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

2. O VERVIEW OF P OSITIONS A VAILABLE IN A F AMILY S ERVICES A GENCIES 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

3. C URRENT L EGISLATION 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

4. M ENTAL I LLNESS Early 18 th 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

5. C OMMON M ENTAL I LLNESS Anxiety Disorders Eating Disorders Mood Disorders Depression Bipolar Disorder Substance Related Disorders

6. A FFECTIVE D ISORDERS Disorders of one’s mood and emotions. Depression is a significant public health issue in America. Bipolar Depression (formerly called manic depression).

7. I NTERVENTION S TRATEGIES Saleebey and the Strengths Perspective challenges practitioners to recognize: All clients have resources available to them All clients are members of a community and deserve respect and dignity All 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

8. H UMAN S ERVICES ON S CHOOL C AMPUSES 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

9. T HE U RBAN P ROBLEM The “Achievement Gap” between the urban youth and the suburban youth. Urban youth are far more likely to Drop out of school Fail to meet the minimum standard on national standardized test Have issues with excessive absenteeism There is also a big concern about obtaining and retaining qualified teachers in urban schools

10. E FFECTIVE R ESPONSES FROM H UMAN S ERVICE P ROFESSIONALS 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?

11. S UBSTANCE A BUSE Continues 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

12. T EENAGE P REGNANCY Rates have been on the decline, but it is still a serious concern. Research on prevention points to: Religiosity Peer influence Appropriate parental supervision Good and direct parental communication SES Race Involvement in sports

13. C HILD A BUSE AND N EGLECT Mandated 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.”

14. ADD AND ADHD Referral for evaluation and assessment Largest referrals coming from schools Larger class size Disruption Significant challenges in the classroom Classroom management Human service professionals need to advocate for these kids.

15. P ROJECT I NFORMATION In 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).