HDFS 311 Effective Interventions Essay PDF

Preview

Summary

HD FS 311 Human Development and Family Studies Interventions (3) Survey of individual and family formal and informal intervention efforts; historical and current perspectives and approaches.
Human Development and Family Studies Interventions (3)
, HD FS 311 Human Development and Family ...

Description

HDFS 311 Effective Interventions Child abuse is a large problem in today’s society, and sadly one that often goes unnoticed, or not talked about. The United States has one of the highest rates of child abuse of developed countries (Child Abuse Statistic). Four to seven children die each day from child abuse and neglect in the United States alone (Child Abuse Statistic). Although there are many studies regarding child abuse and neglect there are not that many interventions that are considered extremely effective, or extremely infective. A lot of programs focus on prevention because once the abuse starts the only thing to do is to remove the children from the harmful presence. Most of the research shows things that can be effective in the right circumstances but will not work if everything is not done as outlined by the programs. The main components for a successful interventions for child abuse are ecological-developmental framework, community outreach, carry out a comprehensive family assessment, establish a helping partnership with the family, use empowerment based practices, use family strengths, develop cultural competence, and ensure developmental appropriateness (Depanfilis et al,). SafeCare is a program that was created to prevent and help reduce the factors that can lead to child abuse and neglect. Families that have a history of child abuse as well as those who have the risk factors for child abuse are eligible for the program (SafeCare). The program consists of a training period that ranges from eighteen to twenty two weeks for parents of children birth to age five. The program would provide a trained person to come into homes and provide information sessions. There are session on parent child interactions, infant and child health and home safety (SafeCare). The program also has a

motivational interviewing which focuses on the parents reasons and motivations behind the wanting to change. This is a recent addition to the intervention and makes it not like previous interventions. This makes it effective because the parents are able to see why they are trying to change and are given the tools to change over a period of time instead of one quick information session. The intervention is implemented by eligible clients signing up for the program and receiving biweekly or weekly home visits from trained professionals (SafeCare). Parenting Wisely is another intervention that proves effective for preventing child abuse and neglect. The program is a computer software program that provides interactive activities for parents and older children, age 9-18, to work on their relationship. It focuses on teaching the pairing to decrease conflict and manage behavior (The California Evidence-Based Cleaning House). If the program is to be administered to a group the program works on DVDs. However the preferred method is an interactive online program. The program consists of ten sessions that show common challenges adolescents and parents may face. The parents then are given three ways to solve each problem and given information on each possible solution. The parents are quizzed throughout the programs about the skills they are learning and errors that most parents make in their relationship with their children. The computer program serves as a tutor for the parents and provides skills and conflict resolution. This intervention is used because it is easy to do at home and does not require outside recourses. All that is needed is a computer, a private location, and the program. This program is also available in Spanish so it is accessible to a farther-reaching population. The intervention is implemented by finding clients by a checklist used with the juvenile justice system, provided by Doctor Gordon

(The California Evidence-Based Cleaning House). The next step is formal support provided by Doctor Gordon, and then there are manuals and guides given out to participants to help them implement the program in their home (The California EvidenceBased Cleaning House). This program was considered effective due to the convenient nature. A few minutes on the computer each day can significantly improve the parent child relationship. Since the program gives multiple choices of how to resolve each conflict along with feedback on each option, parents are able to pick which best fits their parenting style as well as their child. Another successful intervention is Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), which teaches parents to create a safe environment and relationship with their children. This program aims to decrease negative behaviors and increase good behaviors. The program found that physically abusive parents after being taught PCIT, had a re-report rate of 19% where as parents who did not go through PCIT had a rate of 49% (Child Maltreatment: Prevention Strategies). PCIT was created in the 1970s to help parents of children with serious behavior problems, and has been changed throughout the years to focus on parents who are not first time offenders of abuse or neglect. PCIT consists of ten to twenty sessions that typically last an hour or hour and a half. There are two phases to PCIT, the relationship enhancement phase and the discipline and compliance phase. A therapist sits down with the parents and discuses skills and strategies. Then the therapist watches the parents and children interact and tries to suggest ways to implement to use the new skills. PCIT is used because it is adaptable in different populations, from children that have suffered trauma to a picture perfect family. PCIT is found to have a long lasting effectiveness, and provides benefits for the parents as well as the children. PCIT can be

