Populations at Risk

Denisa Llangos
Ey8514
02/10/15
SW 4997
Child Abuse

Populations at Risk

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) vulnerability is the degree to

which an individual or a population is unable to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover
from the impacts of disaster. As a result, these individuals are not incorporated into the
health care system, especially when cultural, economic and geographic characteristics
play a role. This further isolates vulnerable individuals because it becomes difficult for
them to obtain the necessary medical care they need. Children are the most vulnerable
individuals. What makes children vulnerable is their reliance on others to get things done.
This permits child abuse and neglect. In fact, child abuse is the nations most serious
public health concern.
Each year in the United States, close to one million children are confirmed
victims of child abuse. One million is an enormous number and is due to the fact that
child abuse occurs in many different ways. It could be mental, physical and sexual abuse,
as well as exploitation and neglect. Generally, child abuse occurs when a parent or
caregiver acts or fails to act, harming the child in a non-accidental way and in some cases
causing injury and death. Every day in the United States, four children die as a result of
child abuse, and three out of four of these victims are under the age of four.
(Childhelp.org)
Various studies have linked child abuse to a wide range of medical, emotional,
and behavioral disorders such as depression, alcohol abuse, drug addiction and juvenile
delinquency. It occurs in every socio-economic level, within all ethnic groups, cultures
and religions.

Populations at Risk

Child abuse can occur both inside and outside the home setting.
Can be committed by a parent or any other

person who has contact with the child

Includes witnessing domestic violence

Includes being born addicted to narcotics

Can be physical, sexual and/or emotional

Agency
Jennys friend came to social workers office at West Village Academy in tears and

extremely sad with her friend, because she was experiencing a horrible day. She was feeling
very stressed and overwhelmed. She felt that she couldnt breathe of all the crying she had
done and could no longer stay in class. Many problems and concerns were going through her
mind, and this was the only place she could turn too, so she came down to the office to take a
deep breath and open her heart.
The agency is an elementary school up to middle school located in the suburbs of the city
of Dearborn. It serves
West Village Academy Vision:
We strive to be recognized as a learning community for developing well-rounded
productive citizens of the world.
Mission Statement West:

Populations at Risk

Village Academy, teaming with family and community, will support a nurturing and
respectful environment that develops independent thinkers and productive members of
society while focusing on core academic values and problem solving.
Belief Statement:

We focus on academic achievement

We provide opportunities for success

We respect diversity and individual strengths in the classroom

We build on prior knowledge

We relate learning to/an increase real-world experiences

We challenge independent thinking and problem solving

We promote positive self image

We collaborate for student and professional growth

We model appropriate behaviors

Client
Jenny Wood (pseudonym) was interviewed and identified as a victim of abuse by her
stepdad. Jenny is a black African female, 12 years old in 7th grade. Jenny was able to talk
comfortably to the social worker about her situation of what had happen at home. Before
Jenny had came to get interviewed one of her friends had found a note that Jenny had
written stating, I want to die, I want to die, I hate my home. According to the Children
Bureau fifty states reported 1,484 fatalities. Of those 50 states, 45 reported case-level data
on 1,217 fatalities and 43 reported aggregate data on 267 fatalities. Fatality rates by state
ranged from 0.00 to 4.54 per 100,000 children in the population. Younger children are the
most vulnerable to death as the result of child abuse and neglect. Nearly three-quarters

