Benchmark

Assignment A:
Child Welfare
Policy Analysis
Tori Rolston
SW 4710
Dr. Martin
Due: 10/07/2014

Why is Child Welfare Needed?

Child

welfare policy is in place to ensure

that children are properly cared for and
do not face abuse and/or neglect.
Child abuse and neglect, also known as
child maltreatment, can be defined as:
any act or failure to act that may result
in death or serious harm to a child
(Doak, 2009).

Child Maltreatment as a Social

Problem
Child maltreatment is a significant problem
that affects many children annually.
The National Center on Child Abuse and
Neglect (1990) reports that there were 3.2
million alleged cases of child maltreatment in
2012.
During this same year, there was also an
estimated 686,000 fatalities resulting from
child maltreatment (National Center on Child
Abuse and Neglect, 1990).

Policies Surrounding Child

Welfare
One

of the most important policies currently in place to

combat child maltreatment is the Child Abuse Prevention
and Treatment Act (CAPTA). This policy was first enacted in
1974 and provided states with additional funding to
strengthen their child protection agencies, given that such
agencies reinforced reporting laws (Segal, 2013).
Reporting laws are also important in combatting child
maltreatment. These laws require specific individuals to
report if they suspect that child maltreatment may be
occurring. This aids in bringing about awareness and
attempting to stop child abuse from happening by
requiring formal reporting (Child Welfare Information
Gateway, 2012).

Other Policies
Some

additional policies surrounding the issue of child

maltreatment include:

Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act

Strengthening Neglect and Abuse Courts Act

Allows state courts to apply for federal grants that may reduce backlog of
maltreatment cases

Promoting Safe and Stable Families

Requires courts review child welfare cases more regularly and make reasonable
efforts to reunify the family.

Increased funding for family services, preservation/reunification, and adoption

support services.

(First Star, 2009)

Many

organizations and agencies also provide services that aim to

raise awareness, investigate maltreatment cases, and ensure the
safety of children.

Who Dictates Policies?

As briefly mentioned, many

states ensure the
implementation of policy by
having mandatory reporting
laws. These laws require
that certain individuals such
as social workers, doctors,
nurses, teachers and school
personnel, and law
enforcement report any
suspected cases of child
maltreatment (Child Welfare
Information Gateway, 2012).

Upholding Policy in Michigan

In

the state of Michigan, mandated reporters

who fail to report suspected cases may be
subject to civic and/or criminal liability.
This could entail a worker being held liable
for any damages a victim suffered due to
the workers lack of reporting and/or a
worker facing misdemeanor charges which
may lead to imprisonment and fines
(Department of Human Services, 2014).

The First Steps

The government first became involved in child
welfare in the year 1874 with the case of Little
Mary Ellen. After this case the government began
to take action (Segal, 2013).
In 1875 the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
was created. This was the first step in establishing
protection for children.
In 1918, the government launched a campaign
titled The Childrens Year of 1918-1919 which
focused on developing further programs in order
to fight child maltreatment (Freeman, 2013).

Furthering Policy
Following the Childrens Year Campaign, the
government continued to become increasingly
more involved in child welfare policy.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
(CAPTA) was enacted in 1974 and was the first
major policy set forth to combat child
maltreatment (Segal, 2013).
The presence of CAPTA brought about additional
attention to the problem and from there the topic
of child welfare has evolved with various policies
being presented in regards to this topic.

My Opinion
I believe that the policies put in place have helped to
decrease the amount of maltreatment occurring;
however, I do not feel they have been as effective as
needed.
In my experience, more funding is needed to ensure that
there is a proper number of child welfare workers who
can sufficiently carry out the tasks.
I also believe that more extensive training may be helpful
in ensuring that workers and others involved in child
welfare correctly understand their role within this field.

I believe that this may help to ensure that the best interest
of the child is being considered above all else.

An Advocates Opinion

I spoke with Stasia Milligan from Family

Service & Childrens Aid in Jackson, MI.

Stasia shared with me that she does not have

negative feelings regarding policies themselves,
but rather feels that implementation of policies
is the problem to be addressed.
She discussed how policies may be
implemented differently by different workers
and agencies due to the various interpretations
of these policies.

Advocates Opinion Cont.

I also discussed the topic of

mandated reporting with Stasia as I
feel this is the basis to combatting
child maltreatment.
Stasia shared that she believes
mandated reporting is incredibly
important; however, some
professionals are still hesitant to
report because they do not fully
understand their role as a mandated
reporter.
She shared that while she feels this is
a good policy, she believes that more
training is needed in the field to
inform individuals of what they are
required to be doing, especially for
professionals such as doctors and
nurses who may not receive as much
training in this area as a social
worker would.

References
Child

Welfare Information Gateway. (2012). Mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Childrens Bureau.

Defining

child abuse and domestic violence. (2009). In M. J. Doak, Information Plus Reference Series. Child Abuse and Domestic Violence
(2009 ed.). Detroit: Gale.

Department

of Human Services. (2014). Mandated reporters are required by law to report. Retrieved from:
http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,4562,7-124-7119_50648_44443-157836--,00.html

First

Star, Inc. (2009). Federal child welfare policy. Retrieved from: http://
www.firststar.org/policy-legislation/federal-child-welfare-policy.aspx

Freeman,

J. (2013). The field of child and youth care: Are we there yet? Child & Youth Services, 34 (2), 100-111. DOI:
10.1080/0145935X.2013.785875

Milligan,

Stasia. (2014, October). Personal Interview conducted by T. Rolston. Jackson, MI

National

Child Abuse and Neglect Data System., National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect., United States., & United States. (1990).
Child maltreatment: Reports from the states to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Washington, D.C: U.S. Dept. of Health
and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect.

Segal,

E.A. (2013). Social welfare policy and social program: A values perspective. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.