think rationally, which is not always the case. On the part of assessment, social casework is constantly evolving and becoming more complex, thus requiring a change in how assessment is done. Assessment of diagnosis mainly focussed on assessing the clients’ problem before offering any solution. However, this was effective for family problems. With the rising cases of child abuse and awareness, social work organisations should come up with more comprehensive assessment procedures that have perfect prediction. The other major complexity of social work is the recommended shift from being seen as a medical model, but to provide managerial and legal advices and approaches on matters concerning child abuse (DePanfilis, 2006). In these modern times, assessment should not be based on what a social worker thinks but its truth that is found through reasons and proper judgement. As a matter of fact, to get the truth various things should be done, they include engaging the client and use of various theories to reach into a conclusion. Government and social work organization policies As a social organization it is important to come with policies that will govern them. Furthermore, the government is responsible of enacting policies that govern the social workers ,their interests and the children. When dealing with children, there is some information that you should disclose to their parents, but not all. Therefore, as a social worker, client confidentiality is important and should be adhered to. For this reason, the social work organization should come up with policies that ensure that each social worker follows the code of ethics. Furthermore, the organization should offer continuous training to its staff on matters concerning code of ethics. It is prudent that, every social worker is enlightened on all the federal and state laws and regulations (Australian Association Of Social Workers, 2010). Lastly, as an organization there should be room for change as the world of social work is changing as issues and needs change. Therefore, staff members should be involved in decision making so as to come up with appropriate and constructive measures when offering social services. Theories explaining social work complexities Overview Almost everything in life that involves interaction of an individual with the environment or with other individuals has complexities. Apparently, even the solution of one social issue could be a precursor to another social complexity. Social work involves the introduction of different social sciences to make the lives of individuals bearable or even less challenging. Unfortunately, even though it attains its purpose, the social worker is left with challenges which come up with the complexities associated with the social sciences used, and the social worker must do something to reduce or eradicate the challenges completely. It is hard for a layman to understand the complexities associated with social work, and thus there are theories that have been developed to help in understanding social work complexities. One cannot simply start a discussion without giving a clear understanding of the complexities that are being discussed and explaining the nature of the complexity in the social work. Additionally, it is only right that an individual start by explaining some of the social issues which affect individuals in Australia because it is the subject of the discussion, and how social workers in the continent handle the situations. Social work is a professional field with many roles which help in assisting individuals cope with their daily activities by introducing social sciences and practices which are all directed to the improvement of the living standards of the people, whether as a community or on an individual level. The social theories being discussed in this research, which are the social theory and the complexity theory, are important for the social workers and other professionals who are in contact with social work and services to define, identify and address the problems and challenges brought about by the complexities. Most of the complexities are brought about by the fact that some of the social sciences which are introduced to the people bring change in their way of life and this may be hard to interact with the people. Interaction of people with others, the society and the environment are thus the major sources of social sciences complexities which are better explained by the theories below. Systems Theory The systems theory was introduced in 1940 by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy. It is an interdisciplinary of study of organisation of phenomena independent of their typem phenomena and type, and it involves both principles of complex entititis and the models used to describe them (Heylighen & Joslyn, 2011 para.1). Social work is a complex system, and the systems theory is well placed for making analysis of complex systems so that it comes up with clear identity, definition and solutions to complex situations that fall under the complex system in discussion (Von Bertalanffy, 2003, p.7). As has been indicated, there are different forms of interaction found in the social work, and each has some drawbacks or a certain pull towards the people where the social work is directed. Unfortunately, the complexity of the system is further heightened by the fact that different groups of individuals or target group for a certain social issue will respond differently. This means that there are several variables that have to be checked before one comes up with a list of complexities that can be found in a certain type of social work. It is thus important to note that one can only understand how the theory works by looking at it in action and not by merely reading its theoretical framework. The systems theory in social work and its complexities contains theoretical and methodological processes across many forms of interactions and disciplines affecting the social life of the system. In this case, the society is the complex system which carries different disciplines, with each discipline elucidating different challenges from its interaction with the social sciences used in social work. Children will respond differently even when their upbringing is normal mostly because many experiences will be new to them. This means that a social worker dealing with children must be ready to face different challenges from the children. Additionally, it is important to note that there are some conditions in children which could be quite complicating since these children will require special care and attention (Altiere, 2006 p.9). For instance, there are children who suffer from autism and some who have the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These two groups of children are quite complicated and the theory can be quite important in helping the social worker deal with the children and identify the complexities within the two groups. It is important, however, to point out that children with autism will also suffer from ADHD (Altiere, 2006 p.13). The family is a complex unit in the social setup, and it