Reynoldsburg Woman Arrested After Reportedly Taping Toddler Son to Wall

http://nbc4i.com/2017/01/19/reynoldsburg-woman-charged-after-reportedly-taping-toddler-son-to-wall/

This article discusses the recent case of an 18-year-old mother in Reynoldsburg and her 2-year-old son. Earlier this month, she used Facebook Live to stream an incident in her home. The mother claims she was trying to clean but her son was in the way, so she taped him to the wall with shipping tape. In addition, she taped his mouth shut. Ultimately, she has been arrested and is awaiting trial.

I found this interesting for many reasons. In the video, she claimed “she doesn’t use physical abuse, she uses tape.” She also said it's her son and she could "hang him upside down if she wanted to." This reminded me somewhat of our debate in class the other day about spanking. What one person sees as abuse and going too far, others don’t. But does that matter? Does an intent to harm matter? If abuse is abuse, then it wouldn’t. But, as usual, opinions and beliefs differ. It seems she believed that since he is her son, she could treat him however she wished.

Also, unfortunately, this child is currently in foster care. Although I am not in the field of child welfare, I was under the impression CPS usually attempts to place a child in kinship care, if possible. If I’m correct, then this may mean the child has no family available to take him in. Ultimately, what is going to happen to him? How scary must that be for him - to be abused by his mother and then taken into foster care. I’m curious how long he will stay in the foster care system. Also, if there is no family to take him in, I would be interested to know if the mother had much social support, and if that has had an impact on her actions at all.

Lastly, what role does social media play in the area of child welfare? If she hadn't live streamed that, would anyone have ever known? Would she have ever been reported? I'd be curious to know if more parents are reported to CPS due to incidents like this on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, etc.

Flint Water Crisis Impacts Child Development

The water in Flint, Michigan is still poisonous. 

With all that's happening in the U.S. (and the world) right now, how is this still a thing? (**makes not so subtle eye roll in the direction of Donald Trump's Twitter feed and imparts my obvious political bias with regards to what on Earth is happening to America**)

This article recounts the development of twin 5-year old boys. The family notes that not only are there now physical differences between the identical twins, but they now struggle cognitively. Other families in this community report similar struggles. The Community Foundation of Greater Flint has created a fund to aid children and families who are suffering from lead poisoning. They've raised $10.9 to help those affected. According to their website, the funds go toward, "Crisis response, Optimal child health & development, Early childhood education, Continuous access to a pediatric medical home, Access to infant and child behavioral health services, Nutrition education, Healthy food access, Safe & healthy home environments, Integrated social services and Research." However, there are no further details regarding how the funds are dispersed. It's essential that this organization is targeting a broad spectrum of resources for families as this issue will affect children well into their education and throughout their development. 

It's frustrating because with everything that's happening in our world, these families continue to suffer. As social workers, what are the best ways we can continue to advocate for this community? While there continues to be more and more to advocate for, it's still important that we don't forget everyone we serve. (Looking at you, Donny.) 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/31/health/iyw-flint-water-crisis-two-years-later/index.html

https://www.cfgf.org/cfgf/GoodWork/FlintArea/FlintKids/tabid/855/Default.aspx

The Impact of Social Relationships on Youth Educational Outcomes

America's Promise Alliance and its Center for Promise at Tufts University recently released a report titled Don't Call Them Dropouts: Understanding the Experiences of Young People Who Leave High School Before Graduation. Essentially, the goal of this report was to better understand the impact of social relationships on youth educational outcomes. The authors of the report asked 200 youth why they dropped out of school before graduation, as well as what would help them return to school. Just last year, the Center for Promise released a subsequent report titled Don't Quit on Me: What Young People Who Left School Say About the Power of Relationships. There were four key findings from this report, which were gathered through individual and group interviews with 102 youth, as well as a national survey of 2,830 individuals that focused on demographics, parental background, and relationships. 

