Please respond to these three student discussions. More instructions are attached.
Student 1: Review the Gavin Family Scenario listed below. What indicators suggest there is chronic neglect in the Gavin family? To what extent do you think contracting with a cleaning service to clean the house and/or providing the family with new furniture would have a long-lasting change for the Gavin Family?
One indicator of chronic neglect in the Gavin family is that there have been multiple reports made on the family, which CPS is familiar with. In chronic neglect, the crisis and neglect are ongoing and are not tied to a specific situation or crisis (Schelbe, 2022). Another indicator of chronic neglect is run-down housing, which is evident in the Gavin family (Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum, 2015). The Gavin family’s home is unkempt and dirty; old and rancid food is lying throughout the kitchen, and there is large cardboard covering the broken-out window pane. The third indicator of chronic neglect in this family is little support from friends and relatives (Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum, 2015). Ms. Gavin has had no contact with her child Joy and maternal grandma in years, and the father of her children rarely comes around. Also, parental history of neglect as a child and ill health are indicators of chronic neglect in this family (Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum, 2015). Ms. Gavin was given up by her mother, stayed in several foster homes, and ultimately had a teen pregnancy like her mother. Ms. Gavin also has ill health as she weighs close to three hundred pounds and rarely leaves the sofa. More indicators of chronic neglect in this family are extreme social isolation and little parenting knowledge (Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum, 2015). The Gavin family children are truant, have little to no friends, and stay home most of the time. Ms. Gavin allows the children to stay home and expects her eldest to take care of the other children. Ms. Gavin does not frequently engage with her children and, for example, lets her preschoolers watch TV for most of the day without any social interaction.
Contracting a cleaning service to clean the house and providing the family with new furniture would not have a long-lasting change on the family. The Gavin family has chronic neglect, evidenced by repeated reports to CPS. The reports on the family are not the same, with the last report alleging there is no food in the home. If the family had a cleaning service come in and receive new furniture, there would be little to no change as that does not address the underlying causes of the chronic neglect. A clean home and new furniture would not fix how the children are truant, the family’s isolation, lack of basic needs, parenting knowledge, and parental disengagement.
Sometimes parents need education on parenting and child development to help combat chronic neglect. One example of parents needing education on child development and parenting is safe to sleep. New parents may be unaware of safe sleep for a child and allow them to do something dangerous, such as sleeping in the same bed. Children die yearly from unsafe rest, so education videos and resources have been provided to the public to reduce SIDS (Safe Sleep for Babies, 2009). The Gavin family is a good example of a family that needs parenting and child development education because Ms. Gavin’s disengagement from the children is negatively affecting the children.
References
Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum. (2015, January). [PDF]. Canvas. https://canvas.fsu.edu/courses/214091/pages/module-8?module_item_id=4158888
Safe Sleep For Babies. (2009). Infant safe sleep. [Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zoQ7n3omqQLinks to an external site.
Schelbe, L. S. (2022). Child Maltreatment & Child Welfare Module 8 [PowerPoint slides]. College of Social Work, Florida State University. https://canvas.fsu.edu/courses/214091/pages/module-8?module_item_id=4158888
Student 2: Evidence of Chronic Neglect
Child Neglect occurs when a caregiver fails to provide for their child’s basic needs (Schelbe, 2022). Neglect can be situational or chronic. With situational neglect, there is something temporary that is causing the caregiver to not be able to provide the care and is usually resolved when the crisis is resolved. Chronic neglect is the result of ongoing challenges that last a period of time (Schelbe, 2022). The Gavin family has been referred for child protection services several times in the past. This is evidence that this family suffers from chronic neglect as they are constantly in crisis or under stress (Florida Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum, 2015).
Children who are chronically neglected frequently have developmental delays (Florida Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum, 2015). Both school aged children, Jimmy and Jennie, have speech impediments that is likely the result of chronic neglect. Parental history of childhood neglect is also an indicator of chronic neglect (Florida Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum, 2015). The mother in this scenario was severely neglected as a child and spent many years in the custody of the state. The condition of the home, the parentified child, and the mother’s mental health are other indicators of chronic neglect in the Gavin family.
To what extent do I think contracting with a cleaning service to clean the house and/or providing the family with new furniture would have a long-lasting change for the Gavin Family?
I think that contracting with a cleaning service and providing the family with new furniture will help relieve some of the immediate stress and can help the family envision long term change. It could help the mother become less overwhelmed and feel less depressed for the time being. However, the condition of the home was the result of long-term neglect and without addressing the underlying causes of the neglect, this will be only a temporary fix and will only address the environmental concerns. Other issues that will need to be addressed to ensure long term success would be proper supervision, the mother’s mental health, parenting education and support, and financial stability.
References
Florida Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum. (2015, January). Module 6.2: Neglect.
Schelbe, L. S. (2022). Module 8: Child Maltreatment & Child Welfare [powerpoint].
Student 3: The department has received various reports concerning the Gavin family. The two older children do not attend school, which is where they receive services for their speech impediment. In this week’s PowerPoint Dr. Schelbe explains that education neglect includes truancy and a parent failing to address a child’s special needs, which is evident in the older children not attending school (Schelbe, 2022). The mother does not provide appropriate supervision for the children, as she mentioned that she rarely leaves the sofa and relies on her 11-year-old to assist with caring for the younger children. Module 6 of the Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum includes environmental hazards as neglect. It’s defined as “situations where a child is permitted to live in an environment that causes or creates a significant risk of impairment of the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health due to the actions or non-actions of the caregiver” (Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum, 2015). The home was described as hazardous due to the rancid smell, broken window, and lack of food. Families experiencing chronic neglect are consistently experiencing a crisis and may have a history of neglect as a child or untreated mental illness (Schelbe, 2022). The mother has a history of neglect as a child and has an older child who was removed from her care when she was 16 and is being raised by a relative. This extensive ongoing history with the department demonstrates that the family is experiencing chronic neglect instead of situational neglect.
Providing the family with a cleaning service and new furniture would be a temporary fix; however, it would not solve the problem. If the root cause of the neglect is not fixed, the house and furniture will eventually return to the state it was initially in. I believe it’s essential for us to look at what is causing the mother to be neglectful in the first place, whether it is unmanaged mental health, financial instability, or lack of parenting education. Working on those things to prevent the house from being neglectful again will have a better long-term outcome than simply hiring someone to clean the house.
References
Florida Core Child Welfare Pre-Service Curriculum. (2015, January). Module 6.2: Neglect.
Schelbe, L. S. (2022). Module 8: Child Maltreatment & Child Welfare [powerpoint].
