Instructions
You must answer one of the two (2) Essay
questions AND four (4) of the six(6) Short Answer questions
***N.B.: Many questions (both Essay and
Short Answer) have multiple sections to be answered.
Essay Questions: Answer Essay Question 1 OR
Essay Question 2 (not both).
1. Background:
A juvenile who was living in a foster home was discovered fondling the genitals
of another child in the foster home. The foster parents report this incident to
the authorities. Some cases can be addressed in Family Court or in criminal
court Youth Part, others can only be heard in the regular criminal court.
Question #1:
● 1a.
What factors would you consider in deciding which court? What are the
advantages and disadvantages of the case being heard in each court?
● 1b.
The juvenile’s lawyer explained to the judge that the reason Suzie was taken
out of the previous foster home was because she was being sexually abused in
that setting.
● 1c.
What are some symptoms of Acute Stress (or even PTSD) that she might exhibit?
What would be your treatment recommendations (clinical treatment, not court
treatment
Essay Q2.
2 a. Below please find a link to the
Wallerstein 2012 Slate article.
Wallerstein, J. (2012).
Divorce has consequences. Slate (magazine) https://slate.com/human-interest/2012/07/judith-wallerstein-and-
divorce-how-one-woman-changed-the-way-we-think-about- breakups.html
· Discuss three (3) different
statistics that surprised you
· Identify three (3) other things
you learned from this article
2b. Please see Course
Materials for the article by Moore, S. & Ford, K. (2006). Supervised
Visitation. The Center for Court Innovation
Background:
According to Moore & Ford, ‘due
to the significant overlap between domestic violence and child maltreatment,
some parents may abuse or attempt to abduct their children during visits. When
family violence
persists in this way, children
continue to witness and be adversely affected by
it. Because of these risks, courts
often find it necessary to require that visitation
between abusive parents and children
is supervised.
Supervised visitation is contact
between a non-custodial parent and his or her
child in the presence of a third
party who observes the visit and ensures the child’s
safety. In domestic violence cases,
visits voluntarily supervised by friends and family
in their homes can be fraught with
danger for the child and victim, as well as the
monitor. For this reason, visitation
supervised by a neutral, professional third party,
with the capacity to enforce
effective safety measures, is the optimal choice for the
court.
· Moore
& Ford emphasize Security concerns as essential in the successful
implementation of a Supervised Visitation Plan. These security concerns include
‘Partnerships, Physical Space and Confidentiality’. With Partnerships, Physical Space
and Confidentiality in mind, please explain
why Moore and Ford believe that ‘In domestic violence cases, visits voluntarily
supervised by friends and family can be fraught with danger for the child and
victim, as well as the monitor.
2c. Please watch the following TEDTalk by Marilyn
Yorks (What representing men in divorce taught me about fatherhood). This
TEDTalk is 15 minutes long.
· Discuss
whether or not you think the statistics presented are 100% scientifically
verified and accurate, please report three (3) different statistics that surprised you
· please
identify three (3) other things you learned from this TEDTalk
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/RlSwsE22nX0?si=xyhXoGS_vrE55eFm__;!!Ky_hqJ5n-ILn0fk!AK2AMzkKu80Nu5WrXHur_YDF2AGt2z9hvnmPgNm110xW2gC0lccfoatrPLH7XXpi56AjyvmF99uIw3fAhu1JT9IefRkUhzI$
Short answer questions (answer 4 out of 6
questions) –
1. The following question focuses on both
Finklehor’s revised ACEs scale and the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Scale.
a. Score
yourself on the Rahe in two ways – looking at your life from January through
February 2020 . Then, score it from January through February 2024. Has your
life stress level remained in the same range (150 or less, 150-300, 300+)? If
it has changed levels, think of something positive you can do 2-3 times a week
(or a variety of things you can do on a weekly basis) to address your increase
in stress.
b. what
would you add to the ACEs questionnaire and why?
