Tennessee State University



Tennessee State University Social Work Program

3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. Jane Elliot Hall (Women's Building)

Nashville, Tennessee 37209-1561 3rd Floor, Room 310

Prof. Delores Butler Office Hours: As Posted

Assistant Professor Office Location: WB 310- E

dbutler@tnstate.edu Office Phone: 963-7666

• Prerequisite: SOWK 2010 and SOWK 2100

TEXT; Samantrai, K (2004). Culturally Competent Public Child Welfare. California: Thompson-Brooks-Cole.

Brown, V. (2002) Child Welfare Case Boston: Allyn and Bacon

Other readings as assigned

I. Course Description:

This is the first in a series of two child welfare courses offered as part of the TN Child Welfare Certification Program. This course is designed to introduce students to the knowledge of child maltreatment and the juvenile justice system. It provides an overview of the child welfare system describing the history, policies and programs, both state and federal, pertinent to child maltreatment and juvenile offenders to intervene with families in crisis. This course will provide a foundation in the knowledge and values necessary for professional child welfare practice and prepare students for second course in the series, Child Welfare II: Skills for Solutions and Permanency for Children and families.

Thus the question arises: What can be done to reverse the upward tend in maltreatment? And how can society, and more specifically the child welfare system, better protect the children at risk?

II. Goal(s): To acquaint with the problem of child maltreatment. The course will involve students in considering possible solutions to the problem.

III. Course Objectives

The course objectives are designed to reflect the values, knowledge and skills of the social work profession and the guiding principles of the TN Dept. of Children’s Services practice model. Each objective corresponds with one or more of the guiding principles listed below;

TN-DCS Guiding Principles for Professional Practice

Guiding Principle I: Unified Purpose

DCS’s primary responsibilities are to prevent child maltreatment, promote child and family well-being, and aid and prepare youthful offenders in becoming constructive members of their communities

Guiding Principle 2; Urgency of Child Needs

DCS will be driven by a sense of urgency related to each child’s unique need for safety, permanence, stability and well being.

Guiding Principle 3; Individualized Planning for Permanency

DCS will provide flexible, intensive and individualized services to children and families in order to preserve, reunify or creates families.

Guiding Principle 4; Family-Centered Casework and Case Planning

DCS will utilize a family-centered case planning model that encourages, respects, and incorporates input from the children and families it serves.

1. To examine the relevant facts and statistics regarding child maltreatment today in the United States, Tennessee, Davidson County, and Nashville.

2. To foster a sense of appreciation of the responsibilities and realities of social work professionals in work with this population.

3. To increase the awareness of the problems and issues related to diversity, populations at risk in order to promote social and economic justice.

4. To use historical and current information on social welfare policies and programs as a means for providing understanding, assessment, analyses and engaging in planned change with individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations.

5. To understand the prevalence of child abuse and neglect.

6. To become aware of the impact of physical abuse upon the health and well-being of children.

7. To provide students with an understanding of discrimination, oppression and strategies of change, promoting social and economic justice for populations-at-risks

8. To understand culturally competent social work practice in the Child

Welfare System.

9. To review previously acquired principles and processes of study, assessment, planning and intervention in view of the problems of child maltreatment.

10. To understand the dilemmas involved in reporting or lack of reporting in

The Children’s Service System.

11. Understanding that knowing ones own beliefs, stereotypes and prejudices

As it relates to working with people.

13. To use agency-based learning experiences and the general method for developing knowledge, skills and values appropriate for entry level intervention with individuals, families, groups, communities and organizations.

14. To demonstrate more knowledge about the detection, treatment and referral of child sexual abuse victims.

15. To demonstrate basic knowledge of child abuse and its effects on the individual, intervention and treatment strategies, and the role of the social worker.

16. Demonstrate awareness of different communication styles in verbal and nonverbal interactions and awareness of one’s comfort level in these interactions.

IV. Required Readings

Crosson-Tower, (2005) Understanding Child Abuse & Neglect. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Turnell and Edwards (1999) Signs of Safety. New York: Norton

Fahlberg, V. (1991) A Child’s Journey Through Placement. Indianapolis: Perspective Press.

Journals

A. Child Abuse and Neglect

B. Child Welfare

C. Children Today

D. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse

E. Social Casework

F. Social Work

V. Assignments

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for SOWK 4460 Child Welfare I students are expected to assume a volunteer assignment in a local social services agency. Early in the semester students, on an individual basis, will consult with the instructor about planning the educational experience. All volunteer experiences must be approved by the instructor.

The primary purpose of the assignment is to enable students to meet the objectives of the course, to develop a beginning understanding of services offered to maltreated children and their families, and to relate this understanding to the basic concepts, principles, assumptions and skills that underlie social work practice. This course integrates concurrently theoretical material and voluntary educational experiences.

V1. Exams

The instructor reserves the right to administer examinations in the class. Other testing techniques including unannounced quizzes may be used. Both midterm and final examinations are planned for the course.