Most of the findings reported were not shocking, considering they were the main ideas that we often discuss in class (ACE's/ALE's, social support, relationships, etc.). However, I found it really interesting that the youth who were interviewed identified three specific supports that they find to be the most impactful on their success: the "anchor," (which the authors describe as someone who is not a family member or paid youth worker),  the youth worker, and the web of support (i.e. the entire network of support). The idea of an anchor really stood out to me. I have always known that children need some sort of relationship outside of their family, teachers, tutors, social workers, group leaders, etc. However, it's interesting to see that the youth themselves have identified a need for this type of relationship, and have identified it as having a large impact on their educational outcomes. As social workers, we are able to provide only part of the necessary support to positively impact young students. How can we use our skills and knowledge to help students create those anchor relationships they need?  

https://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewPrinterFriendly

Pay-For-Success Program

http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2016/10/19/connecticut-substance-abusechild-welfare-project-state-will-pay-success-hasnt-defined/

The article above is about a substance abuse child welfare project in Connecticut. 500 families involved in the Child Welfare system will receive family based recovery, substance abuse treatment that provides in-home, attachment-based parent-child therapy and substance abuse treatment. Each family is assigned two clinicians and a family support specialist. If the family succeeds (having no re-referral, passing drug screens, and no out of home-placements) then the government pays back the investors with a bonus, if the project fails then the government does not pay. This is a pay-for-success program.

I think that this could be a very impacting program because many of the reasons for referrals to CPS are drug related. There are many "kinks" in the program because "success" can be looked at subjectively. It will be interesting to follow this program and see the results.

Bringing the community into child welfare

This article stems from a training that was hosted in Gulfport, MS for those who work in professions dealing with child welfare. Some of the professional groups who were present at the training were CPS workers, attorneys, judges, school officials etc. The theme of the training was how there needs to be open communication and collaboration when working on child welfare cases as a connected team, with the ultimate goal of getting children back into their homes or with family. One of the ideas that came out of this discussion at the training is how to get the community involved when it comes to child welfare.

As many of us know, there is the negative stigmatization of child welfare, often workers are overloaded with work. So I thought it was interesting of bringing this idea of the community to come into play with child welfare. The article states:

“The workload that is creating the system to seem to so many so broken and inefficient is because most of their time is spent trying to find places to be able to place children,” said the Rev. Tony Karnes.

Shelton said a big help could be a simple gesture.

“Whether it’s cooking a casserole for a foster parent, whether it’s being a foster parent, or whether it’s buying a baby bed or a car seat. Everybody could do something to help this process,” said Shelton.

The definition of one's community can differ from another greatly. Therefore, bringing in the community for child welfare could look very different depending on location.I agree that one small gesture can go a long way, and it gives individuals the ability to contribute in whatever way is feasible to child welfare!  

Lacy, M. (2017, January 29). Conference urges communication, cooperation among child welfare workers. Retrieved from: http://www.wlox.com/story/34346962/conference-urges-communication-cooperation-among-child-welfare-workers

Man, Son Guilty of Shackling, Raping Girl Who Escaped House

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/man-son-guilty-shackling-raping-girl-escaped-house-45100037


This news article discusses a guilty verdict of a father and son from Toledo, Ohio that took place last week. The father and son were accused and then convicted of raping their teenage relative. The father is being sentenced to life without parole and the son received 68 years to life. They were found guilty of rape, kidnaping, and child endangering. During the trial, both men denied the abuse of the young girl, now 14. The young girl was found last May after she escaped both men.

This girl endured unimaginable circumstances but was able to escape and seek help. She testified at court and stated that she was left to live with the men when her mother moved to Nevada at age 7. She said she was forced to stay in the basement and was only permitted out to use the restroom or shower. Officers on the scene said they found tools used to shackle the girl as well as a bucket that appeared to be where she would use the restroom.




ABC News. (2017, January 27). Man, Son Guilty of Shackling, Raping Girl Who Escaped House -                         ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/man-son-guilty-                               shackling-raping-girl-escaped-house-45100037

Effectively engaging young fathers in child welfare

https://youtu.be/ffBl24kSz9E

This is a video on better engaging and supporting young fathers who are involved in the child welfare system. The Center spoke to young fathers to get information and feedback to improve policy and practice.

