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Effects of Abuse and Neglect on

Child Development

Dynamics of Abuse and Neglect:

Signs of Maltreatment

Competencies for Social Workers

SW119-02: Ability to recognize cultural factors that influence parenting tasks and their impact on a family’s response to CA involvement.

SW121-01: Ability to identify characteristics and behavioral indicators of developmental/mental health concerns in children and youth.

SW105-06 Understands the scope and types of child maltreatment

SW105-07 Ability to differentiate between poverty, homelessness, substandard living conditions and neglect and understand how poverty confounds child neglect

SW115-01: Ability to identify indicators of age appropriate development including stages, processes and milestones of normal development of infants, toddlers, preschool children, school-age children, preadolescent children, and adolescents.

Debriefing the E-Learnings

Was there anything in these e-learnings that surprised you?

Were you aware that CPS opens cases when there is no alleged abuse or neglect? What do you think of that? After all, we are a government agency intruding on the private lives of families.

Were there specific signs of abuse or neglect that you were not expecting to see?

What about the effects of child maltreatment on development?

Nadine Burke Harris: How Childhood Trauma Affects Health

across a Lifetime

Documenting

Observations: with specifics

Statements: who made the statements and clarifying what are quotes and what is paraphrasing

Collateral contacts: who contacted, when, what they were asked as well as information they contributed

Expert opinions: what information provided, opinion received verbally, reports received

Findings

Documented on the Investigative Assessment Letters sent to parents informing them the

investigation is closed and the result of the investigation

If there is a founded finding, the documentation from the Investigative Assessment that reflects the reasons for the findings are sent to the subject along with a letter explaining the appeal process

Findings have significant impacts on subjects Whether there is a finding of abuse or neglect does not

determine if a case will be opened for services.

Signs of Abuse and Neglect Training for RCT

Only One Part of Your Assessment

Looking for signs of child maltreatment and effects of maltreatment on child development is an important part of your assessment

Will also consider: Whether there is a safety threat

The risk of future maltreatment

The family functioning

The family’s resources

Case Example: Physical Abuse

What physical, behavioral and developmental indicators are there that Tucker has been physically abused?

What steps would you take to find out what happened to Tucker? How quickly would you respond?

Case Example: Physical Abuse

What is missing from this assessment?

Has Tucker been abused or neglected?

Should law enforcement be notified? Is Tucker safe to go home after

school? If not, what safety measures should be put in place?

Would you place either Tucker or Wilfred?

WAC 388-15-009(1) Physical abuse means the non-accidental infliction of physical injury or physical mistreatment on a child. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to, such actions as:

(a) Throwing, kicking, burning, or cutting a child;

(b) Striking a child with a closed fist;

(c) Shaking a child under age three;

(d) Interfering with a child's breathing;

(e) Threatening a child with a deadly weapon;

(f) Doing any other act that is likely to cause and which does cause bodily harm greater than transient pain or minor temporary marks or which is injurious to the child's health, welfare or safety.

Case Example: Physical Abuse

 

If in-home services are offered, what would those be?

Case Example: Neglect

What physical, behavioral and developmental indicators are there that any of the children have been neglected?

 

How would the hospital call to intake be screened into CPS?

What steps would you take to complete your assessment of the risks and safety threats?

Case Example: Neglect

What is missing from this assessment?

Have Robert and Reggie been neglected (if you suspect that they have, another report should be made to intake)?  

Should law enforcement be notified? 

Are the children safe to go home with Gwendolyn and Peter? What about with Jerold?  

What would you put in place to support an in-home plan for any of the children? 

What would you put in place to support an out-of-home plan for the children?

Definition of Neglect

WAC 388-15-009(5) Negligent treatment or maltreatment means an act or a failure to act, or the cumulative effects of a pattern of conduct, behavior, or inaction, on the part of a child's parent, legal custodian, guardian, or caregiver that shows a serious disregard of the consequences to the child of such magnitude that it creates a clear and present danger to the child's health, welfare, or safety. A child does not have to suffer actual damage or physical or emotional harm to be in circumstances which create a clear and present danger to the child's health, welfare, or safety. Negligent treatment or maltreatment includes, but is not limited, to:

(a) Failure to provide adequate food, shelter, clothing, supervision, or health care necessary for a child's health, welfare, or safety. Poverty and/or homelessness do not constitute negligent treatment or maltreatment in and of themselves;

 (b) Actions, failures to act, or omissions that result in injury to or which create a substantial risk of injury to the physical, emotional, and/or cognitive development of a child; or

 (c) The cumulative effects of a pattern of conduct, behavior or inaction by a parent or guardian in providing for the physical, emotional and developmental needs of a child's, or the effects of chronic failure on the part of a parent or guardian to perform basic parental functions, obligations, and duties, when the result is to cause injury or create a substantial risk of injury to the physical, emotional, and/or cognitive development of a child.

Case Example: Neglect

Could Richard be placed with his father?

What would be the conditions of that placement?

What are some of the key learning points from the e-

learnings and today’s discussion?

At your tables, come up with five key learning points from today’s training.