V11. Grades

Grades will be based on the quality of required expectations and documents.

10% Written Assignment I

10% MidTerm Exam A= 90 - 100% (Excellent)

30% Written Assignment II B= 80 – 89% (Good)

30% Written Assignment III

(Final Exam) C= 70 – 79% (Average)

10% Oral Presentation of Assignment III D= 60 – 69% (Passing)

10% Class Participation F= 59 or less (Failing)

General Policies for the Course

Students are expected to arrive on time and stay for the duration of the class. Class participation is expected. NOTE: Students Are Not To Enter Class 10 minutes after Class has began.

Students with disabilities who need course adaptations or accommodations should contact the University Disable Student Services, Kean Hall room 117.

Assignments must be submitted on the due date. Late work receives a grade of 0 (unless previous arrangements have been made with the instructor). The only exceptions to this policy are University excused absences. These exceptions are the illness of self or a near family member and death of a near family member. The instructor should be notified in these cases prior to the beginning of the class period. The instructor reserves the right to require other assignments that are consistent with the objectives of the course. Students are expected to use APA style in all written assignments.

NOTE: Cell Phones and Pagers are to be turned off in the classroom. No children are allowed in the classroom while class is in session.

XII. Consultation

Office hours are posted on the door of the instructor. Please feel free to make an appointment if you need to see me outside of class. E-mails are welcome and encouraged.

Course Outline

1. Introduction to course and reading assignments

2. Understanding the service learning component and the right experience

3. The philosophical and legal context of Practice

4. The Skills of Practice

5. Assessment

6. Investigating the First Report: Assessment in emergency Response

7. Maintaining Families: When Risk Exists, but not Enough to Remove

8. Reunifying Families: Bringing the Child Back After Placement

9. Case Studies

10. Oral Reports from research papers

11. When there is No Going Back: Finding an Alternate Permanent Family

12. Intervention: Case Management, Crisis, Family Preservation and Support

13. Intervention: Kinship Care, Family Group, Foster Care

14. Intervention Modalities and Case Studies

15. The Organizational Context of Practice

16. Signs of Safety Reports

17. Signs of Safety Reports (con’t)

18. A Child’s Journey Reports

19. A Child’s Journey Reports (con’t)

20. Hand Outs Standards of Professional Practice (Certification students only)

21 Hand Outs Building Trusting Relationships with Families (Certification students only)

45% Assignment I11

Service Learning.

Volunteer Assignment

Case Presentation and Final Paper Due: Final Exam Date

This assignment draws upon your Service Learning assignment during

The course of the semester. Students will present their

Papers for class discussion - - to demonstrate experiences

with a variety of client populations and social work practice settings.

In preparing this paper, please follow this outline.

I. Briefly state your agency’s purpose(s) and goals.

II. Identify the population served.

a. By what employed personnel?

III. Identify a social problem to which your agency’s program is addressed.

IV. To what extent does the problem you have identified exist in? the United States, Tennessee and Davidson County.

1. How is the problem defined?

2. How large a problem is it?

3. Is the problem increasing stabilized or decreasing?

4. Who is affected by the problem?

Describe the nature:

A. Data about the Case:

(a) Source of referral (brief explanation of how and why contact was made with the agency).

(b) Describe specific known pertinent psycho-social characteristics of the client or clients (i.e., age, sex, ethnicity, religion, martial status, education, employment, housing, economic status, etc.)

I. Introduction

A. Definition of Problem

B. Statement of the Problem

C. Significance of the Research

II. Review of Literature

A. What do we already know or do? (The purpose here is to support the legitimacy and importance of the question).

III. Implications for social work practice

IV. Summary and conclusion

V. Appendices

SOCIAL WORK 4460

SECOND ASSIGNMENT

Case Presentation

Select one case from the Child Welfare: Case Studies Book

Discuss the following:

Safety and Risk

Family Engagement

Family Assessment

Planning with the Family

Family Treatment Plan/Contract

VI. Bibliography

Bibliography

Anderson, J. & Carter R.W., (2003) Diversity Perspectives for Social Work Practice, Allyn & Bacon, Boston.

Bennett, J. (1995). The moral challenge of children at risk; Cleveland, Ohio...

Finkelhor, D. & Dzibuba-Leatherman, J. (1994). Victimization of children. The

American Psychologist 49(3). 173 (iii)

Fong, R. & Furutos (2001) Culturally Competent Practice: Skills, Interventions and Evaluations, Allyn & Bacon, Boston.

John, B. (1992). Preventing Physical and emotional abuse of children; New York, Guilford Press.

Lieberman, A. & Lester, C. (2004) Social Work Practice with a Difference stories, essays, cases and commentaries, McGraw Hill.

Kirst-Ashman, K.K. & Hull, G. Jr. (2002) (2006). Understanding Generalist Practice. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.

Revised 8/2012

-----------------------

SOWK-4460 Child Welfare I

SOCIAL WORK 4460

FIRST ASSIGNMENT FORMAT

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download