The first father was a foster care himself who felt that he was passed throughout the system and was failed. When he was 13 he met a foster parent who even though due to his own behavior and couldn’t live at the home the foster parent tried to encourage him to keep in school. He knew he had ADHD and needed anger management but never got treatment while in foster care.

While being a Dad he had first didn’t think of being a dad as anything more than being financially supportive not emotional. He aged out of the foster care system and started doing a youth employment program and then a young fathers program. He was able to become a good co-parent, provide child support, and be there for his children. He was able to realize that there is support out there.

The second parent, he got arrested and his son was given to his Mom. He filed for visitation and immediately was being investigated for 60 days and saw his worker twice during the entire investigation. He tried calling the worker every Friday and was told that they would be calling individuals who knew him and he felt they never did. The second parent felt that he was being judged as not being a good parent without the chance of being able to show if he could be a good parent.

The third parent stated he didn’t know how to be a parent but felt he could figure it out on his own. This parent felt that the child welfare system was supportive but couldn’t really help the parent. The third parent felt that because workers couldn’t really help that meant they didn’t really care about the parents living situation, back ground of how they were raised, or were they were coming from in general.

It shows a light to how so many feel like the child welfare system does not support them and that the system as a whole is overwhelmed. This video shows three different young fathers who all agree that finding out what is needed and that parents need to be educated on the difference between just being a father and a dad. I thought the biggest line from this video was at the end when the farther stated “make Dad’s feel needed, they will come”

Three women who spent time in the same family as a 14-year-old girl who was beaten, raped and dismembered say it was an atmosphere of emotional, physical and sexual abuse

http://newscdn.newsrep.net/h5/nrshare.html?r=3&lan=en_US&pid=14&id=UB7d6ace6Ay_us&app_lan=&mcc=311&declared_lan=en_US&pubaccount=ocms_0&referrer=200620&showall=1&mcc=310

This article tells about the horrific life Gracie suffered through in the environment provided by her adopted mother, Sara Packer.  Sara’s now ex-husband, David Packer, was convicted in 2010 for sexually abusing Gracie and a 15 year old foster daughter.  As Sara was not found to have been involved in the abuse perpetrated by her husband, she was allowed to keep her adopted children, Gracie and her brother, but was prohibited from fostering.  Another result of David Packer’s conviction was that Sara lost her job as a county adoptions supervisor.  Sara divorced David last year and has a new boyfriend, Jacob Sullivan.  Packard and Sullivan allegedly had a “rape-murder” fantasy that they acted out with Gracie as the real-life victim.  Gracie’s dismembered body was found in October by hunters in a remote area of Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

This article has information from other victims of abuse during their time as foster daughters in the Packer’s home.  These now-women tell about the horrific treatment Gracie received from her adoptive mother that was particularly cruel, and how Gracie was such a sweet, fun girl with a learning disability that always seemed happy in spite of how she was treated and how much her brother was preferred by Sara. When the Packer household was investigated resulting from the abuse arrest of David Packer, Sara Packer was found to not have participated, but it is difficult to believe that she did not know what was happening.  How was the home investigated and evaluated?  Did Gracie’s sweet, friendly disposition serve to hide the magnitude of the abuse?  How much did Gracie’s learning disability factor in the investigation?  What about Sara’s employment connections to the child welfare system?  Did these connects serve to insulate Sara, or, did Sara’s position provide Sara the knowledge to “work” the system?  The system not only failed Gracie, but also failed the foster girls placed in the Packer home who were given a place of horror and abuse, not one of refuge and support – and this is before Jacob Sullivan came into the picture. 

