In many cases, the decision to recommend that a child be removed from the home is not completely clear. In most jurisdictions, CPS investigators, along with the court, typically prioritize allowing children to remain in their own homes with their usual caregivers. This priority is usually upheld if the child can remain safely in the home, and the risk of harm can be managed. However, most jurisdictional statutes and case law do not require that the child has to actually be harmed to be removed from the home. This often raises questions about the amount of potential harm that needs to be present in order to recommend that a child be removed from the home. Additionally, for law enforcement personnel who remove the child from the home, the process can be dangerous for both them and the child.
In this Assignment, you are asked to make recommendations to the court about child welfare. You will select a case to analyze andbased on the behavior of the caregivers, conditions in the home, statutes in your jurisdiction, and case lawyou will make a recommendation to the court about whether or not the child should be removed from the home. You will also consider ethical considerations related to your case analysis and recommendation, as well as the potential dangers involved if you recommend that law enforcement remove the child from the home.
To prepare for this Assignment:
- Read the two case studies in the Learning Resources and choose one to analyze in terms of the behavior of the caregivers and conditions within the home.
- Using the Learning Resources, locate the statutes concerning child neglect within your state or country.
- Review the case law on pg. 110 of Chapter 4 in Family Violence: Legal, Medical, and Social Perspectives, which summarizes how the court has defined the legal rationale for removing a child from the home.
- Review relevant Learning Resources and scholarly references about child neglect.
- Review relevant ethical guidelines.
- Consider dangers that law enforcement officers need to consider should the child be removed from the home.
The Assignment: 3 full pages
In your chosen case study, imagine that this case took place in your state or country. Address the following in your paper:
- Would the behavior of the caregivers or the conditions within the home be considered in violation of statutes pertaining to child neglect? If so, what jurisdictional statutes apply?
- What ethical issues are present in this case? What are 23 strategies you could use to address these issues appropriately?
- What risks and dangers currently related to the caregivers behavior or the conditions in the home need to be taken into consideration if law enforcement officers need to remove the child from the home?
- Recommend whether or not the child in the case study should be removed from the home. Support your viewpoint with your jurisdictional statutes, case law, and scholarly references that pertain to the behavior of the caregivers and conditions within the home.