c. On
the Holmes-Rahe, what item would you add and why? Where would you put it (with
what numerical value)
#2. Please
note that this question is worth 25 points. The extra 10 points are due to the fact that in order to respond
to the question you must watch the following:
a. Let’s Talk Brooklyn -Conversation between Dr. Vivek Murthy and Jon Batiste https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq7uO8vywlk – 1 hour 5 minutes.
b. Elmo
visits TODAY to talk about the reaction to his viral tweet https://www.today.com/parents/celebrity/elmo-dad-today-viral-tweet-rcna136728#
Background:
According to Gov. Cuomo, in a Spring 2020 survey, 50% of
the respondents said that their Mental Health has been adversely
affected. This doesn’t
mean that so many people has a mental breakdown. But maybe, this pandemic,
with its stay-at- home order has made them anxious, lonely,
worried frustrated, depressed, angry, etc. Cases of Domestic
Violence had a 15% increase in March and 30% increase in April.
More recently (Dec.
2023), in a Town Hall Meeting in Brooklyn with Jon Batiste, the US Surgeon General,
Dr. Murthy discussed issues
related to the importance of connections.
This dovetails with findings from a tweet on Jan. 29, 2024 by Sesame Street’s
beloved character Elmo.
Task:
·
Jon Batiste spoke of ‘building
a muscle’.
Explain what he meant by this. Give
some examples.
·
Dr. Murthy – stated that:
a.
‘the desire to connect is built
into our DNA.
b.
‘A powerful tool to stretch
time is our attention.’
Explain what Dr.
Murthy meant by these two comments (see ‘a’ and ‘b’, above) and give
some examples. Also, describe
and explain the purpose of the ‘5 for 5 Challenge’.
·
Elmo tweeted ‘Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody
doing?’ Give two examples of surprising statistics/numbers that were mentioned in Elmo’s
TODAY show appearance.
·
Not all, but most of the
responses to Elmo’s tweet spoke of mental health distress. Discuss two of the
positive/happy/hopeful responses.
Question 3:
Please watch: Sam Goldstein
– The Power of Resilience – May 2013 – 9:44 minutes
Then, explain three (3) things you learned from this video.
In the book, To the End of June, there
are many stories of individuals who were in foster care as children. There are examples in the book of how their
lives were marred and marked by
self-doubt for many years. Describe
how one of the children in this book was able to embrace a more
successful life through resilience (you can use quotes/examples from the book,
and concepts from Sam Goldstein’s video).
Question 4
Michelle Obama has advice for girl’s battling self-doubt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzNke_GYGHg 10:17
In a CNN interview, Amal Clooney, Melinda French Gates and Michelle Obama (see YouTube link above)
discuss how it is that even successful women live with self-doubt that is
rooted in their childhood and adolescence.
·
Amal Clooney spoke of ‘waging
justice’, and defined failure as ‘not trying’.
Explain what she meant by each of these.
·
Melinda French Gates points out
that as youngsters, we knew who we were, but due to circumstances along the
way, ‘you let go of who you could be’, and need to reclaim this sense of
self. She was married to Bill Gates from
1994-2021(she was 30 when she married him. Explain why I think
that in divorcing Bill Gates, she was trying to reclaim her sense of self.
·
Michelle Obama spoke of
remembering that throughout your life, ‘you have value’, despite ‘negative
messages of not being enough’, and struggling with a ‘wall of
impossibility’. Explain some of her
examples of ‘negative messages of not being enough’ and the ‘wall of
impossibility.
Question 5:
Pick one (1) of the three (3) issues below and briefly
explain why changes are/ were needed in our policies.
Please focus on the developmental and/ or social/emotional impact on the individual.
a. termination of
parental rights
b. supervised visitation
c. emancipation of minors
Question 6:
Discuss,
with examples, how the following statements
were reflected in the movie that was the subject of your group project: Mrs. Doubtfire
·
the importance of the quality
of your connections and relationships, not the quantity
·
every relationship takes
effort, work, but it’s the small gestures/acts that make a difference