Gracie did not stand a chance once Sullivan and Packer came up with a “rape-murder” fantasy scheme.  Gracie had been victimized repeatedly by Packer, her husband, and with the ultimate ending by Sullivan.  It is beyond horrible that these adults could look upon a child as something so utterly worthless and disposal.  It would be interesting and helpful to know exactly how the investigation of the Packer household was conducted and how the conclusion was reached that considered Gracie to be safe with Packer.  Was consideration given that because Gracie had a learning disability that she would be difficult to place if she was removed from her adoptive mother?  Were the other foster daughters questioned to explore the amount of Packer’s knowledge of and participation in the abuse of Gracie and the foster daughter? There are so many unanswered questions to try to understand why Packer was allowed to keep Gracie and her brother while being banned from taking in foster children and fired from her job.  Gracie’s fourteen short years of life had to be a life of utter hell.  To be so brutalized, cut up and thrown out into the woods is incomprehensible, but that was Gracie’s tragic end.  There was no justice for Gracie, and the arrest and prosecution of Packer and Sullivan cannot make up for what they did to Gracie.  Perhaps there will be a thorough investigation to understand every decision that was made that put and kept Gracie with this horrible woman and the sadistic men she chose to have involved in her life, and maybe change will be made to keep this from happening to another Gracie.

Driver for child welfare program leaves girl, 4, at the wrong Tampa home

An article from January 26, 2017 details how a 4 year-old in foster care was accidentally dropped off at the wrong house in Tampa, Florida by a child welfare program day care worker. Despite being a somewhat innocent mistake of putting the wrong address into his GPS, the worker left the child without verifying it was the child's foster home. The child was dropped off just before 8 pm.  A Facebook post from the Yates family had reached the girl's biological mother, and around 11:45 pm, the foster parents arrived to pick up the child in their pajamas. The most interesting aspects of this article are the ways the child's behavior, foster family's reaction, and the day care worker hired by child welfare embody some of the negative stereotypes of those in the child welfare system. For example, the child immediately ran into the unfamiliar home upon being dropped off by the worker. The Yates family fed her, their children played with the girl, and when questioned by the police, the girl "buried her head into Yates' chest." While the child was lucky to be dropped off into a warm and loving home, her lack of healthy attachment created serious risk. The response from the girl's foster parents is also not an encouraging sign. The family had been sleeping like normal, apparently unaware that the child was missing. Although the child care center has since implemented retraining for employees and fired the worker who dropped the child at the wrong home without question, the impression this article leaves on the general public reinforces the negative stereotypes about child welfare. While this article was about a specific incident, it highlights some of the difficulties faced by the child welfare system.

O'Donnell, C. (2017, January 26). Driver for child welfare program leaves girl, 4, at the wrong Tampa home. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved from http://www.tampabay.com/news/driver-for-child-welfare-program-leaves-girl-4-at-the-wrong-tampa-home/2311064

Child dies after child welfare office took 2 days to find him

https://nytimes.com/2017/01/26/nyregion/brooklyn-ny-jaden-jordan-acs.htm

     It took 2 days for child welfare workers to find a 3 year old boy in New York City. The workers had the wrong address and could not locate him before it was too late. When they finally found him he was unconscious and covered in feces. Children's services received an anonymous report and began investigating.

     This child welfare office has experienced scrutiny over the last year as a result of  several fatal outcomes when child welfare workers did not remove children who were at risk for abuse. The commissioner was forced to step down last month after these occurrences and their effectiveness was called into question.

    This is a terrible scenario where the judgment of children's service workers is questioned and lives are lost. As social workers our priority is safety. I cannot imagine how difficult this would be or where to begin to rebuild. New regulations need to be established to get back to the basics.

Prevention of Teen Trafficking

http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/state-aims-rescue-teens-before-they-fall-victim-sex-traffickers/A5JS3bqPRdXQnj2MN5ceLI/

This article discusses the risk for teenagers to be sex trafficked in Ohio. The state is monitoring the internet in a new attempt to prevent teens from being picked up off the street by traffickers. The emphasis on this monitoring is identifying risk, which is something we discuss a lot in social work. The article also mentions that kids who run away from home multiple times and who have been in the foster care system are more likely to be trafficked.

