Signature Assign - Grade: A+ PDF

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Online course, Prof. Lawson. Signature Assignment...

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Signature Assignment Olivia Verdecchia In this case study, many factors bring danger to the 8-year-old girl and her baby brother. To find a solution to the case, it is critical to interview several people involved. As the interviewer for this case, I would choose to question the 8-year-old girl, her mother, father, and the neighbors who reported them to social services. Child investigations are critical in abuse cases. Interviews with children are used to collect information from the child in a nonthreatening manner. This being said, I would choose to interview the child to gather information from her side of the story. I want to be able to understand the perspectives of each person. I feel that the child's parents will have a different view of the situation than the neighbors and the child. I would not interview the parents together to avoid any conflict between the couple. Instead, I would interview each parent on their own and ask them the same questions. I would be sure they did not have contact between the meetings to not share the questions or answers with each other. By interviewing the parents, I can understand why their children have been locked in their home during the day. I feel that interviewing the neighbors would allow for a non-bias view of the situation. Since the neighbors are the ones who reported the situation, they can share information on why they felt the need to report the family. Before any interview should take place, I need to understand what the purpose of the interview is going to be. I also need to have a good interview setting and obtain background information about the child and the parents and the allegation that is in place. The interview setting that I am using needs to be free of any distractions and be comfortable. I plan to record each interview to return to it if I need to hear their statements again. During each meeting, I plan

to use open-ended questions with each individual to gather as much of their information as possible. During each meeting, several questions need to be asked. The questions may vary depending on who I am speaking with. However, there are a few critical questions that need to remain the same. The first question I would ask each person is, "Why do you think we are talking today?" By asking this, it sets a tone for the rest of the interview because I will see what they are thinking at the beginning. It is possible that they don't understand why they are being interviewed, but this question may change that. After gathering some background from each person, I would ask them, "what goes on during the day?" This question will be phrased differently for each person. For example, I would ask the young girl, "What happens when your parents are at work during the day?" For the parents, I would ask, "What happens when you are gone at work for the day?" I would also ask, "Tell me a little bit about the environment when you are home as a family?" I feel that this question will generate different answers, but they will allow me to understand the family's atmosphere when they are together. I think that these questions will not be as relevant for the neighbors who are being interviewed. I can phrase the questions toward them to describe what they see and hear from the family involved during these hours. Gathering outside information from the neighbors can help me know what other people see from the situation. I feel one person is the most crucial to interview, and this is the 8-year-old girl. During the interview, I would begin by learning some about the child's background and her case. I would find a distraction-free discussion setting, and I would be the only one in the room with her. I would also plan to record the interview to go back and have the information that she shares. Recording the interview allows me to have access to her story, so I can avoid having to ask her

the same questions repeatedly. During this interview, I plan to stick to open-ended questions so that the girl can tell me her story without the possibility of any coerced answers coming out. Open-ended questions are used to allow the child to provide details without any input from myself. By not providing any input, the young girl should feel free to discuss anything she chooses without the pressure of proving a correct answer. I would also plan to ask her some leading questions, which are used to gather the information that has not been mentioned. Using these questions, I can confirm certain things that the girl has faced if she has not mentioned them. For example, if she did not say she was locked in the mobile home, I would ask, "Were you able to go outside your home?" Her response to this question can allow me to create followup questions and understand the situation from her point of view. After all the necessary interviews are conducted, I will have a lot of information to understand what types of possible maltreatment are seen. These interviews' answers do not necessarily impact what types are present, but the background information provides this. Child abuse can be defined in many different ways. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 defines child abuse as any recent failure to act on the part of the parent, which results in death, physical or emotional harm, or a failure that presents a risk of serious harm to the child (Hayden, 2017). Child maltreatment is a general definition of any mistreatment of a child (Hayden, 2017, pg. 8). The four main types of child maltreatment include physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and emotional abuse. Child neglect is defined as "failure of a parent or other person with responsibility for the child to provided needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision to the degree that the child's health, safety, and well-being are threatened with harm" (Hayden, 2017, pg. 8). Neglect is something that can be subtle and can take a lot of time to be noticed. Physical neglect

is when a child is denied a physical item that is needed to sustain life. This type of neglect may not have visible effects, but it can have a significant impact on the child's development and wellbeing. Physical neglect can include lack of supervision, abandonment, nutritional neglect, educational neglect, shelter, and moral neglect. In this scenario with the 8-year-old and her brother, they are without running water and electricity. These are two things that are important to sustain life, and they are being deprived of it. These two children have been locked in a mobile home and are unable to get out. Since they cannot get out, they have no means of finding running water or power. The 8-year-old girl has not been attending school in weeks since she has been locked inside, which is an example of her parents' educational neglect. Although the children are locked inside, it can be assumed the parents return at the end of the workday. The children do not seem to have been abandoned, but they do have a lack of supervision. These two children are left alone in their mobile home for the entirety of the workday. An 8-year-old girl is not capable of taking care of a baby all day, let alone herself, for too long. It is not listed in the scenario how the children are doing medically. It can be assumed that they are dehydrated since they lack running water. It can also be assumed that they are malnourished since the only food available is some eggs and milk. There is no electricity in the mobile home, so the eggs and milk may have gone rotten in the fridge. Child abuse professionals need to constantly be aware of the changes in definitions for child maltreatment. By reviewing these laws and definitions, they can determine if the abuse should be considered a crime or not. Although an act may not be a crime, it can still be harmful to the child. Overall, many things are listed in the background of this case that shows signs of child maltreatment. The main thing I feel is a danger to the children is their lack of supervision.

Children are unable to care for themselves until they reach their teenage years. In this case, an 8year-old and a baby are left without supervision. Children can get themselves into trouble and harm, which is why these two kids need constant care that they did not have. Based on the facts, the children could not leave their mobile home, which is also dangerous. For example, if there were a fire in the house, the children would not have a way to escape since the door was locked outside. Another aspect that was dangerous to the children is the lack of running water and electricity. Water is crucial to our health, and the lack of it can be devastating to a human.

References

Hayden, D. A. (2017). Child abuse investigations: From dispatch to disposition. Springfield, IL: CHARLES C THOMAS, PUBLISHER....