Mental Health Disparities ESSAY PAPER

Mental Health Disparities Essay

Mental Health Disparities Essay
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WRITE ON MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES

Complete Part 1 of your Social Change Project.

Address the following items in a 3-4 page paper:

Describe a current social problem ( Write on Mental health disparities). How might this problem be incongruent with social work values/ethics? SOCW 6361 Mental Health Disparities Essay
How/when has this problem been identified historically, and what were the actions taken to address this concern?
How have the groups affected by this concern changed over time?
Describe the policy area related to this social problem.
Is the policy identified by your group dictated by local, state, or federal statute—or a combination thereof?
What are the different aspects of the policy?
How long has the current policy been in place?
Who supports and who opposes the policy?
What changes/amendments have been made to the policy?
Explain how this policy affects clients you might see in a clinical setting and why, as a clinical social worker, it would be important to advocate for change.

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Walden University

Abstract

This week we will identify a current social problem and how this problem is incongruent with our social work values/ethics, secondly, we will discuss ow/when has this problem been identified historically, and what were the actions taken to address this problem. Next, we will discuss how various groups are affected by this overtime, Identify and describe a policy related to this social problem, Describe the policy area related to this social problem. In relation to child abuse and neglect what groups have been identified by your group dictated by local, state, or federal statute. What are the different aspects of child abuse policy, how long has the current policy related to child abuse been in place. Who has been in support to child abuse and neglect policy and those who have opposed it. What are some changes that have been made to child abuse policy. Lastly, explain how this policy affects clients you might see in a clinical setting and why, as a clinical social worker, it would be important to advocate for change.

Describe a current social problem. How might this problem be incongruent with social work values/ethics? SOCW 6361 Mental Health Disparities Essay
The current problem at hand is child abuse and neglect relating to the harmful effects it has on children and the trauma caused. Under child abuse there are various forms children are neglected and abused some being; physical, sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse. Many children face these different types and forms of abuse due to living environment, mental health issues, or drug abuse. Social Workers have been in a battle with advocating for the rights of children who experience child abuse and neglect for a long time. For a long time, social workers have been advocating for the rights of children and have been battling child maltreatment for more than 100 years (National Association of Social Workers 2005). This problem aligns well with social workers ethics and values because social workers work to prevent child maltreatment and to help supports parents and children. Social workers are on the front lines protecting children and assisting them in finding safe living situations (National Association of Social Workers 2005).

How/when has this problem been identified historically, and what were the actions taken to address this concern?

Child abuse has had a long history within the united states. Child abuse issues has been in exist since the 1870s when an orphan was severely beaten in a foster home. There were no laws or organizations during that era or time to protect children from abuse and neglect. It was argued that children shouldn’t have less rights than animals and there should be specific laws in place to protect children from abuse and neglect. An organization called Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was enacted and put into place.
For continuous centuries different cases of abuse and neglect were being presented in court in 1974, federal law enacted, the Child Abuse Prevention & Treatment Act (CAPTA), (family.findlaw.com). As history developed and more getting the countries attention, every state has laws that if you were a professional such as a teacher, doctor, social worker, of have any contact in a professional capacity relating to children you were known as a mandated reporter and was required to report any form of child abuse and neglect.

How have groups affected by this concern changed over time? Mental Health Disparities Essay

Over time people have been able to discuss and identify different aspects of child abuse and neglect. Different groups of people have rallied and fought for children to be protected from those who abuse and neglect them. Overtime it has changed because there have been different activists groups and laws put in place to fight for those children’s voices who are not heard and for those oppressed populations.

Describe the policy area related to Child Abuse and Neglect and Is the policy identified by your group dictated by local, state, or federal statute—or a combination thereof?

The social policy related to child abuse and neglect is, “Under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (“CAPTA”), states must provide otherwise confidential child abuse and neglect information to “any Federal, State, or local government entity, or any agent of such entity, that has a need for such information in order to carry out its responsibilities under law to protect children from abuse and neglect” and to child abuse citizen review panels” (https://www.firststar.org/learn-more/policy-legislation). The federal law provides a guideline and standard each state needs to follow.

What are the different aspects of the policy? And How long has the current policy been in place?

The different aspects of this policy is that each state has their own guidelines referring to policies of child abuse and neglect cases. The current policy has been in place since the 1974, many different.

What changes/amendments have been made to the policy?

Due to an incident on a Penn State Campus there were some changes made to the policies under the CAPTA ACT. In bill S.1877-CAPTA would be amended or added if a report or acts were committed by parents or caretakers they are mandated to report. S.1887 charged and penalized those for being non compliant in reporting, S.1889-would require a report from any person who learned of facts to suspect a child was a victim of abuse on federal lands (American Bar). S.1879-added (with a one-year imprisonment minimum penalty) for failure to report child abuse. H.R. 3617-criminal penalty for failure to report. H.R. 3486-criminal penalties against those who have witnessed child abuse from someone else and did not report it. H. R. 3650-would suspend and stop all federal funds received by institutions, their employees, or any other entities where sexual abuse of children was not immediately reported. It would cover nonprofits, state and local organizations, and other programs. (American Bar). The changes that were proposed were mandated reporters are anyone who works with children or supervises them, added to the list were coaches and camp counselors. (American bar). Failure to make such reports the offense has been raised from misdemeanor to felony level (American bar). protect the reporter’s identity from disclosure; and categorize reports based on level of risk of harm to the child.

Explain how this policy affects clients you might see in a clinical setting and why, as a clinical social worker, it would be important to advocate for change.

Often times, children who have experienced child abuse and neglect often experience different mental health issues and falls into substance abuse and alcoholism to suppress pass trauma. PTSD is also another common form of children who have been abused and neglected. As a social worker treating children with different traumatic situations works through a trauma-informed lens. With the trauma informed lens social workers are able to approach the situation through behavioral and cognitive functioning that are expressed through their trauma. social workers should advocate for change because we are defending their rights, and considering their decisions, especially those who have become vulnerable and are struggling in various life circumstances. As we continue to follow the NASW Code of Ethics we are there to provide advocacy and social justice for those who are not able to.

Reference:

National Association of Social Workers. (2005). NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Child Welfare. Washington, DC: NASW Press.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK195993/)
https://www.firststar.org/learn-more/policy-legislation).
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/child_law/resources/child_law_practiceonline/child_law_practice/vol_31/january_2012/changes_in_childabusereportinglawsaretheyforthcoming/