Populations at Risk

(73.9%) of all child fatalities were younger than 3 years and the child fatality rate mostly
decreased with age. This is nearly 3 times the fatality rate for children who were 1 year
old (6.58 per 100,000 children in the population of the same age). Jenny claims that she
has been abused since she was age 5 by her stepdad and her mother seems to not take any
part of this situation between her boyfriend and her daughter. With the above statements
children with a long-term abuse show high risks of deaths in the United States proving
that Jenny could be included in the population at risk for child abuse and deaths.
Being an abused child, Jenny was spanked with a hanger, shoes and mostly with
bare hands by her Step-dad after he told her turn off cartoons and she did not completely
turn the TV off causing it to be the trigger just as simple as that. She said there was
bruising on her elbow that later turned into a scab, which was peeled off. She showed
verbal signs of abuse throughout her lower body. Jenny seems extremely emotional and
hurt by her parents. She shows sign of hate, anger and she is hopeful. In order to help a
person and to get child abuse we have to know the risk factors to be able to prevent them.
With my foundation of knowledge, values, and skills that are needed as a social worker, I
am going to help this client with her social problems, while utilizing the generalist
intervention model. Steps of the intervention model are engagement, assessment,
planning, implementation, evaluation, termination, and follow-up. I have already engaged
with the client, and assessed her social problem. I have established a client/worker
relationship. Through assessment of Jenny from a micro, mezzo, and diversity
perspective, I was able to identify her strengths. She held in her pain for a long time and
she finally passed her fears to come and talk about her abuse at home. According to the
Child Welfare Information Gateway common factors associated with increased risk of

Populations at Risk

child maltreatment are often categorized as follows: Parent or caregiver factors, child
factors, family factors, community and environmental factors, risk factors for recurrence
of child abuse and neglect and co-occurring factors. According to Jennys parents are
separated and she does not see her dad at all. She mostly stays with grandma because of
the abuse she has at home from her caregivers. As a child being abused since 5 years old
Jenny could potentially developed signs of unusual characteristics that may also influence
maltreatment. Following, her parents are separated there was always no father figure as
she was growing up which could possibly increase her connection with her step dad. Her
long-term abuse caused Jenny to show signs of depression and denial. In addition, child
victims of abuse face secondary trauma in the crisis of discovery. Children in this kind of
abuse could result in attempts to reconcile their private experiences with the realities of
the outer world are assaulted by the disbelief, blame and rejection they experience from
adults. The normal coping behavior of the child contradicts the entrenched beliefs and
expectations typically held by adults, stigmatizing the child with charges of lying,
manipulating or imagining from parents, courts and clinicians. Such abandonment by the
very adults most crucial to the child's protection and recovery drives the child deeper into
self-blame, self-hate, alienation and victimization. In contrast, the advocacy of an
empathic clinician within a supportive treatment network can provide vital credibility and
endorsement for the child.
Evaluation of the responses of normal children to sexual assault provides clear
evidence that societal definitions of "normal" victim behavior are inappropriate and
procrustean, serving adults as mythic insulators against the child's pain. Within this
climate of prejudice, the sequential survival options available to the victim further

Populations at Risk

alienate the child from any hope of outside credibility or acceptance. Ironically, the
child's inevitable choice of the "wrong" options reinforces and perpetuates the prejudicial
myths. (Summit, 1983) An extensive body of research provides promising and best
practices on what works to improve child safety and well-being outcomes and reduce the
occurrence of child abuse and neglect. These efforts are essential as child abuse and
neglect have pervasive and long-lasting effects on children, their families, and the society.
Adverse consequences for childrens development often are evident immediately,
encompassing multiple domains including physical, emotional, social, and cognitive. For
many children, these effects extend far beyond childhood into adolescence and adulthood,
potentially compromising the lifetime productivity of maltreatment victims (Summit,
1983). After thirty minutes of Jenny Wood being interviewed, she had finally opened up
and was relived to get the heavy feelings out of her body and mind. Immediately after
Jennys dismissal the correct protocol to follow in the school setting was to call CPS
Child Protective Services. Due to the excessive amount of phone calls that CPS has it the
phone call lasted for almost 45 minutes.

Populations at Risk

References
Claxton-Oldfield, Stephen, and Lisa Whitt. "Child Abuse in Stepfather Families:
Do People Think it Occurs More often than it does in Biological Father
Families?" Journal of Divorce & Remarriage 40.1 (2003): 17-33. ProQuest. Web. 12
Feb. 2015.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/can/overview/
Mass.gov
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/cm2013.pdf#page=68