We usually talk about risk as something that tends to be outside of a child’s control. Accumulated risks over time can increase negative life outcomes for kids. What is not mentioned in the article is how these specific types of risk are being watched for on the internet. They also do not mention what they plan to do when they identify teenagers who are in this risk category. Helping systems are not always the best at protecting kids, and can in fact traumatize them further. I am curious as to what intervention is lined up to deal with these preventative situations when kids at risk are identified, and how much power the state can exert in a prevention situation.

Child Welfare: Abuse within Army families

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2016/12/30/military-families-struggle-with-jump-in-child-abuse.html

This article discusses the case of a Army sergeant who was entered into the Family Advocacy Program (FAP) for therapy after being reported for abusing his 6-month-old son. After successfully completing the program, the sergeant was allowed to see his son again. Three months later, the child was found dead by paramedics, after suffering "blunt force injuries" and innumerable contusions of the head, torso and extremities." He was charged with two counts of injuring a child, honorably dismissed from the Army with a generous pension.

The article cited data which recorded 27 deaths in Army families due to unreported abuse. Another report cited 50 deaths in Air Force families over a five-year period. Clearly unreported abuse, even when military officials are aware of the situation, is a pervasive issue in the military community. I suspect people are afraid of reporting abuse due to not wanting to smear the reputation of Army officials, similar to rape and sexual assault cases. This approach of ignoring abuse for the sake of maintaining a public image makes the situation even more upsetting. Clearly, the FAP program is not fulfilling its purpose and other approaches need to be taken. In my opinion, this should include criminal punishment for military officials who are aware of domestic violence and child abuse taking place yet do not report it.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article128806909.html

This article talks about a 14 year old girl, Naika, who had been in and out of foster care since the age of 7. She had been reunified with her mother twice during that time before going back into foster care. She was originally removed from the care of her mother due to "excessive corporal punishment" but also had a history of sexual abuse. Over the weekend Naika hung herself in the bathroom of her foster parent's home while streaming it on a live video on facebook. This article is written more from the biomother's perspective but I read a few other articles about the case. One article stated that Naika's friend saw her live video, called the police but accidentally gave them the wrong address to her home.

This article places blame on the child welfare agency because, according to mom, they did not get her the counseling services she needed. The agency had forbade her from using facebook due to her inappropriate interactions on there. I am a struck at this girl's desire to share herself committing suicide on social media and couldn't imagine being one of her friends and having to see this. I would hope that someone has reached out to the friend that called the police. She may have tremendous guilt about giving the wrong address to the police and no one being able to save her friend.

Child welfare

http://www.10tv.com/article/police-investigating-video-showing-apparent-sex-columbus-classroom

This article talks about a 16 year old boy and a 16 year old girl who appear to be taking part in some sort of sexual act in class. The article talks a lot about the substitute teacher that was in the classroom and the fact that other students were recording it and laughing about it, and then posted it online, where it has been shared thousands of times on many social media platforms. The principal declined to speak to the media, but did send out a letter to families apologizing.

This article is shocking to the community which is understandable, but it's also a time for those working in the school district and the school to come together to better educate their students about social media, healthy relationships and boundaries.

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/news/crime/2017/01/18/man-arrested-after-child-tells-guidance-counselor-abuse/96715144/

This article is in regards to a child abuse case in Mansfield, Ohio. A child disclosed to the school counselor that he was experiencing abuse at home. The child had visible injuries on his face and neck. The mother’s partner was the assailant. The assailant was arrested, ordered a cash bond, and a no contact order with the child. The child’s injuries were so severe that the child was transported from school to a hospital for treatment. The child’s brothers and sisters also showed signs of previous physical injuries resulting from the assailant. When contacted, the children’s mother said she did not know about these incidents. Thankfully, Richland County Children Services and police have responded to the situation.

While it is not stated in this article, it can be assumed that the children in the family have experienced physical abuse prior to the child disclosing this information to the school counselor due to the siblings' signs of previous abuse. Thankfully the counselor knew what questions to ask, and even more, that the child felt safe enough to disclose such vulnerable information with the school counselor. 

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