question 1:
In this assignment, you can give more thought to what it would be like to be part of the child protection system and have the chance to assess potential volunteer, internship, and employment options that interest you.
You can begin by reading Chapters 5 and 6 in your Child Welfare and Child Protection text. Next, you will review the peer-reviewed journal article “Children’s consent to child welfare services: Some explorative remarks,” then examine the following websites:
Florida Department of Children and Families
Florida Department of Children and Families: Employment Opportunities
Statewide Guardian Ad Litem Office
About UNICEF
You will address the following topics and questions in your paper:
If you were a child protection professional or child advocate, explain some of your key roles and responsibilities. Describe the elements involved in casework and Family Case Planning.
Which parts of the job do you think you would like best? Which would you like least?
Consider an international perspective on child protection and highlight the implications of taking a relational approach to children’s consent (as addressed in the peer-reviewed journal article).
Discuss significant judicial responses and legal outcomes in the child protection system and how they relate to child protection professionals’ roles and responsibilities and permanency options.
Explore the services and potential volunteer and employment opportunities in child advocacy and child protection highlighted in the websites provided above.
What do each of these agencies do? Explain their role in child protection and child advocacy.
Describe some of the opportunities or positions that you would consider applying to in the future.
What are the key qualifications that you need?
What steps could you take to obtain the expected qualifications and experience?
What do you like about these positions, and why did they stand out to you?
Your paper will be a total of approximately four or more pages (double-spaced). You will include one additional page for references.
Question 2:
You will examine the juvenile court process and systemic issues that can influence outcomes for children and families. Reflecting on the book review discussion you have already engaged in with other students, you will highlight how the research findings from the Lost Childhoods text are connected to inequalities in child welfare and the juvenile justice system.
First read Chapters 7–8 in your Child Welfare and Child Protection textbook. Next, review key findings from the Lost Childhoods: Poverty, Trauma, and Violent Crime in the Post-Welfare Era textbook (found online through the FSCJ library website). Last, examine the following websites that focus on children of color in the child welfare system and policy issues in child welfare:
Children of Color in the Child Welfare System: Perspectives from the Child Welfare Community
Policy Issue: Child Welfare Strengthen—Child Welfare Service Delivery To Enhance Child and Family Well-Being
You will address the following topics and questions in your paper:
Outline key concepts related to juvenile delinquency and the juvenile court process. Explain the role of a Department of Juvenile Justice service worker (DJJ).
Describe various conditions that could lead to involvement in the juvenile justice system and how diverse family structures relate to risk assessment, juvenile delinquency, and child welfare. Analyze how particular factors (e.g., demographic characteristics, poverty, addiction, homelessness, violence, etc.) could affect children and place them at greater risk throughout life.
Explain the legal and judicial responses in juvenile delinquency cases and their association with welfare reform and systemic inequalities in child welfare and the juvenile justice system. Identify significant policy issues in child welfare and potential solutions and efforts that could lead to positive reform in child protection and the juvenile justice system.
Your paper will be a total of approximately four or more pages (double-spaced). You will include one additional page for references.
Question 3:
Child welfare work can be a stressful career path at times. Therefore, it is important to think more about the obstacles you will encounter when working in this field and reflect on how you can avoid burnout. You also will want to weigh the costs and benefits of being a CPS worker and consider how you could impact children and families on a larger scale.
Because child protection professionals can experience highly demanding and potentially traumatic situations, assignment five will allow you to focus on self-assessment and resilience in your professional and personal life. First, read Chapters 11, 12, and 13 in your Child Welfare and Child Protection textbook. Next, based on your own experiences in the workplace or school, complete the self-assessment associated with the “Professional Quality of Life Scale (PROQOL)” located in Chapter 12 as well as the “Self-Care Plan” (also located in Chapter 12). Last, review the learning unit on Building Resilience and Creating Balance and watch the Ted Talk by Lucy Hone: 3 Secrets of Resilient People.
You will address the following topics and questions in your paper:
What are some of the general issues and stressors involved in child welfare work? Describe the results of your own self-assessment associated with the Professional Quality of Life Scale (PROQOL) and personal risk factors for burnout. How do you think your results would influence your ability to engage in child welfare work?
Why is self-care important for child protection professionals? Describe the results of the Self-Care Plan that you created.
What are some of the rewarding aspects of working in this career field? How could you make a difference in the lives of children and families? Discuss local and macro-level initiatives that you might engage in to prevent child maltreatment and improve conditions for at-risk children.
What are some of the strategies you can use to build resilience and create more balance in your professional and personal life? Give examples from the Ted Talk and Learning Unit.
Your paper will be a total of approximately four or more pages (double-spaced). You will include one additional page for references.