gets even more complicated when the family structure is different from the traditional setup of father mother and children. This means single parenthood or same sex parenthood increases the complexity of the family, and thus interaction of the children with their parents, nature and other people. Complexity theory Complexity theory was brought forward through the works of Karl Poppers, Warren Weavers and Friedrich Hayek. It is based on the fact that small parts in a unit lead to different behaviors in the entire system. It thus links behavior with units and parts of a social system, and thus becomes an important tool for use by social workers. The complexity theory is commonly used in helping social workers and other practitioners involved in child welfare in protection and safeguarding (Gillingham & Humphreys, 2010 p.2605). Just like the system theory, the complexity theory was developed to help understand the complex units that form the society, and, therefore, also centers on the family as a subgroup in a complex system. According to Jörg (2011. p.1), one of the great advocates of the theory, a good definition of a complex adaptive system as being ‘the domain between linearly determined order and indeterminate chaos’ The choice of the complexity theory in this paper is because it is also very different from the systemic theory. Complexity theory employs some very complex adaptive systems to attain the purpose of a social scientist. Social workers use this theory to determine the causes of behaviors in children and thus determine if they are being abused at home or in school, and based on further investigations by the social workers the children can be transferred to foster care if they are in abusive families or other measures could be taken to remove the threat (Stroud & Warren-Adamson, 2002 p.8). This follows the fact that what is being investigated is a volatile society and societal groupings and not closed systems where the knowledge of the mechanics of the interaction easily offers one the means of coming up with a intervention exercise for the approach of a social issue in a society. This approach could be effective when employed in a systems theory but not true in the complexity theory. Additionally, it is worth keeping in mind that due to the fact that the society is dynamic and there are many factors that influence change, the complexity theory is the best because it accounts even for minor changes in the society which could have massive impacts to the interaction and the relationship of many variables in the society. It is, therefore, conclusive to state that change is very important, even when the change is so minimal because it could amplify some other factors and cause great shifts in the interaction. Additionally, the complexity theory is effective in helping social scientists in the conceptualization and planning different approaches to issues affective day-to-day activities in a system because it is not fixed but adaptive (Bingley-Miller &Bentovim 2003, p.59). Discussion Application of the complexity theory it is easy to have a realistic assessment procedure. Based on the assessment methods currently been employed, the practitioners focus on the clients. However, by applying the concept of complexity theory the assessment can be done in manner that it entails both the client and the environments, thus providing a more realistic assessment approach (Tafoya, 2010). As a matter of fact, it has been observed that when the concepts of complexity theory are well used, the assessment framework provided will help in preventing child abuse. However, the complexity theory is rather complicated and the practitioner should be highly knowledgeable so that he can come-up with an accurate assessment. This theory, explains that when the practitioner is faced with a complex situation to solve, he will looks for ideas and solutions that will help him understand the situation. Therefore, ensuring that, the practitioner stops when a valid and realistic conclusion is arrived at. Conclusion There are many issues which affect the society today and these issues are prone to change due to the state of dynamism in ethics, personalities and many other social developments.. The government should come up with dynamic policies and funding flow. Additionally, families should be enlightened on the effect of child neglect and abuse on a continuous basis with stringent measure put up for those who fail. The two theories discussed above play important roles in helping social workers to come up with options for managing and handling different social issues in the society without eliciting negative outcomes from the society as a whole or from any part of the system under their docket. The two theories are the best in handling the dynamic issues in the society which affects children. Reference List Aboriginal Child Sexual Assault Taskforce. (2006 , December 5 ). Addressing family violence and child sexual assault in Indigenous communities – A human rights perspective. Retrieved May 18, 2012, from australian human rights commission: http://www.hreoc.gov.au/about/media/speeches/social_justice/20061205_family_violence.html Australian association of social workers. (2010). Australian social work education and accreditation standards. Australian social work education and accreditation standards , 10-18. Bingley-Miller, L. and Bentovim, A. (2003) 'Assessing families: The family assessment of family competence, strengths and difficulties’, in Bell, M. and Wilson, K. (eds) The practitioner’s guide to working with families, Basingstoke, Palgrave, pp. 57-84. Commonwealth of Australia . (2009). National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009–2020. Protecting Children is Everyone’s Business , 6-7. Child Family Community Australia. (2011, February n.d). Child abuse and neglect statistics. Retrieved May 18, 2012, from Child Family Community Australia: http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/sheets/rs1/rs1.html DePanfilis, D. (2006). Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment, and Intervention. Child Neglect and Abuse Users manual series , 43-71. Hepworth, D. H., Rooney, R. H., Rooney, G. D., Strom-Gottfried, K., & Larsen, J. A. (2012). Direct Social Work Practice. Connecticut: Cengage Learning. Jörg, T. ( 2011). New Thinking in Complexity for the Social Sciences and Humanities: A Generative, Transdisciplinary Approach. New Mexico: Springer. McDonald, C. (2006). Challenging Social Work: The Institutional Context of Practice. Palgrave MacMillan. Stroud, J., & Warren-Adamson, C. (2002). Applying Complexity Theory to Safeguarding and Protecting Children : A proposed Study. Trotter, C. ( 2006). Working with Involuntary Clients: A Guide to Practice. Ruskin House, UK: Allen & Unwin. Tafoya, D. W. (2010). The Effective Organization:Practical Application of Complexity Theory and Organizational Design to Maximize Performance in the Face of Emerging Events. New York: Routledge. Von Bertalanffy, L. (2003). General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications. New York: George Braziller Inc. Read More

