Describe the original or historical intent of child welfare systems in caring for vulnerable children.

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Assignment 2: LASA: Analysis of Human Services of an Abuse Scenario

In this assignment, you will be introduced to a real-world case that requires a high-level analysis of theoretical, ethical, and legal factors to explain how an abused child should have been handled by the human services agency. This exercise will demonstrate the types of cases that are common in human services. You will learn how to approach such types of cases from necessary perspectives that always need to be considered by a human services worker.

Tasks:

In this assignment, you will read a scenario, analyze its legal and ethical implications, and discuss options to address the human services needs. Consider the following scenario.

You are working in a human services agency that provides diagnostic services and residential placement to youth in the court system. A female Italian immigrant teenager was placed in this center by Children and Youth Protective Services due to suspected sexual abuse by her father. The agency conducted an assessment on the child to determine the effects of the suspected abuse on her functioning, provided her with a safe environment for twelve weeks, during which time she was allowed supervised visitation with her father, and encouraged her to trust the staff members. During this period, her case went to trial and was dismissed despite strong indications of sexual abuse. The court ruling was based largely on the results of the assessment conducted by the agency professional in addition to the client’s activity in residential placement, including visitation with her father during that period of time. As a result, the agency lost its funding for residential placement. Therefore, the girl was returned to her home the following week.

Apply scholarly theory, practice, and ethics to write an 8- to 10-page paper that includes the following:

  • Identify the legal and ethical obligations to both the girl and the father.
  • Identify the multiple levels of system failure in this case.
  • Discuss the distinction between the legal justification for the release of the girl and the ethical problems with such actions. In your discussion, explain how an individual human services provider might come to deal personally with such a conflict.
  • Identify the cultural considerations needed when working with this family.
  • Describe the original or historical intent of child welfare systems in caring for vulnerable children.
  • Discuss to what extent the agencies have fulfilled their responsibilities to their mission and the original intent in creating such agencies.
  • Propose two to three culturally and legally appropriate strategies that may be provided to the girl that will address her human services needs.

Submission Details:

  • By Monday, June 15, 2015, prepare an 8- to 10-page report. Your response should rely upon at least three sources from professional literature. This may include the Argosy University online library resources, relevant textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, and websites created by professional organizations, agencies, or institutions (.edu, .org, or .gov). Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., APA format); and use accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
  • Save your report in a Microsoft Word document with the name M5_A2_LastName_FirstInitial.doc, and upload it to the M5 Assignment 2 LASA Dropbox.

This LASA is worth 300 points and will be graded according to the following rubric.

Presents the rubric for this assignment.

 

Theories Of Development And Application

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Description

 

In this assignment, you will explore and apply theories of development to your personal experiences.

 

Background

 

Understanding theories of development is key in psychology. All people proceed through specific areas of change and growth in key areas as they go through life. Whatever path we take in life, understanding theories of development will assist us in motivating and guiding others, as well as understanding ourselves.

 

Instructions

 

Apply the theories of development to your personal life experience by answering each of the following questions.

 

  1. Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development: At what age do you feel you entered the stage of Formal Operational Thought? Explain the stage briefly and then focus on providing examples of ways your thinking has shifted to indicate you have developed into this stage of reasoning. (For instance, provide an example of how your views of justice or morality have shifted as you’ve matured.)

 

  1. Developmental Stage Theory of Erik Erikson: Choose one stage from Erikson’s Developmental Stage Theory and apply it to your own life. Explain the stage, age that it occurs, and how the central challenge of that stage played out in your life. What was the outcome of this stage for you? Did anything happen in your life prior to that stage that affected the outcome? How does the outcome from that stage affect how you are today? Provide specific details that demonstrate your understanding of the stage you choose.

 

  1. Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development: Considering the moral or ethical decisions that you have made in your life, describe one decision you made based on one of the three levels of moral development. Be sure to clearly explain the level of moral development and clearly identify the underlying ethical reasoning behind your decision. (For instance, you may explain a decision you made based on Preconventional morality when you were a child, or you may focus on a decision you made from a higher level of development as an adult.)

 

  1. Developmental Milestones: Motor Development. The unfolding of biological potential is known as “maturation.” Motor skill development in babies is mostly controlled by the process of maturation. Think about a child that you have known (yourself, your own child, a friend or family member). Describe how the child progressed from rolling over, to sitting, standing, and walking. At what age did each milestone occur? Did the development occur in a “typical” sequence based on what you’ve learned in your text? Is there anything that occurred in the child’s environment that either delayed motor development or facilitated it? What is the difference between “maturation” and “learning,” based on your readings and observation?

 

Your response should be a 3–4-page Microsoft Word document written in a clear, concise, and organized manner. Be sure to demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., APA); and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in psychology.

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Retrospective Analysis of Personality
Due Week 9 and worth 220 points

In this assignment, begin by taking a retrospective look at your life history, to discuss which aspects of your personality have remained consistent and which aspects of your personality have changed over time. Then, analyze the roles of nature and nurture in shaping your personality. Subsequently, discuss possible sources of inaccuracy and bias in any retrospective analysis. Finally, discuss the reasons why systematic scientific studies are considered more valuable than individual accounts.

Write a three to four (3-4) page paper in which you:

  1. Reflect on your life history and discuss which aspects of your personality have changed over time and which aspects have stayed consistent.
  2. Based on your retrospective analysis, describe the roles of nature and nurture in shaping your personality. Reflect on your justification for distinguishing between nature and nurture.
  3. Discuss the possible sources of bias and inaccuracy whenever a person looks back on their past history. Be sure to discuss factors related to memory and factors related to cognition.
  4. Describe why the science of psychology places more emphasis on results based on scientific studies than it does on personal experience and anecdotes.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

  • Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format.  Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
  • To keep this essay short and manageable, your only sources for your paper should be your own experience and the Webtext. For this reason, APA citations and references are not required for this assignment.
  • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date.  The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

  • Relate psychological concepts to real-world situations.
  • Describe the major theories of personality development, learning, memory, cognition, consciousness, development and social psychology.
  • Use technology and information resources to research issues in psychology.
  • Write clearly and concisely about psychology using proper writing mechanics.

Review the Janesick readings for this week.

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Research Skills: Journaling

Journaling is one important tool that a researcher can use to study, observe, and reflect on collected data. For this week’s Application, you will practice your journaling skills. You will then compose a paper detailing your experience of journaling, and an analysis of how journaling could be useful in your future research.

To prepare for this Application:

  • Review the Janesick readings for this week.
  • Consider the potential usefulness of journal writing for the personal and professional development of a qualitative researcher.
  • For three consecutive days, write in a journal for 15 minutes (to be completed in one sitting). You may write by hand, or use a computer. Consider using Exercise 4.5: Reflective Journal Writing Practice on pages 96-97 for a suggestion of what you could write about for your journal periods.
  • At the end of each 15-minute session, take a few moments to review what you have written, then take an additional 10 minutes to reflect on the journaling experience, writing down your reflections on what you have written and on the journaling experience in general. How can journaling help you develop as a researcher?

The assignment:

  • Craft a 3-page paper in which you do the following:
    • Render an account and an analysis of your journal writing experience.
    • Be sure to include considerations of how journal writing can help with the development of a qualitative researcher, or a researcher in general.