Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Applied Social Care
Legal issues in Social Care Assignment
Year 4 Semester 1
Analyse the scenarios below and give a complete response to the legal issues they raise. Students should 1) identify the relevant facts, 2) outline the issues raised by the relevant facts, 3) apply the law to the facts and 4) summarise your ?ndings in a conclusion. Students should read the assignment brief carefully and identify each of the issues that arise. Answer papers should be typed uploaded to Moodle by 12 noon on Monday 23rd November 2020. Failure to produce a paper will result in a late penalty being applied. The Academic Integrity Policy regarding assessments and examinations applies to this assignment.
In this assignment, you will need to analyse the given scenario, identify the relevant law and apply it to the facts at hand. To this end you should rely on:- 1) class lecture notes, 2) www.irishstatutebook.ie, 3) any guidelines issued (i.e. Children First Guidelines 2017 etc.). Please give a complete answer, but restrict it to relevant information. As this is analysing a scenario a works cited or bibliography is not necessary. Statute, case law or guidelines should be referenced in the body of the answer. Direct quotes from legislation, guidelines or case law should be indented and italicised. If you are paraphrasing, please indicate what section, subsection, page or paragraph is being paraphrased (Example: it is an offence to dishonestly appropriate the property of another (section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001).
Assignment Problem Question
Aoife has recently started a job as a social care worker working with children. While she is supervising a group activity with seven-to-nine year olds, one of the children, Bobby, comes up to chat to her. Bobby has a bandage on his wrist and wants to tell Aoife what happened. Bobby said he was at home when he and his older brother got into an argument and his older brother threw him against a wall. Bobby sprained his wrist as a result. Bobby is very unhappy about this and says his brother is always mean to him. He asks Aoife what he can do about it. Aoife advises Bobby to talk to his brother and ?nd things that they both like to do.
Caoimhe is Aoifes friend and work colleague. Aoife tells her about the incident with Bobby, and Caoimhe says Bobby is lovely little boy, but he sometimes makes things up so he can get sympathy. Caoimhe volunteers at a non-denominational church group, where she is asked to watch the smaller children during mass. She tells Aoife about a child in the group, Deirdre, who is very shy. Deirdre’s clothes are quite old, often dirty, and sometimes Caoimhe has to wrap her in a blanket during the mass because she is so cold. Caoimhe has considered talking to others in the church group about Deirdre’s parents, but she does not want to pry.
Eileen is a more senior social care worker. She begins to have concerns about some of the children who have been in the care of Frank, another staff member. Eileen is a member of a Facebook group for social care workers. A few days ago someone posted a message about Frank to the group, claiming he was not to be trusted around children. Eileen brings her concerns to Gary, her manager. Gary is unsure what to do and has no idea what he should do with Frank. After about a week of thinking about, Gary decides to contact the Child and Family Agency (Tusla). Eventually, the Child and Family Agency concludes that the allegation against Frank is ill-founded and closes the investigation. Frank, however, is very upset about the charge. He suspects Eileen made up the allegations because they do not get along.
Henry is a social care worker assigned to work with teenagers. One of members of the group he is working with, Irene, tells Henry she has concerned about another girl, June. June has just turned 15 and was in a relationship with Kevin, who is 17. Irene says she has seen June crying a lot recently. Henry speaks to June about this, who tells him that she is upset because she and Kevin have broken up. Kevin had been boasting to his friends that he and June had gone ‘all the way’, and June was annoyed about this. June also believes Kevin shared some pictures she had sent him via MMS with his friends. June says she was undressed in these pictures and they were only for Kevin to see. Henry asks June would she like him to do anything about this, but she says that she just wants to forget about it. She asks Henry not to say anything to anyone.
Consider all the legal issues involved, referring to the applicable law and what advice you would give