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Social Work 670

SOWK 670: Child Welfare Maltreatment

Credits: (3)Instructional Method: Three hours lecture, demonstration and discussion.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing or permission of instructor.

Child Maltreatment prepares students for practice in with children who have experienced maltreatment, and their families. This course includes an integrated framework of evidence-based practices, theories, and policies., with emphasis on practice in Virginia. It includes skills for providing services including prevention, family preservation, protective services, foster care, and permanency planning. Emphasis is placed on child welfare practice with vulnerable populations including racial, ethnic, and cultural minorities, and families in poverty, and the systemic effects of oppression and discrimination.

Detailed Description of Content of Course

Thematic outline of content of the course:

a. Introduction: Historical analysis of policies and practices concerning cases of Child Abuse and Neglect (CA/N)
b. Overview of the prevalence of CA/N nationally and statewide

Definitions, family dynamics, and behavioral indicators of various types of CA/N
Populations at risk of being referred for child abuse and neglect, and stressors that are highly correlated with child abuse and neglect cases

c. Processes and skill development

Intake/Referral and Initial Assessment, identifying and analyzing the theoretical concepts involved in these phases of work with alleged abusive and neglectful families
Interviewing Victim, Offender and other family members
Legal/Policy and procedure involved in the case assessment and disposition phase

d. Context and intervention

Law Enforcement and Child Protective Services (CPS) collaboration
Planned Interventions, including an assessment of social and economic justice issues, which may limit access to help for some populations.

e. Values

A. Self-assessment of beliefs, biases, and values as they relate to working with abusive and neglectful families.

Detailed description of content of the course

Child Welfare is one of three emphases in the MSW curriculum, this course being one of the three in this emphasis. It is designed to help students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to work with abused and neglected children and their families. Students are encouraged to critically analyze the political and cultural factors attributed to the etiology of child abuse and neglect, including: the populations-at-risk of being referred for and those abusing and neglecting their children, social and economic justice concerns, and values and ethics of the referrer, referred, and others involved in the decision-making process.

A variety of instructional methods will be used in this course such as interactive lecture, group discussion, role-play, teaching videos, student presentations, small group exercises and guest speakers. Students are expected to actively participate in class sessions.

Student Learning Outcomes

Goal: to provide a graduate level introduction to the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for professional practice with abused or neglected children and their families.

Objectives: Having successfully completed this course, students will be able to demonstrate the ability:

to assess the various types of child abuse and neglect, the possible legal consequences, and the effects the various forms of child abuse and neglect have on human development
to perform an intake and investigation in cases of alleged child abuse and neglect, working together as a team with the various professionals involved in these cases, i.e. law enforcement, medical personnel, and attorneys.
to analyze the initial information gathered to assure the child is adequately protected during the investigation process
to recognize and assess the family and cultural dynamics present in alleged child abuse and neglect cases
to analyze and document the data gathered to make a case disposition of current and on-going risk of child abuse and neglect
to use a strength-based ecological approach to support families in protecting their children when abuse and neglect has occurred.
to continuously assess their own biases, values, assumptions, and expectations regarding child abuse and neglect, especially child sexual abuse cases.

Assessment Measures

Faculty will assess attainment of course objectives by evaluating students’ ability to:

critically analyze topics presented in the seminar
evaluate the attitudes, biases, values, beliefs, and expectations of those involved in the child abuse and neglect referral, assessment and intervention process
develop a case scenario, which will serve as the base for the written assignments and final class presentation:
- This case will provide an opportunity to apply the knowledge, skills and abilities obtained in the course to successfully and sensitively perform an intake, initial and on-going assessment, case disposition, interview, and service plan with an alleged abusive and neglectful family.

Other Course Information

This course utilizes many of teaching materials developed by Virginia Institute for Social Services Activities (VISSTA). Additional reading, exercises, and assignments are required to provide a graduate level learning experience.

Review and Approval

February 2000 New course proposal

Revised June, 2022