Special Populations

Special Populations Paper

Cynthia Boland

BSHS 402

October 28, 2013

Dr. Angela Zinzer

Special Populations Paper

There are many special populations that are in need of services that are provided from many social agencies. A special population can be described as a group of people that are disadvantaged and may need help in certain areas in order to live a normal and productive life. According to Rothman & Sager (1998) "They are not efficient to do this on their own because of a disability or deficiency that establishes a disadvantage not ordinarily experienced by the mainstream population."

I researched special populations including people with disabilities, people with HIV/AIDS, addicts, senior citizens, and many more. After reviewing the different vulnerable populations and seeing the challenges each has I have decided to focus on the population of young children, particularly abused/neglected children. This is an area I am passionate about and hope to work as an advocate for in the future. The following information will address the special needs of abused/neglected children.

Being abused or neglected is a very painful experience for children; so painful in fact, that it may seem impossible to them to overcome it. Children are often exposed to or the recipient of violence, neglect, and abuse that may come in many forms. It can be from either a breakdown of the immediate family, some form of substance abuse in the home, or even the death of a parent or parents. Young children in these types of situations become completely dependent on others for the support and nurturing that will help them safely grow into adulthood.

My choice of young children is because of a personal and a professional interest. I am a mother of four and I cannot imagine a child having to go through something as horrific and destructive as abuse at the hands of the main person or persons that they look to for safety and love. I am hoping that once I get my degree I can work as a Foster Care Advocate with the Department of Human Services helping these young children. I wish to pursue this career because based on my research, even though there has been a heightened awareness of child abuse and neglect in our society today, many children are still the victims of abuse and neglect. According to "Childhelp.org" (2013), "every 10 seconds in America a report of child abuse is made, and nearly five children die every day as a result of child abuse" (National Child Abuse Statistics). To say that this is disturbing, is an understatement in my opinion.

Unfortunately, many children fall through the cracks of the child welfare system and many will end as one of these statistics. The child welfare system needs case workers who are aware of the issues that many of these children face. Case workers diligent in their efforts to protect these children are the case workers we need today. Case workers are needed that can display caring and compassionate attitudes to make these children feel comfortable, safe, and protected from the horrible circumstances they have faced. I believe that I can bring this to the field child welfare. I am committed to the task of making sure that all children are treated as a precious gift, not some piece of trash that gets tossed along the road somewhere. I believe that my caring and nurturing nature will be a benefit this field. Abused and neglected children need people that they can trust. They need to know and be able to see that there are people who care about them and their wellbeing and I feel as if I can do that for them. Being a mother of four children, I have that ability to make children feel loved and safe and that no matter what they can trust me because I am not going to hurt them in any way.

Case management applies to child welfare in several ways. A case manager may be assigned to a family as an intervention, a preventative method so to speak. In this type of situation a case worker will meet with families and provide them with resources and tools in the hopes of preventing any child endangerment. The case worker will assess the needs of the family and the issues that brought the case worker to him or her. They will assist the family in building a plan that will ensure the safety of the family members and children and will continue to monitor the family and children for an appropriate length of time.

In other cases such as if a child has already been removed from a home, the case worker will work to place the child in a safe environment and provide the child with the needed services such as counseling or therapy. A case manager may also provide child advocacy for children that they place into foster care due to abuse or neglect in the home. It is the job of the case manager to