W ELCOME TO HN 499 S ECOND S EMINAR Wednesday class meeting September 29, 2010.

WELCOME TO HN 499SECOND SEMINARWednesday class meeting

September 29, 2010

OVERVIEW OF POSITIONS AVAILABLE IN AFAMILY SERVICES AGENCIES

Child abuse investigations

Child abuse assessments

Case management for children and families in foster families

Case management for families in crisis

Case management and counseling for potential adoptive parents, adult adoptees and birth parents

CURRENT LEGISLATION•The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) 1974

•Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980

•Adoption and Safe Families Act, 1997

•Keeping Children and Families Safe Act, 2003

MENTAL ILLNESSEarly 18th Century, Pinel led mental health reform

* appointed chief physician at mental hospital in Paris

* appalled at the barbaric conditions* he unchained up to 5,000 patients* marked the beginning of the era of

“Moral Treatment”Dorothea Dix – U.S. social activist

* advocated for compassionate treatment of patients in asylums

* her plea to the MA state legislature in 1843 led to improvements in both hospitals and asylums

COMMON MENTAL ILLNESSAnxiety Disorders

Eating Disorders

Mood Disorders

Depression

Bipolar Disorder

Substance Related Disorders

AFFECTIVE DISORDERS

Disorders of one’s mood and emotions.

Depression is a significant public health issue in America.

Bipolar Depression (formerly called manic depression).

INTERVENTION STRATEGIESSaleebey and the Strengths Perspective challenges practitioners to recognize:

All clients have resources available to themAll clients are members of a community

and deserve respect and dignityAll clients are resilient by nature

Al clients need to be in relationships with others to self-actualize

All clients have the right to their own perception of the problem

HUMAN SERVICES ON SCHOOL CAMPUSES

Counseling on school campuses is conducted by 3 types of professionals:

School Social Workers – typically MSW trained

School Counselors – have a MA in school counseling and a background in teaching

School Psychologists – have a Master’s or Doctorate in school psychology and are

trained to conduct specialized educational testing

THE URBAN PROBLEMThe “Achievement Gap” between the urban youth and the suburban youth.

Urban youth are far more likely to

Drop out of schoolFail to meet the minimum standard on

national standardized testHave issues with excessive absenteeism

There is also a big concern about obtaining and retaining qualified teachers in urban

schools

EFFECTIVE RESPONSES FROMHUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

The Human Service Professional must evaluate anything that might be contributing to the student’s mental health status.

The student’s relationships with peers, family members and teachers must be evaluated.

Human Service Professionals must look at the entire context within which the student is operating. What does that mean?

SUBSTANCE ABUSEContinues to be a growing problem across US

Mostly found in high schools, but is present in middle schools as well

Human service professionals need to be able to identify signs of substance abuse and be prepared with the knowledge to intervene properly.

Awareness of outside referral sources

A systems perspective

TEENAGE PREGNANCY

Rates have been on the decline, but it is still a serious concern.

Research on prevention points to:

ReligiosityPeer influence

Appropriate parental supervision Good and direct parental communication

SESRace

Involvement in sports

CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECTMandated reporters of child abuse and neglect

Often have to determine if a call needs to be made to Child Protective Services

Disclosure

Compassion, support and encouragement

Promises should not be made – be VERY careful of statements like “It will be OK.”

ADD AND ADHDReferral for evaluation and assessment

Largest referrals coming from schools

Larger class sizeDisruption

Significant challenges in the classroom

Classroom management

Human service professionals need to advocate for these kids.

PROJECT INFORMATIONIn each of your projects, you will select the path that relates to your specific concentration of study. The project assignment and grading rubric are the same regardless of emphasis area though the actual scenario content differs. Use your knowledge of ethics and best practices to identify the main issue presented by the client and develop a 3-page paper. In the paper, you will create a detailed portrait of your client, his/her main problems, and a plan for the next session. Choose the path of your career interest. Completing this exercise brings you one step closer to graduation!

Path 1: Child and Family Welfare Scenario

Path 2: Gerontology Scenario

Path 3: Human Services Management Scenario

Write a paper using your notes from past reading and discussions to:

Create a scenario using one of the three prompts above (one page).

Identify the client’s main problem (half page).

Propose best practice solutions and justify your ideas (one page).

Discuss some of the ethical problems that might be present in these situations (half page).