used to treat a plethora of issues in the realm of child abuse and neglect. PCIT is implemented by child welfare workers the majority of the time. Children with behavior problems, or at risk children at the best the candidates for PCIT (Parent-Child Interaction). A failed intervention was a school based child sexual abuse prevention program. Interviews were given to twenty-two elementary school aged children, 6-10 years, who have not admitted to sexual abuse, even though they watched a film regarded sexual abuse in school. The school based program was a single presentation through a movie and gave few prevention efforts and was deemed extremely ineffective. So much that in fact a group of children who were being abused during this information session did not come forward and admit to any form of abuse. The school provided this intervention because schools are a safe place for children where they spend a large majority of time away form their families. It is the schools responsibility to create a safe and trusting environment in which kids are able to come forward to a trusted teacher and disclosure their abuse. The intervention was implemented by having school aged children watch a film about in family sexual abuse and discuss few prevention topics within the classroom. However it was a complete fail with many abused children failing to come forward after the intervention was given. (Pelcovitz et. Al,). An intervention that will often fail with parents who neglect their children is one that teaches them how to improve the quality of care for their children. Although it seems the opposite, parents who neglect their kids need to be taught how to be a better parent. Sometimes it comes down to resources. Whether those resources are a lack of financial support, lack of access to clean water and food, or a lack of support, often parents of

neglected children want to be the best parent possible but do not have the resources to do so. Interventions that come in and broadly teach how to care for a child, communicate better, and cook easy meals will fail in high poverty areas because of lacking resources. If the intervention frame was adjusted to be implemented to teach parental skill improvement and where to access more resources the interventions would be more successful. For example teaching a parent how to make easy meals for their children is great, but when they do not have access to food those skills mean almost nothing. Instead teaching the parents how to take advantage of food stamps, or other programs that allow access to resources would be more effective overall (Gaudin 1993). When child abuse is reported to authorities, medical professionals, a teacher, a neighbor or whoever the child feels comfortable a report is filed but often times when child protective services shows up the parents are able to put on a front and the investigator leaves the child in harms way. That is why the intervention often fails. When a report is made child protective services is required to investigate and only if probable cause is found will the child be removed from the home, or a more thorough home investigation will occur. Children often can get lost in the system, especially if a neighbor does not believe the child and decides to forgo reporting the incident. In Sweden there is a mandatory system in place that will remove the child from the home, and conduct an investigation with the child, the parents, relatives, teachers, doctors, and anyone else who is in contact with the family. The child will often be sent to a therapist to help treat and prevent any further trauma. In the United States our interventions for investigating child abuse are implemented only if someone decides to report the suspected abuse, or if the child comes forward to someone who then reports it. The investigation is often not as in

depth as it needs to be which leaves thousands of children in dangerous homes. In order to fix this, the investigations and interventions must be taken more seriously and remove the children from the home while the investigation is in progress. Even if the parent puts on a really good show, there is a reason behind a child reporting any form of abuse. It needs to be taken more seriously here in the United States (Lindell, C). Short term interventions have been found to have extremely ineffective especially on families that are involved in the child welfare system for an extended period of time. (Chronic Child Neglect). Interventions that are incorrectly timed will fail, especially if the abuse and neglect has become chronic. In order to make Child abuse and neglect interventions successful they must focus on the entire family, enhancing self-esteem of the abuser, reducing substance abuse in the household, and improving communication channels for parents and children. Once interventions cover these important components they will become exponentially more effective and in the long run save a lot of children from abuse and neglect they do not deserve.

Works Cited

Child Abuse Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2015, from https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse-statistics/ Child Maltreatment: Prevention Strategies. (2015, February 9). Retrieved November 24, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/childmaltreatment/prevention.html Chronic Child Neglect. (n.d.). Child Welfare Information Gateway Depanfilis, D., Newman, J., Taylor, L., Shuman, M., Strohl, J., Denniston, J., . . . Slappey, S. (n.d.). Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment, and Intervention. PsycEXTRA Dataset. Gaudin, J. (1993). CHILD NEGLECT: A GUIDE FOR INTERVENTION. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. Lindell, C. (2005). Child Physical Abuse Reports and Interventions. Linköping University Medical Dissertations, 879. Parent-Child Interaction Therapy With At-Risk Families. (n.d.). PsycEXTRA Dataset. Pelcovitz, D., Adler, N., Kaplan, S., Packman, L., & Krieger, R. (n.d.). The Failure of a School-based Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 887-892. SafeCare. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://homvee.acf.hhs.gov/Model/1/SafeCare-In-Brief/18 The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare Information and Resources for Child Welfare Professionals. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://www.cebc4cw.org/program/parenting-wisely/detailed...