2. Review Key Terms  Declaration:  Document stating standards or principles, but which is not legally binding  Covenant/Charter/Convention/Treaty  Legally binding agreement between two or more countries  Ratification  Formal process by which a country agrees to be bound by the terms of a treaty  Reservation  Exception that countries make to a treaty  Ex: US and ICCPR, CRC

3. Review US Role  Strong initial support  Nuremberg tribunals  Helped create UN and draft UDHR  Withdrawal from human rights system  Cold War (what is the Cold War?) made US reluctant to accept criticism of political and economic policies  Ongoing segregation in the South violated international human rights law  Positive Engagement  Ratified several treaties including ICCPR, ICERD and CAT: can you identify them?  How many reservations and major treaties such as ICESCR (economic, social and cultural rights) not ratified  9/11/01 led to a reexamination of treaties and US involvement as well as reevaluation of rights of citizens, immigrants, etc.

4. Chapter 4 - Social Work Practice with Children and Youth  Universal Rights of the Child  The belief that children should be protected and are not “little adults”  Rights of young people are established by national laws and international agreements  Rights of young people are often neglected and unrecognized  Convention on the Rights of the Child is the one international human rights treaty that fully articulates the standards to which all governments should aspire  The Changing Global Context of Home and Family Life  There has been a drastic reduction in extended family supports  Poverty, drug abuse and HIV/AIDS has contributed to the deterioration of the extended family  Parents are often finding increased demands placed upon them with fewer extended family supports

5. Chapter 4 - Social Work Practice with Children and Youth  Core Elements of Global Child Welfare  There are differing views of childhood and adolescence from one society, culture or community to the next  The psychosocial, emotional and biological changes that characterize adolescence are widely shared by all youth  Adolescents and Globalization  Historically, adolescents have not been given serious consideration by public sector programs and budgets  Most attention has been given to children age 10 and younger  Young people today rely increasingly on the mass media for their information  Youth empowerment is a critical global issue to ensure the promotion and safeguarding of human rights for the younger generation  Sexual minority youth are at greater risk for harm and discrimination both in the educational system and in the care system.  Issues include: Lack of protective policies, education and homophobic attitudes/heteronormative frameworks; invisibility in the curriculum/literature or treated as other, i.e., special chapter or elective

6. Chapter 4 - Social Work Practice with Children and Youth (cont.)  Homelessness and Street Children  The loss of one or both parents dramatically changes adolescents’ lives  Poverty and political and ethnic conflict also effect children dramatically  There are approximately 100 million children worldwide living on the streets  Street children are highly vulnerable and often victims of extreme social and economic distress, natural disasters, disease, armed conflict, and exploitation  Many orphaned adolescents are involved in crime, drug use, and street life  Sexual minority adolescents are at an increased risk for: death, substance abuse, and victimization  Child homelessness is largely an urban phenomenon

7. Chapter 4 - Social Work Practice with Children and Youth (cont.)  Children and War  Children may be the victims of combat or may be forced into war as child soldiers  12 million children have become homeless around the world due to war  In 2000, an estimated 300,000 child soldiers, some as young as 7, were involved in armed conflicts around the world  Stateless Children  Many children do not have a nationality or are denied rights of citizenship  Nationality establishes the rights and responsibilities provided to a person

8. Chapter 4 - Social Work Practice with Children and Youth (cont.) Child Labor One in every six children in the world today between the ages of 5 and 17 is working instead of attending school Economic exploitation and hazardous work conditions may interfere with a child’s education, health, physical, mental, spiritual, more and social development Fair Labor Standards Act, allowing children as young as 12 to work in the fields. Child Protection The U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child seeks to protect children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect, maltreatment or exploitation. Ill health caused by child abuse forms a significant portion of the global burden of disease Communities with high rates of poverty and few social networks and neighborhood support systems are more likely to experience child maltreatment. Child abuse and neglect exist in virtually all cultures and societies

9. Social Work Practice and Social Justice: From Local to Global Perspectives Sowers & Rowe

10. Chapter 4 - Social Work Practice with Children and Youth (cont.)  Foster Care  Children without the guidance and protection of their primary caregivers are often more likely to become victims of violence, exploitation, trafficking, or discrimination  Funding guides policy  Child Adoption  Reasons for adoption are very different across the globe  Reasons for adoption are rooted in history and culture  Research indicates than many Western adoption principles are inappropriate and perhaps harmful

11. Chapter 4 - Social Work Practice with Children and Youth (cont.)  Children in Conflict with the Law  Millions of children throughout the world are held in jails, prisons, and detention centers  Risk factors associated with juvenile delinquency include child abuse, family disintegration, low neighborhood attachment, parental attitudes condoning illegal behavior, academic failure, truancy, school drop-out, and antisocial behaviors early in life  There is evidence of racial and socioeconomic bias in police arrests of juveniles  IFSW Policy Statement on Youth  In 2000, the IFSW endorsed policies to strengthen young peoples’ participation on policy formulation, the development of programs and implementation and assessment of youth programs  Youth services should be provided as a special part of mainstream services

12. Chapter 4 - Social Work Practice with Children and Youth (cont.) Juvenile Justice in the US:  Pendulum swings back and forth between placing children in adult prisons (as happened prior to the creation of the juvenile justice court system in 1899), to prevention and creation of separate facilities and legislation in the 1960s and 1970s; to tough on crime laws in the 90s – “wave of violent juveniles”  US incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world  Disproportionate number of youth of color