Therefore, downgrading on the standard of care accorded to this children and families. Other factors that should be considered include “individual’s biophysical, cognitive, emotional, cultural, behavioural and motivational subsystems (Hepworth, et al. 2012, pg 186)”. The problem in assessing the whole issues is the main reason why social work is under criticism for failing to provide the necessary care to the needy children and families. Social workers at times face harsh reception from involuntary clients.

These involuntary clients may physically or psychologically insult the social worker. They usually feel as if you are denying them the right to keep their child which in many cultures a child is considered as a heritage of the family. These families are very hostile and to deal with them the social worker must have special skills (Trotter, 2006). Therefore, any social work organisation should ensure that all their staffs are trained and capable of handling any situation that may arise. Provision of services to minority groups, migrants and refugees is one area that has challenged social workers.

Although, the government has provided statistics on the number of refugees and migrants groups, it has lagged behind in doing the same for ethnic minority groups. As a matter of fact, Australian social work organisations are faced with the issue of the, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Among all the children in Australia, the children of this two ethnic groups comprise 4.6% and with a reported rate of child abuse and neglect of 26.6% according to statistics of 2009-10 (Child Family Community Australia, 2011).

Cases of child sexual abuse in these communities are common, however very low rate of reports is received regardless of the fact the boys and girls from these communities are at a higher risk of been sexual abused than any other child in Australia (Aboriginal Child Sexual Assault Taskforce, 2006 ). According to the aboriginal child sexual assault taskforce (2006), there are wide sexual abuses among child in this communities that go undetected. Additionally, the task force recommended that the social workers should understand the culture and pattern of each community as they vary.

These two communities are highly represented in child protection cases and this increases the chance of this children being removed from their families. However, removing the children from their families should not be the solution and the social workers are receiving huge criticism from the secretariat of the two communities regarding this matter. In Australia, social service organisation are receiving increased cases of children who are been abused by parents who do so when under the influence of alcohol or other un-prescribed drugs.

Furthermore, cases of abuses from parents who are suffering from mental health and domestic abuses are on the rise. All these challenges and increased cases of problems that require social work attention are mainly due to poor assessment approaches and decision making (Hepworth, et al. 2012). However, both of these factors are correlated, in a way that each approach in assessment is linked to decision making. Some of the assessment methods that have being applied over the years include prediction, diagnosis and broad social assessment.

All this models are complicated and will require a person with great entrepreneurial skills to come up with the best model (McDonald, 2006). Furthermore, the application of decision making theories can not give a definite answer since it overlooks some aspects that should not be overlooked. For example, it assumes that every social worker will think rationally, which is not always the case. On the part of assessment, social casework is constantly evolving and becoming more complex, thus requiring a change in how assessment is done.

Assessment of diagnosis mainly focussed on assessing the clients’ problem before offering any solution. However, this was effective for family problems.

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